Set My Sight On You (What to do Post NaNo)

My favorite mug and writing place!

I talked in my last post about NaNo and what not, today's will be similar, but slightly different. As I sat thinking about NaNo and what it has made me into, a writer that actually writes every single, I wondered what I had in store for myself after NaNo is over. I will no longer have a word count to put in. I will no longer HAVE to write every day to meet a goal.

And then two things hit me.

1.My story isn't even close to being completed. I will have a lot of writing left in front of me once NaNo is over just to finish the skeletal outline I have of my story.
2.I need to keep writing every day. Whether or not it's little ramblings, writing is what I love to do. Just because NaNo is over, doesn't mean that I can just stop now and wait for next year.

Let's start with number one. My story is something that I am deeply attached to. It is a story that had been swimming around in my head that I just couldn't seem to get out. So now that NaNo got me to write out the story, I can't imagine just leaving it behind. (This kind of overlaps with two actually.)

No offense what-so-ever to the NaNo-ers this pertains to. This is only how I feel about my story so if this offends you I'm sorry! I read a lot on the forums and have noticed that a lot of NaNo writers are rewritting their stories this year from last year. I personally can't imagine just abandoning the story I have started for next year. I want to nurse it and help it grow to become the story I think it can be. I don't want to forget about my story until next year, it's just not how I want to go about this.

So as I sit here with my cup of pumpkin tea (surprisingly it's black tea, not orange) and I ponder my life and what is to come, I am hopeful. My story will blossom with time, as long as I give it the time it deserves. Who knows, hopefully one day it will get a book deal. I mean, it is the name of my blog after all and if I never make it to Author, it's all been a shame! ;)

P.S. I know I said in my last blog post that I would be talking about my story and what not and putting in an excerpt, but the motivation to post this overcame me. I then thought about it and decided that to end NaNo I will post all that on the 30th.

P.S.S. This is not just a blog for NaNo, in case you haven't read my earlier blog posts. I will be writing still, it just happens that with NaNo happening this month, it is heavily revolving around it. So make sure you keep coming back for more!

Buried Alive

Picture by Marshall Astor

Every day I try to stay caught up on my NaNo, yet every day something threatens to distract me. For the past four or five days I have fallen behind in my word count, to the point where I am almost six thousand words behind!

So today, I have been trying to catch up. And let me tell you, it's not an easy task trying to write thousands more words then normal on a given day. Let me back track a little. When I say I have fallen behind, I don't want you to think it's because I'm sitting around watching The Office or Parks and Rec (both shows I love dearly). The reason why I've fallen behind is because I am, alas, a college student.

As a Creative Writing major I am required to take English courses. I'm not sure if you know this, kind readers, but English college courses are chock full of papers. I'm trying to write these papers, stay caught up with reading, and still watch my beloved shows, while staying caught up with my word count.

I'm trying to do the whole, write in sprints of 20 minutes, that is recommended on the official NaNo website. (Here if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) This works for the most part. My 20 minute writing sprint has ended actually which is why I'm currently writing this blog post. After I'm done with this I'll probably attempt another 20 minute stint.

One other problem I'm facing now with my story is, I feel like I'm writing completely off track. I mean there's no problem with writing off track, sometimes it can be fun to not know where your stories are going. Let them run free! The only problem is, when you're trying to write a couple thousand extra words and you won't know where your stories are going you find yourself writing things like, "And then the wombat ate a chicken wing and swung a baseball bat at an aloe vera plant." (Not an actual excerpt from my story, thankfully.)

I guess what I'm trying to say here is... Sometimes writing is difficult, I know this and so do you. But when I finish, and when you finish that Nano/poem/short story/screen play you're working on, you know it will be worth it. The surge of happiness you get when your story is finally done (first draft of course because we'd never dream of submitting an unedited story) is like that of... I don't know... Eating chocolate? Yes, let's go with eating chocolate.

So, people of this blog. How is your NaNo? How have you caught up on your stories you're behind on? How do you catch up to a deadline that is daunting you when life keeps throwing obstacles at you? Tell me your secrets!