An Eclectic Mind

Am I committed enough?

I haven’t done a thing to prepare for NaNoWriMo since my last “journal” entry about it almost a week ago. That’s got me thinking: how committed am I to this project?

There’s plenty to do. I still need to review my notes and refresh my memory about the characters I created five or more years ago. I have to remember the rather complex mystery genre plot, which needs to be presented properly to give readers a solvable puzzle that’s not too easy to solve. I still need to go over the outline and make more detailed notes about the scenes — including the scenes I wrote that were lost in that hard disk crash.

Instead, my days have been filled with getting my helicopter charter business ready for the fall season and entertaining house guests. Evenings like yesterday’s — which I’d be spending on my NaNoWriMo project during November — were taken up with modifying the never-ending collection of forms I need to provide concierges with paperwork to sell tours and day trips for me.

Will I be disciplined enough come November 1 to spend each evening working on the novel? Or will I be burned out by 4 PM from a full day in front of the computer or dealing with flying or passengers?

And that brings up what’s really on my calendar for the first week of November: a 6-day helicopter excursion. It’s my last scheduled excursion for the season and I meet my passengers on November 1 at 10 AM. I’ll be responsible for their transportation and making sure they complete their itinerary smoothly. So for the first six days, I’ll be on the road. Will I be able to bring my notes with me? Sit down to write every evening? Although I think I will, I’m wondering if I’m committed enough to really do it.

And that’s what NaNoWriMo is all about: setting aside time for an entire month to force yourself to get a project done. Forget excuses, forget procrastination. Take a month, make the time you need, and get it done.

In this point in my career as I writer, I know I can finish a book-length work in a month. I’ve done it before. But I’ve never done it for fiction. So the question is: how important is this to me? Important enough to make it happen when I’ve clearly demonstrated that I can?

I guess I’ll know for sure at November month-end.

The Writing Life fiction, NaNoWriMo, novels, writing

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