Last month, I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo. I focussed on word count, aiming to add another 10,000 words to my work in progress.
If I could write 333 words every day, I'd hit my goal. Most days, I wrote 300 to 500 words. Some days I wrote many more but other days I wrote nothing. I woke up on April 30 with 2,300 words left to reach my goal, and the horrible realisation that April only had 30 days, not 31.
In all the fiction writing I've done, my best day was 1,300 words. Could I beat that? Could I beat it by 1,000 words?
Challenge accepted.
I never found that state of flow I was searching for but little by little, the words added up. I dictated in the car on the school run. I wrote while eating lunch. I did a writing sprint with a friend. I snuck away from the dinner party I was hosting to hide in the bedroom and write. I sat up until midnight and I made it.
I feel inspired. I want to keep the momentum going but I don't want that much pressure hanging over me. After missing a few days of writing, I found it took longer to get back into the story. I had to read over what I'd written and think about what was to come.
This month, I'm challenging myself to write something every day. It could be 1,000 words. It could be one. As long as I add something to my story.
Will you join me?