Just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing…

Well, I was behind this whole week. Never very far behind, but behind nonetheless. And now the holiday weekend is upon us. I know a lot of people worry about being able to keep up the pace during the holiday, but my husband and I are planning a relatively chill long weekend. There will be family time, of course, but there will also be plenty of time to write. And with a weekend write-in, I have faith that I’ll be able to catch up now so I’m not desperately trying to hit word count on November 30.

Despite still being behing, my takeaway from this week is that even though I’ve been behind, and even though I haven’t made my word count on some of the days, I still kept writing. I wrote every day, even when it was hard, even when other things had to happen in my life, I still found the time to write some words. I’m still developing this habit, and rather than being discouraged by those smaller numbers, I choose to be encouraged by the fact that I kept going. I’ve continued to keep writing, just a few words, a few sentences, a scene or two.

V.E. Schwab happened to put into words recently the problem that I’ve been butting up against for the last few years. I’ve spent so much time not writing, telling myself, “This isn’t a good time, I have to wait for the right time, for when the time feels right.” But as she said (and of course I’m paraphrasing), there will never be a right time. Life won’t stop, it won’t hold still, it won’t make the time for you.

You have to make the time. And if it’s really important to you, then you’ll figure out a way to make it happen.

Day 15: 2,161 (24,307) (NaNoWriMo Goal: 25,000)
Day 16: 722 (25,029) (NaNoWriMo Goal: 26,667)
Day 17: 2,340 (27,369) (NaNoWriMo Goal: 28,333)
Day 18: 1,879 (29,248) (NaNoWriMo Goal: 30,000)
Day 19: 1,007 (30,255) (NaNoWriMo Goal: 31,667)
Day 20: 2,096 (32,351) (NaNoWriMo Goal: 33,333)
Day 21: 1,671 (34,022) (NaNoWriMo Goal: 35,000)

There are some smaller word counts for this week in there, but I feel good knowing that it’s not because I got stuck or because I just didn’t want to write. The 16th was a close friend’s birthday. That I managed to write 722 words before heading out for birthday dinner and drinks makes me really proud of myself. The 19th was evening plans with another friend, and much fun was had, and I still managed to write 1007 words before heading to sleep that night. Dedication and discipline!