At the end of October, I decided to do my fifth NaNoWriMo as a way to finish this draft of my manuscript. Each night I take a moment to think about what’s on for the next day, and I have added into my list four boxes for half hour blocks of writing. I have shuffled my life around to make those moment happen, even if it has meant staying up late, writing during lunch breaks, leaving the house early to park myself somewhere before I go to work. It’s been a good practice for me to think about how I can fit more writing time in.
I was on track until the last couple of days last week. I attended the Indigenous Place Intensive run through Writers Victoria, which was an incredible couple of days, but it used up every little bit of me.
This week, I’m tucked away in a room of my own with a wonderful view. It’s my writer’s group twice-yearly retreat. I’ve set the bar high for myself. In the five days that I’m here, I’m aiming for 30-40 thousand words redrafted. It’s going well, which may have something to do with the lack of internet (I’ve ducked into town to do this and catch up on some emails and other admin things) and the fact that my mind knows what do to when I’m here.
We come to the same place each time, and we run it with the Varuna rules (be quiet, keep to yourself, work hard, and gather at about 6pm to eat, drink and chat). So far I’ve managed to work through 17,000 words. I think I’m on track to hit my goal (WOOT!) which will mean that I have December and January to let it sit and rest while I work on other things.
Yay to everyone else out there doing NaNoWriMo! I hope you have wonderful views like I do.
