Greetings fellow Grinders, did you find your writing pace? Do you have it broken down to an hourly average? Post it up, I want to hear about it. You need to know that finding your rate is going to play a huge role in several posts while we prepare for NaNo and will pay you big dividends the more you write. Learning your writing pace is a great exercise that will tie into our next topic, learning to lift 50,000 words. Wow, lifting 50K words, it sure sounds hard, and I will help you lift it so lets go.
You are probably wondering why I keep saying "lift" instead of "write" your 50K, well it isn't a typo, there is a reason for it so you'd better read on. It all boils down to one of the leading causes of people falling short of their 50K during NaNo, they all try to lift all 50K at once instead of working up to it. It is no different than someone who has finally decides to get in shape, which is a goal much like writing a novel because it will take maximum commitment, and yet they try and do 50 or 100 pushups or run 5 or 10 miles the first day of their new resolution. I bet you probably chuckled or rolled your eyes when you read that an imagined someone doing that their first time working out in well maybe forever. They are going to fail most of the time right?
Of course they are and not just because if it were that easy everyone would be doing it. The reason we fail when we try to go for broke on our new goal is because we need to build a habit, to work toward obtaining discipline and willpower to do something when all you want to do is anything else, even the dishes or those 100 pushups.
Writing is a lot like working out. I say that because all too often I hear of someone who writes casually, or worse hasn't written in a long time, who finally says, "I am going to write that novel" and then try and do it all in a day or two, what do you think happens next? Do they make it?
I bet you sighed, rolled your eyes and maybe even laughed again. Good. Understanding your limitations is the first key to building a habit. So how do you build a writing habit? How can you write your 50K words in just 30 days? The answer is simple, NaNo doesn't start on November 1st, NaNo begins right now -- today.
Here is my challenge to you. If you have a writing habit now, great, push yourself further, but for the vast majority of you who aren't satisfied with your habit, today is the first day of the rest of your writing life. Set a daily goal and hit it today before you go to bed. If you haven't written anything in a while, it doesn't matter how long, start with 100 words and if you feel adventurous aim for 300. And in a week or so bump it up 20% and try to hit 4-500 words. A week later try and hit 750 and the week after target 1,000 and when NaNo rolls up in 4 1/2 weeks you will be really close to 1,667.
It will be hard at first, and you will probably miss a day, it happens. Don't kick your ass about it, don't let the guilt break your progress, kick the feeling that you can't do it square in the balls and laugh. Because writing 50K words is hard to do, but the truth is you can't write 50K any faster than you can write 1K because you still have to write it one word at a time.
It doesn't matter if its one mile ran or one push up done, you have to start small and work your way up to writing to the pace you want. The key is to start now and condition yourself, learn your flow, time your pace, measure your progress. Because when November starts you will have the knowledge, experience and ultimately the confidence you need to tackle all 50K and then some.
So Grinders, what is your word goal today? This week? By the end of the month? Where would you like to finally end up someday with your daily writing goal? Tell me all about it in the comments or shoot me an email. And if you don't want to share it, that's fine, I respect it, but respect yourself and take that goal and write it down on paper, the back of your hand, in a phone or smear food on a wall, but write it down and stick to it.
Until next time, keep grinding out your words.
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