It's Just Abbey

I refuse to ever pay for therapy. Ever. Don’t get me wrong, I need it. There are so many other things I’ve done that are way better than any doctor. Two to be specific. The first was the marathon I ran in April. Twenty six miles of running in the heat really teaches a person a lot about themselves.

The other is and always will be my yearly attempt at NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo (aka National Novel Writing Month) is an event held every year for the last 11 years where writers sit down and crank out 50,000 words of plot driven madness. That’s 30 days of writing. Roughly 1667 words a day. Those numbers don’t look like much until you get right into it. Nothing ruins Thanksgiving quite like being 3,000 words behind with a horrid case of writers block.

I started doing NaNoWriMo about 6 years ago and last year was the first time I had ever finished. December 1st was a wonderful day because I woke up with a novel under my belt. Of course the last 5 years I had tried doing comedy, horror, fan fiction, etc. Tried them all and failed them all. Why? Different reasons each year. School work, college, marching band, and the self explanatory “Bringing SexyBack from the Dead: An NSync Zombie Love Story.”

Due to all my epic failures and final achievement I have come up with a list of things any good writer needs to survive writing a novel in 30 days.

-Have a Space
Same place every time. You sit there and say, “Self, damnit, we are going to write.” It should be a clean-ish place with all the things you need. Have your energy within reach before you sit down. Coffee, tea, red bull, cocaine, whatever it is needs to be in grabbing distance. Once you sit down and get up, you will just keep getting up. The more you get up, the less exciting your novel gets and the more exciting EVERYTHING else becomes. The lint trap needs cleaned! Have dictionaries, thesauruses, inspiration books, and any other book you will ever need. This is why I say clean-ish because you also should have a notebook and a pencil within reach. Doodling and free writing really help to get through writers block.

And have a comfy chair. You’re back will hurt like hell come December if you don’t.

-Have a Vague Idea of a Plot by Oct 31st
No showing up to wing it. It just doesn’t work after a while. Writers block is hard to get through if you don’t know where you are going.

-Writers Block? Kill Someone or Start a Fire. Or Kill Someone With Fire.
You love all your characters. You really do. But if you are staring at the computer and can’t move them from where they are, kill the bastards. Maybe just one at a time. It really throws your other characters for a loop. Example: “Chloe was sitting on the couch and couldn’t figure out what to do next in her murder mystery. She was clueless. She looked to Kevin for answers. Suddenly there was a loud crack and Kevin’s head exploded. He’d been shot! And then she noticed the house was on fire!” That’s good for at least 3000 words.

-Taking One Day Off is Okay. Taking Three Off is Not.
If you are going to do this you have to commit. I’ve already blocked out how I will write, run and manage to pay attention to my boyfriend throughout November. He needs attention and I need to run. These things just need to happen. But I found a way to make it all happen last year and I will find a way this year. Oh yeah, I also have to go to work. But my point is that you need to sit down almost every day and write. Just do it. Insert Nike swoosh sound.

-Celebrate the Small Victories
Set goals and celebrate them when you get there. Go get a drink after you reach halfway. No one else will understand, but you will. You’ll be proud and having drinks. Buy yourself something nice every 10K. Get a fresh cup of tea every 5K. Be warned: The last two days are heartache so make sure you have relaxation planned and are ready to pat yourself on the back no matter what on December 1st.

When you sit down and get a novel out you will teach yourself a lot. You will learn to set goal, you learn to handle defeat and you learn to persevere. You learn to laugh, cry and have small panic attacks. All of this and more in 30 days. It’s a miracle is what it is. If you have never tried I highly recommend it. It is something you should all try. Whether you can or can’t, you should at least donate. The money goes to a wonderful cause and keeps the spirit of writing and reading alive. And that’s the most important part of this whole adventure.

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