You’re dependable. You’ve written every day, faithfully: 1667 words. Maybe sometimes a little less, maybe sometimes a little more. Your graph is smooth. And no one is asking you if you’ll be ok, because they know the answer: Yes, and you’re doing fine. Just fine. And it feels weird.
Image by Min An via Stocksnap
Because all around you, you’re seeing amazing stories of epic recoveries from behind, or massive leaps ahead. You see the people who somehow did 50k in a week. You see the people who started late and are catching up fast. And you wonder if you’re somehow doing it wrong by doing it steadily and stably.
But here’s the thing about you: your story may not be dramatic (even if your novel is!), but you Get Things Done. You probably decided to do NaNoWriMo to make a commitment to your writing, to turn it into a habit, and you’re succeeding. You’ve found a routine and it’s working. And you plod along until you’re done.
Dramatic bursts catch our attention, but they aren’t really sustainable. You, however–you are sustainable. And you will see this through to the end, and your word count will be an anchor for you even when the month gets a bit weird or stressful.
So, I just want to say: Keep on keeping on. You’re doing great. You’re doing you. And you’re going to succeed. I’m cheering for you.
Report by the numbers
- Days of NaNoWriMo 2019: 25
- Wordcount (at the time of writing, which is Sunday afternoon): 31150
- Worst non-zero daily word count: 192
- Chapters: 15
- Write-ins attended: 3
- Days written: 24
- Times I’ve written angry notes to myself in ALL CAPS for later revision: Too many.
Dr. Cox's Desk 