It is November 1 and that means National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has begun once again! While I am excited for the new challenge of this year’s nano, along with my new found inspiration, it does harken back to the challenges of nano’s in the past (I have yet to complete one). Despite that, this year will be different. It is always important to remember that failures of the past can help mold the blueprints for success in the future. I have worked diligently to push myself to stop dreaming of being a writer and just be one. It starts with mindset, followed by the hard work to get there. It was time for a plan.
Up until now, I would often find myself second guessing the quality of my work or allowing convenient little distractions to absorb my focus (as I described to some degree in my last post). By strategically mapping out my calendar for blogging or community engagement, I have given myself the necessary time to get lost and inspired in the writing community without sacrificing “creation” time. In addition, I have mapped out content deadlines for my blog and Patreon, so I don’t spend my time obsessing over what I will do next for these spaces instead of actually writing. I am not sure if you have this quality, dear reader, but I certainly do; obsessing over everything else to the point of paralysis to the detriment of my writing flow. Goals combined with structure were necessary to create and, if necessary, revisit something I wasn’t feeling strongly about.
So, that being said, NaNoWriMo came along at the right time and is proving to be an excellent enhancement to my goal setting strategy to jump start the progress on my rewrite of Trail of Blood. With a 50,000 word minimum goal in 30 days, I can (and will) make major strides in completing this story and having the manuscript query-ready by the Fall of 2021. Are you taking part in NaNoWriMo this year? What steps have you taken to be more successful? I would love to hear about it and cheer you on in our common goal to create our art. Happy writing! 👨🏼💻📝
Chris Kauzlarich 