NaNoWriMo

NaNoMo starts Sunday. I have never participated before, thinking I would leave that to the more experienced. This year I decided, why not?

I write really slow, so I decided this would be a good experience for me. I challenged my daughter, and we both signed a contract, holding each other to attempt 50,000 words in the month of November.

I've got my plot pretty much figured out, but my daughter still hasn't outlined anything. I really thought she would have a better chance than I of reaching the goal. I've never seen anyone write so fast as she does. Maybe her starting NaNoMo off with no concrete plot idea will give me an advantage!

I started this venture with a positive frame of mind. 1667 words a day doesn't seem so daunting. I feel confident in my ability to do that. Until my mathematically inclined husband felt the need to break it down. There are 1440 minutes in a day. That means I have to type 1.157638 words a minute. Every minute of each twenty four hour period. THAT sounds daunting!

I started to feel a little bit panicked. A minute is not very long. I remember when I worked production. We had less than a minute to examine each piece of merchandise. I remember the frenzy that drove everyone, the frantic pace to try to make production every day. Out of necessity we shut off the "inner editor" that told us maybe that piece didn't match the computer description, that this wasn't a black dress but a black shirt, instead. The ultimate goal was to make production, to avoid getting a paycut.

I guess it may have been good practice. Unlike when I worked production though, this time I'll have the opportunity to go back and fix my mistakes. Also, I am reminded as I sit in tax class, brushing up for the coming season, just how long a minute really is. My boss had us do an experiment. We try to keep up a conversation with the customer as we prepare their taxes. Sometimes, though, this gets hard to do. I tend to get lost in concentration. When you are setting on the other side of that desk, with no conversation, watching someone work, a minute seems REALLY long!

Take your pick. This minute can stretch out into an uncomfortably long amount of time, or fly by with the frantic pace of trying to make production. I prefer to put it back into the realm of 1667 words a day. This is do-able.