Another
month has passed. Some days I've impressed myself, some well let's just say I
wanted to hit myself. And some others I hadn't even noticed when they passed. I
was just startled that the end of the month had arrived and there I was missing
and skipping days. Unawares.
I
have realised something while writing over the past few months. Whenever I
write, especially 1,000 or more words in a sitting, I get cocky. I become proud, but my pride hinders me in fulfilling my quest and meeting my target.
At
first, I thought it was just the taste of accomplishment. But month after
month, I realised the feeling is recurrent. And hindering.
I
don't know if that's just me, or if other writers struggling to jot a book down
or meet their writing targets have the same problem. But it's definitely a
problem. And if you're like me, setting a doable target each month, then
exceeding a daily quota on some days, feeling proud and lazing the next few
days, then you, too, are suffering the same problem.
September achievements:
·
4-5 poems
·
5,462 words for Darya's story
that's around 55% of my target
·
4 book reviews
·
1,724 words in other projects
·
Three prose pieces (most of
them have not been copied)
·
1 Article (The August Writing
Progress piece)
Total word count for September 2017 (excluding
uncopied pieces, book reviews, & August progress piece): 7,186 words
October is a new month, which means a new chance and
new attempt. In Darya's story, I haven't written a
thing. I wrote around 1,500 words in another project I'm saving for NaNoWriMo
(but keeps jumping in my head). But so far, I'm 10 days in October – my
favourite month – and I basically haven't moved from square 0.
But
there are 20 more days to make up for my laziness. Then, I'll be off to the
tough stuff aka NaNoWriMo – or so I thought
when I had originally written this piece and was planning to publish it in
October. More on that in the
October progress report.
For
those who are unfamiliar with NaNoWrimo. It stands for National Novel Writing
Month and entails a tough target of 50,000 per month, that's 1,667 words per
day. Your story can be in the language of your choice. All you have to do is
make up your mind and sacrifice a few things, like outings and socialising, to
meet your target.
Writers
from around the world try their hand at it, every November. You don't have to
travel anywhere, just the comfort of your laptop and track your progress
online. The NaNoWriMo website tells you how much of your target you've achieved
and how much you have left.
For October and as I write this, I want to remind
myself that it's good to be proud of one's achievements but not to let those
achievements hinder future ones. Pride is after all a deadly sin, and I'm not
planning on dying until I finish these books I have in my head.
Who's with me?
*feels like I'm readying myself and others for war, right?*
I'll
be taking part in November's NaNoWriMo, which means my posts might be fewer.
I'm not planning on reading much during that month. May be one book just to
keep my mind working.
If
you're taking part next month, whether with the 50,000-word target or less,
join me and let's support each other via Twitter and Facebook.
If
you have certain music that you like listening to while writing, please share
it in the comments below or via Twitter or Facebook.
This post was written on Tuesday, 10 October 2017. (A little late in writing this post and publishing it)
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