8 Days to Nano

I was a baaad novelist last night. Closing in on a week from Kickoff & I didn't so much as crack open a single page for research last night. Bad writer, bad. To be fair, last night I was a bit out of it. Has anybody else ever gone to grab a couple Tylenol for a headache & nabbed the P.M. kind instead?? No?....I figured as much. That takes a whole special kind of stupid, lol. Anyway, I spent half the night feeling all buzzed & spaced out, which is always just how you want to feel an hour before work. Go me.

Every year I have friends tell me I'm completely nuts for doing NaNo, but I came to a realization. NaNo, to people that like it, is sort of like Christmas when you're little. You wait for it all year, the closer it comes the more antsy you get, you see people you like but haven't seen since last year, when it finally arrives you can't tear through paper fast enough, about halfway through your momentum flags & your energy dips a bit & you're just ready to be done for the year & once it's over you're spent & a little dazed. But, once it wears off a few days later you just start eyeballing the calendar all over again.

Am I saying that NaNo is like being overstuffed with ham dinner, a bit buzzed from too much eggnog & frayed from hours of having your personal space invaded b an ever widening circle of annoying relatives?...Well, only sometimes. Lol. Once a story really gets going it'll pull you along, regardless of other things. You can be busy or tired, it doesn't care, it just wants to hit the page. When it gets going you'll find spots that just drag you along whether you knew they were coming or not, twists & dialog just pour out without you even knowing they were lurking back there. When the story gets the characters talk to you, all the time, each clamoring for attention & page time & bigger scenes & better dialog &...&....

And the sick part of it all, much like too much dinner & annoying relatives on Christmas, once it's over you're really sorry to see it go.