Juiced On Writing

I thought I’d best deal with my feelings right now, for posterity. Onto paper (even if electronic) out of mind, right?

I’m not so sure. It’s day 23, 7 official days to go, but I’m more aware of trying to get the darned novel finished completely before the date the NaNoWriMo full wordcount feature is opened up (is it the 28th?) so that I can have that full novel counted.

Yesterday I had the day off again from writing – not planned, but my family went Christmas Shopping, on one of the few Saturdays we could arrange all the duckies in a row. Today, I had grand plans, it being an awful day out there, to make up for the off-day yesterday, and perhaps to even write 6000+ words. Instead, I spent the morning cursing my computer and the new phone I got as an early Christmas gift – both of which weren’t talking with each other properly. I’ve detected and repaired, reinstalled from disk, and reset so many times, that I missed out on two hours of writing time.

So, my plans stumpered, I write this with only 3000 words under my belt, and a legitimate worry that with at least three chapters to go, the novel isn’t going to be finished in time for the big word count. Perhaps it’s not that great a threat, but every time I setout with plans to correct the situation, the world gets in the way.

Two weeks ago, my part-time employer “suggested” I might like to start taking a qualifications course, which requires 12-18 months study, trips weekly out to the course – and I stupidly said yes. Not so bad, if it wasn’t starting the next evening, and we were already one week behind the other participants. Homework, and helping the other person from my work doing the same course – and I feel completely snowed under.

And then there’s the additional days work I’ve been called to do, to cover sicknesses at this time of the year, and there’s the fact my husband has been sick with real flu for over a week, and his rasping snores at night have left me with even less sleep for that week than he thinks he got. And now he’s finally – after days of saying it wouldn’t happen, against the odds – he’s passed on the flu to me.

Snowed under by the world. Do you ever get that feeling that the whole darned world is out to put paid to your writing efforts? Plotting, tinkering, putting things in your path?

Of course, that’s not the correct attitude when faced with seven days, and 30,000 odd words to go. Here, I have to pull out the big guns – lots of vitamin C, saying no to additional work requests, asking my husband to keep my daughter occupied – away from me – and not taking any notice of the soreness in my throat. Oh, and sitting down to the computer and writing, even if my new phone won’t synch up properly.

Good luck to all of those who are now entering the last week of this year’s NaNoWriMo. I know what it feels like now.

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