NaNoWriMo Day 5: 13,327 words and counting

I feel giddy today because of the outcome of the election, and I HAVE to mention that because I can't stop thinking how wonderful the world is. But enough about that: on to ME.

I am ahead today, thanks to spending more time today on Selah than on anyone else. I did have a workshop on campus, and I took a nap this morning because for some reason I was really sleepy (I think it was because I was afraid to work on NaNo, actually), but then I made up for it by getting to another good stopping point.

Now I'm concerned because I still have SO MUCH Selah material that I don't know how to proceed with it. Do I include lots more of it, or do I stop around 18,000 words and go on to work on George as originally planned? I'll have to think about that, since I only have about 5,000 more words in which to get Selah from 1843 to 1849, and it took me till now to get from 1840 to 1843. Hm. Decisions, decisions.

But what I REALLY wanted to talk about today was: being in the moment. One of the things I've noticed that happens when I force myself to write for speed and quantity and not worry about quality is that I do everything, all day "in the moment" much more successfully than I ever have before.

When I am working on the novel, of course, it's easy to be in the moment (that is, only thinking about the novel) because I pretty much have to be in order to write that fast - otherwise, forget it. So I don't let anything else intrude.

And coffee helps with this. (Guilty little secret.)

But when I'm doing other things, especially when I have already done my writing for the day and met my quota, I find it easier to concentrate on what I am doing and not let other things intrude then, either, because I've had the supreme satisfaction of having completed a chunk of something, so I can now move on to something else with a clear conscience. Or, if I haven't done my writing yet, I have promised myself that chunk of time, and I know it will happen NO MATTER WHAT because I'm not going to let anything short of fire or (copious amount of a family member's) blood interfere, so I can relax and do whatever it is that needs doing and enjoy it with a clear conscience.

You noticed that bit about the conscience, didn't you. Ah, I thought you might.

'nuff said. We all know what that's about. If abusing myself by writing 2500+ words of blather per day will banish the Guilt Goblins, then that in itself makes the whole endeavor worthwhile, doesn't it? ;-)

~Cheers