3 Days till NaNoWriMo/Nov PAD

I'm not panicking per se, but I am feeling the heat from my seat. There are only 3 days and about 2 hours left until November starts (yay?). 

I am still in the "Listomania" phase of prep. My scramble-to-the-starting-line-list for the remaining days looks like this:

To Do List

1. Clear work space
2. Buy cereal and pancake mix
3. Clear off old recordings on cell phone 
4. Write research paper
5. Write monthly assignment for local Writing Group
6. Read "How Not To Write A Novel" 
7. Secure a notebook for writing away from computer
8. Finalize novel ideas/plans at LitLift.com

I got most of my list ideas from Routines for Writing and Lizanne's MicroNano series. The others are results of my panicking. I want to get all the extraneous writing done before November starts, but I see how lofty my goals are. I projected about three school-related bottlenecks that might hinder my progress next month and I cannot do anything about them but wait for the interruption. Not excited about that.

Tech Notes

I am excited to get the project started. The LitLift writing software is awesome. It has been helping my me sort out my ideas the way I like them organized and because I can access it online, I can have my notes on any computer. 

I will be writing mostly on 750words.com and Google Docs for the same reasons: accessibility through the internet. Plus, I've failed at my last attempt at the monthly challenge on 750words.com to write each day. Killing two birds with one stone, or one story. At the end of each day I will back up my work in a regular old MS Word file. There will be at least two copies floating around.

Accountability

As if my pride wouldn't be scarred enough, I am going to extend the cool rewards/punishments feature to you all. In your comments please tell me what you prescribe:

If you succeed, you should…

If you miss a day or more, you should…

Example: 

If I succeed, I will treat myself to dinner and a movie. 

If I miss a day or more, I will go running at midday instead of 7 a.m.

Go crazy. Triple dog dare me.

Power of Words

Check out my pretty word clouds adapted from this blog!

Create your own at www.wordle.net

Making Plans for NaNoWriMo

I drew up an outline and a calendar for next month, plus I completed my Creativity Challenge Workbook.

I also reinstated my Google calendar "Daily Schedule" as a time table to organize my work days for school and NaNo-ing.

I tried out my plot on a critique group last Thursday. It went well. They liked it and helped me see some holes and unanswered questions I missed.

I made some cool new WriMo friends and got myself a mentor! My very own NaNo veteran! I was very excited about that. They are nice encouraging people and I can already sense their value for next month's adventure. More updates to come...

Juicy Fruit

Getting the competitive juices...flowing?

Yea, that's October for you. The juicing time. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and also home to the November PAD Chapbook Challenge. If anyone else is as crazy as me, willing to try these two (yes, I said two) creative writing competitions - for the first time ever - then please chew on some of this stuff.

1. It's doable (Is that a word yet?)

Sometimes I fear for myself because of my imagination. I like to think things through, to the extent that I often I imagine the worst case scenarios to sort through possible solutions before I do anything. As I said, this is all in my head, so sometimes I psych myself out and say, yea this is doable because if one day I cannot complete the word count quota for NaNoWriMo then the floor will open up and I will fall into a basement not unlike the one that saved the little girl on Himmel Street in The Book Thief and be safe from the raid of failure on my parade. That's seriously what I think sometimes.

With the help of my Creative Challenge Workbook from my friend over at StoryADay.org I learned that facing those fears (realistically) is essential to seeing the competition through to the end. The fact that I can stomach the failure, will urge me to focus more energy on attaining the success.

2. Compete with, not against, yourself


I was forced to do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis on myself during and after last May when I did the Story A Day Challenge. From that experience I learned about my fierce need to win (strength). My fantasy football league is speaking to that truth as well this fall but I know the idea of victory (opportunity) fuels me.

The May Challenge for me was kind of like cannon-balling into a pool, fully dressed, at a party. Its a good idea when you're prepared and garnered with support, like people jumping in with you. Otherwise you just cannonballed into a pool fully dressed at a party and you have to navigate your way out of it.
I see myself doing a bit of this if I fail to plan in time (weakness). I need to have a strategy if I fall off the Poetic bandwagon on Day 3 (thats a tough day!). But lastly, to name the biggest and most likely threat:

3. The Unexpected

No one can expect it, because duh, its unexpected! Unwanted things are going to happen. Thanksgiving is also in November and with that comes a lot of interruptions I can never foresee. The main idea is to remain realistic and flexible. Time management isn't always about sticking to the schedule or anticipating what may happen. It is about dealing with the real life stuff that does happen.

I like taking big bites.