A 2012 Participant, R.D. Girvan hopes to bat 1000, earning her 4th NaNoWriMo win.

My friend Natasha Deen is a terrific writer who is also participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  This is an annual contest where over 300,000 writers from around the World must write a 50,000 words novel within the 30 days of November.  It’s like a marathon:  cross the 50,000 word finish line and you win.

This morning, Natasha posted:   Day seven of NaNoWriMo and in order to reach my 1667 words/day, I’m tempted to start writing sentences like: She was sad, depressed really. Actually, she was despondent, very, very, very, very, very, very, very despondent…

I replied:  That’s a really, really, really, really, good idea. In fact, I am tempted to say that again… that’s a really, really, really… 🙂

Holy Hannah, is 50,000 words in 30 days ever a LOT!  I am so behind…

If you’ve experienced me NaNoWriMo-ing before, this will sound familiar.  Even the kids have heard this so often about NaNo that when I say, “I am so behind…” they are not alarmed or distressed.  They just smile and nod.

One year, I still had about 10,000 words to go and only 2 days left to do it.  That’s the year I got my scar:  I slipped on a front walk and cracked my chin open on a concrete step.  In the process, I sprained both wrists while trying to break my fall.   After returning home from the hospital (6 surface stitches and 2 deep tissue), I noticed that my wrists were starting to stiffen up.   I figured that if I went to bed, they would seize up entirely and I wouldn’t be able to type the next day.  So I stayed up until I was done, hitting 50,002 words at about noon on the 30^th.

This is a good indicator of how determined/persistent (perhaps “stubborn”) I am, but it’s still no guarantee, so I repeat:  I’m so behind…really, really, really behind.  🙂 Rd