I’m at around 46,000 words into my new story. Happily, I can say I have not missed a day of writing since NaNoWriMo started. That’s not because I’m such an incredible writer, nothing stops me. It’s because I committed to writing bit by bit each day, even when I knew what I was producing wasn’t great.
Adding stars to my calendar and hitting my numbers was all that mattered.
But now we face a new challenge as we enter the final week of NaNoWriMo: the Holidays.
It’s almost cruel to have picked November for this event. Obviously, we will run afoul trying to hit our numbers as the holidays approach. How can we keep the momentum going as we make plans for Thanksgiving, doing all the things we wanted to do?
While not everyone will be traveling this year, given restrictions, the holidays are a time when we should take a break, unwind, and just relax. There will be plans and events happen as well, taking a big bit out of our time.
But if we’ve stuck with NaNoWriMo this far, there’s no reason to stop. Even during the holidays, we can set a little bit of time aside to hit our goals–before getting back to friends and family.
That’s why setting goals, making the time to write, and staying focus is so important. As usual, the stuff you write during the holidays might not be great. You might rush through it or feel a tad distracted. That’s okay. What matters is you’re learning how to stick with your goals even when distractions are afoot.
That’s a good skill to have, no matter the month. Because life doesn’t stop just because you’re a writing. We need to learn how to get things done, regardless of what’s going on.