For the last month, I’ve been typing my little fingers off, trying to write a novel during the month of November for the National Novel Writing Month – NaNoWriMo for short. Anyone who has known me for any length of time has heard me talk about NaNoWriMo on more than one occasion.
The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. That’s about 200 pages double spaced and is about the size of Catcher in the Rye or Brave New Worlds. On average, you need to write about 1,667 words a day. For me, that’s anywhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours.
And yesterday, I finished my novel. It topped out at 52,780 words. And today, the last day of NaNoWriMo, I’m not writing. And it feels strange.
I just spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60 hours writing this last novel, and today, all I can think is that I need to write. I know that sounds strange, but it’s true. I’m starting to go through withdrawals.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to stand it. I’m going to have to put my fingers to the keyboard and I’m going to have to do it; I’m going to have to write. It won’t be work on my novel. It will probably be on a short story I’ve been thinking about.
They always tell you that to be a writer, you have to write every day. I’m telling you that if you write every day, you’re going to miss it when you don’t.
A Day Without Writing
For the last month, I’ve been typing my little fingers off, trying to write a novel during the month of November for the National Novel Writing Month – NaNoWriMo for short. Anyone who has known me for any length of time has heard me talk about NaNoWriMo on more than one occasion.
The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. That’s about 200 pages double spaced and is about the size of Catcher in the Rye or Brave New Worlds. On average, you need to write about 1,667 words a day. For me, that’s anywhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours.
And yesterday, I finished my novel. It topped out at 52,780 words. And today, the last day of NaNoWriMo, I’m not writing. And it feels strange.
I just spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60 hours writing this last novel, and today, all I can think is that I need to write. I know that sounds strange, but it’s true. I’m starting to go through withdrawals.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to stand it. I’m going to have to put my fingers to the keyboard and I’m going to have to do it; I’m going to have to write. It won’t be work on my novel. It will probably be on a short story I’ve been thinking about.
They always tell you that to be a writer, you have to write every day. I’m telling you that if you write every day, you’re going to miss it when you don’t.