Falling Behind During Nano

So I write this for reasons that are obvious in the title. I'm falling behind in my WIP. When I first started I took off. I was ahead, and I mean really ahead, of the game! I thought I was going to cruise through this nano (click here to figure out what you're missing) like no other!

It only took a day or two of being busy with other things (like one of my two jobs, my internship, or my classwork) to fall behind. At the end of today, which is technically Sunday, I need to be at 16,666. As of right now I'm at 12,688. So yeah, this is happening.

I know that doesn't sound like a lot, and some of you reading this might even say I could catch up tomorrow, but the thing is there are other things in life that take up our time. Tomorrow night I'm working, and I have other work to do on my floor (RA PROBLEMS!) andddd I have to work on my final projects for class, seeing as finals are coming up.

I'm not feeling overwhelmed yet, but we'll see how this month pans out. I haven't given up hope yet. Last year I was behind for a majority of the time and then over the course of a day or two I just lost my mind and finished that dang word count!

But as of right now, I'm feeling like Michael Scott.

How are you doing on your word count? Are you nervous? Happy? Brag or vent in a comment!

Books, books, and more books.

As you can see, I like cats.

This is pretty much what I've been doing for the past two weeks while lying in bed, thinking about all the homework I have to do. It is quite a nice time waster.

I have been so swamped with end of school things that, to be honest, made me have no time for this blog. I apologize for that! However, school things are starting to wrap up so I will be on Blogger more and posting every Friday, as promised.

Although it takes up a lot of my time, my schoolwork does introduce me to quite a few good books along the way. I have recently read Donald Duk by Frank Chin and White Teeth by Zadie Smith. My teacher informed us that Zadie Smith is quite popular, especially with her newest novel NW. They actually offered NW as a goodreads giveaway not too long ago. I did not win that one though!

Both books are quite good and I would recommend them to anyone who likes to read about people coming to terms with their identities. Donald Duk is about a Chinese boy living in America and not wanting to be Chinese. It's really very good and it's a quick read. White Teeth is about many different cultures and beliefs coming together with a London setting. It's very well written and informative. If you can, pick them up and give them a read.

Any book recommendations you people out there have for me? With summer coming up I will have plenty of time to read!

The End Is Near

Hello fellow NaNo-ers. The month is winding down, as well as our word count. I am still a little bit behind (about 2 thousand words or so) but I've been pushing myself these last couple days and I have managed to plow through and write a ton. I know it's not a masterpiece, and I know I will have to write more after NaNo to finish the story I want to tell, but I will successfully complete NaNo.

It's weird to think about what I will do after November. I mean, I've been writing every single day trying to achieve this and once it's achieved... well it's done. I have plans of editing it and what not but I won't have the same community that I had during NaNo. If anyone out there reading this knows of any communities or writers, or things like NaNo that go on all year, please let me know so I can join in on the fun!

On a bright note, I ran across a fellow NaNo writer on the Artisans board and found someone to make me a cover.

Cover!!! By This amazing person =]

Sorry if I credited you wrong and you want it a different way, let me know!

Anyway, now that I have a cover to my work, it makes it all feel so much more real. When writing a story I have this idea of what I want it to look like and this cover capture it perfectly. It made me all giddy to see it and I sent it to all of my friends. I just like to think that maybe one day my book will actually be on a shelf out there.

Also, I realized I haven't once talked about what my story is actually about so I'm thinking maybe tomorrow or the next day I will create a post that will basically just talk about my story, the characters, ideas, an excerpt maybe, things like that.

I wanted to give some advice to those out there that think they can't finish, or are having a hard time finishing, but I'm afraid I'm giving advice when I have no room to. I guess all I can say is, don't give up. You can finish, no matter what you think. If you are determined to finish your story, and you want to get it out, then get it out.

Just remember this, don't let any number tell you you've won. All of you out there that have written anything at all have won. You have taken that step that many writers out there can't. You put pen to paper. (Or fingers to keyboard, typewriter if you're really old school.) You're getting your idea out. Also remember, don't be afraid to let your idea be heard. Let your story out.

Distractions, Distractions (How to overcome!)

Dear people reading my blog, I must confess. I keep falling more and more behind on my NaNo. For those of you who don't know what it is (CLICK HERE). Anyway, I keep running into things that keep sucking away the time for me to do it.

I have real reasons though. I mean, I don't have reasons like having a child (which the NaNo's on the forums talking about getting it done with a toddler I give my props to!), but I am a Resident Assistant at the University I attend (SIUC). I've been trying to stay creative for my job through NaNo, but it's draining me!

Some of the things I make for my job!

My creations (the flash really white washed Peach!) can took me hours a piece, because they're made out of all construction paper. By the time I'm done making these things it's past midnight and I'm 500 words behind for the day! When I'm not making things for bulletin boards I'm out enjoying nature.

Squirrel on campus enjoying nature!

I don't mean to fall behind, but it seems like it happens almost every day. (Then every few days I bang out 1200 extra words.) Anyway, I've come up with some ways for me to enjoy nature and still do my job while writing. I have found that the recommendation on NaNo of doing small spurts for 20 minutes really works well. I usually end my scene in the middle of something so that way I have something to work off when I come back. I also write literally any extra time I have (For example, when my boyfriend is in the bathroom).

So just a couple of ideas:

1. Small spurts of writing for 20 minutes every hour or so, more if you'd like.
2. Try to leave off with something for you to jump off with.
3. Write every extra minute you have!
4. Have fun with it. If you don't enjoy what you're writing, why would anyone else? (Not really a way to counteract distractions, but still a fundamental rule!)

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!