A Tasty Steak! But Don't Forget the Potatoes.

Tonight I finished a challenge proposed by my husband. I wrote 30k by the end of the month and now I'm rewarded with dinner anywhere I want. (Anywhere in the state of Michigan!) If only all challenges were this rewarding...

Truthfully though, I'm most excited that it forced me to add another thirty thousand words to my novel (from this past NaNo) that I may not have written otherwise. I found myself falling back into NaNo mode. I thought about nothing except for my novel day and night. When I got home I worked the rest of my schedule around writing, instead of the opposite. I called out to friends for support. Even now, I feel the NaNoWriMo crash after having completed my challenge! It was thrilling though. Now I'm within two or three chapters of actually finishing the thing! 

I also realized that it forced me to push away the inner editor, the same way NaNoWriMo does. Why is it so much easier to do this in November? I don't have a "one size fits all" reason but this is what I know to be true for me. National Novel Writing Month elicits a high, a serious adrenaline rush that puts me into full-noveling mode. I'm not alone. I have my fellow Wrimos doing the same thing and pushing me along because we are all on the same adventure. When there's a cheerleader section just for me, I know I can't let them down! It makes me want to try harder. Then there's that dreaded deadline. All Wrimos fear it yet resolve to conquer it! 

"Where are you going with this MegaPaopu?" Don't worry, I'm getting to it! 

What this personal challenge has taught me is this-- Writing during NaNo is a no brainer! We push and push and type and type until our eyes and fingers bleed but we keep going to reach that 50k! After November what happens? That drive, that overwhelming adrenaline is gone and maybe forgotten. We don't need to forget about it after November is done! The writing world is scary yes, but we make it that way after November. On December 1st, it's as if we shed all of our writing armor. The courage and strive to keep writing is left behind in November. It will still be there in November, but guess what? It will ALWAYS be there no matter what. 

I love noveling and I love the person I am when I'm writing an awesome story! I don't want to lose any of that just because it's not November. I encourage everyone to have that tasty steak. Just don't forget the potatoes! What I mean is... Indulge to you heart's content during November but don't neglect the other months you can be writing too! Those other months are just as nutritious to your writing diet as that big chunk  of meat we call NANOWRIMO!

Tabby