Now Is Not The Time To Panic

Have you ever noticed that many times in our lives we don’t bother to do some things until the doing is forced upon us.

I’m talking in our daily lives here. Example: You know that the house needs a thorough cleaning, right down to major vacuuming with wand on the drapes and everything. You know that the bathroom is probably growing science projects, and you don’t even want to think about the refrigerator.

When do you really get these things done the way they need to be done? Answer: When you find out that company is coming on short notice and guilt washes over your mind like a London fog, enveloping every other sensation of which you might be capable. Your response to this stressor is to tackle that cleaning like a crazed Merry Maid looking for a hundred dollar tip.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

How about when you put off getting the oil changed in your car? After all, you only drive it around town. You haven’t put on 3000 miles since the last trip onto the rack. Driving around town for six months couldn’t possibly have done anything bad to the car, now could it? Did the dealer tell you about the 3000 mile or three month rule. Yup! Better take ‘er in for that oil chance, tune up, etc.

What about your knowing that you’re going to have to get presents figured out for the family for Christmas, and you’ve decided to make all of them this year. I heard that! I’ve done the hand-made gifts on many occasions. They take lots of time and thought. It’s now November. Why did you wait so long to think about the situation? I can ask that question with a straight face because I’ve decided to make hand-made chapbooks for loved ones this year. I do understand that they will probably get them a wee bit late, but it’s a price I’ll have to pay for craftsmanship.

See what I mean? We know things need done, and we just look at the calendar and tell ourselves that there’s plenty of usable time. Now’s not the time to panic.

Question: When is the time to panic?

All of this brings me to NaNoWriMo. It’s now day 8 of that prestigious month. Words are flying onto hard drives, paper, and websites everywhere. Have you done your NaNo today?

I’ve worked on just about everything but NaNo today. I organized informational brochures for research later on a much different project. Done my duty by the PAD Poetry Chapbook Challenge. I’m covered on the PiBoIdMo Challenge for the month, and then there’s my three NaNo WIPs.

The first is 3/5 finished. I have two more sestinas to write to complete it. I’m not scheduled to begin the second WIP until sometime on the tenth. And I’ll worry about the children’s story book around the twentieth. Sounds so organized when I say that, doesn’t it?

It’s an illusion. I have to do heavy research for those two sestina’s. (Maybe I can get to that after Castle tonight.)

I’ve only thought about the 50-75 poems for the second WIP. It’s not like that should be too hard, do you think? I mean, really, after all, I only need to do a minimum of 5 poems a day for ten days under the theme of “The Forest Primeval.” I have all the photos for inspiration. Oh, yeah, I have to go through those and pull all of the ones I’m going to use for that inspiration. Still, how hard could that be?

As for the storybook; well, I have the photos for that one, too. It should fairly leap onto the page once I have the first word of that adventure down in black and white. I can always count on something coming to me. I’m lucky enough to be one of those people who never gets writer’s block.

Yeah, I’m in good shape for the rest of this month. I have a plan and I’m not afraid to use it. We’re going out for Thanksgiving dinner this year, so I won’t even have that distraction to clutter that third week of the month. How good is that?

So, don’t panic anyone. There’s plenty of time to get everything finished. It’s only November 8. You have 22 more days to get everything done before the official beginning of the Christmas season comes tinkling its merry way into your hearts and shopping mania.

For those Jewish friends of mine, your season starts a bit earlier. Perhaps you should begin your panic a bit earlier as well. For the rest whose holiday season flows slightly differently from Christmas, please adjust your panic accordingly.

Until later at the need for another boost of confidence, sign me out as

Claudsy
　
　
　
　
　

Working Through NaNoWriMo

Most of the writers I know are hip-deep in NaNoWriMo this month. The question arises with each writer, “How can I complete NaNo and do everything else in my normal schedule?”

Whether you’re single or married with a family, as a writer trying to find time to write can be a bummer. For all that, we still manage. I’m luckier than many because I’ve retired from the active work force and can commit whatever time I choose to NaNo’s pursuit.

Take today, for instance. It’s now a quarter past 2pm. Have I started on NaNo yet today? Why yes, I did. I spent a most productive hour on that little beastie before noon. Also before noon I slept until 9:30 (not recommended) because I didn’t get to bed until after 2am. Bathroom duties followed by large coffee, and I was ready to tackle the work.

I checked e-mail—both accounts. Dealt with all that. Checked my favorite forum. We have our own monthly writing challenge over there, so checking on that is habit as much as anything else. Then I did monthly bills. That took time away from writing, but without that time spent, I wouldn’t have a place to write, so it balances out.

Maintenance man came to fix my closet door and replace one of the light fixtures in the kitchen. By the time he left, it was time to decide on a PB idea for PiBoIdMo. I’ve got some doozies going right now. Somewhere in there, I managed to make myself something to eat. I was getting a bit light-headed.

Next, I wrote the Claudsy’s blog post and got it up and running. Now, I’m on this one. When I finish this and get it up, then I can go on to my daily work on the PAD Poetry Chapbook Challenge. It’s only for one poem in rough draft, so that won’t take too long. Then, I’ve got to go to the bank.

From that point on, I can go back to writing on my NaNo poetry book, “Moon Sees All” and hopefully get at least the next sestina finished for that. By that time, it dinner will have found its way to a taco bowl near me. Yes, that’s right. Taco salad all around for this household tonight. Drool, people, drool.

Gotta run so that I can finish and have something of an evening for some studying on another writing program I’m doing. I’m ready for chapter eight out of 24. A writer’s life is always in flux. That’s what I’ve been taught, and I feel it’s the only accurate description of my life.

And to answer the question about completing NaNo and living a normal life, I ask another question. Whoever said a writer had a normal life in the first place? We think differently than "normal" people. Our minds are constantly cluttered with a variety of characters, facts, figures, plans, schedules, etc. that would drive the average person to drink or go mad. We can't look at anything or anyone without trying to place him/her or it into a current WIP or future project.

What about that is normal? Completing NaNo is a goal. Living has nothing to do with that goal, really. Either you find a path using determination and ingenuity or you don't. The ultimate prize from NaNo, however, is the knowledge of what you can do in a time crunch and how much you learn about yourself and your abilities because of your work there.

Take care, all, and be sure to stop long enough to drop me a comment on your writing experience with NaNo, or barring that, your writing experience in general.

Until then,

Claudsy

Let The Insanity Begin

That's right, folks. NaNoWriMo is here, rip-rearing to go. Yours truly will be on the frontlines again this year. Perhaps with hard work, determination, and loads of luck, I'll be able to finish this time around. Family crises have keep me from that goal two years running, so this year I've loaded my weapon of choice and readied to punch out a couple of marketable books of poetry out of this.

I do know that this is for a novel. I haven't had any luck trying to do novels during this monthly endeavor, so I thought I'd switch tacks and try something new. I know it doesn't fit the criteria, but people, criteria is for the writer doing the work. Right. A badge of completion is a wonderful thing. But for me, it's the dedication of the month to doing only writing on one selected project to get it to a point where finishing it is doable in a short amount of time and getting it out to publishers.

I have these two books of poetry I need to get written for me. Not for anyone else. Personally, I do have three such books to do, but I thought that might stretch things a bit. To that end, I picked up a children's illustrated story book instead.

Thank you. Thank you very much. I do know I'm slipped a few gears. But it was so kind of you to point that out so that it's been verified.

Now that you know how I'll be spending most of my time for the next month, what do you intend to do to keep yourself occupied?

I've been submitting articles, stories, and poems like mad for the past few weeks, so that I could clear the way for this wonderful challenge.

Have a great week, my friends. If you're doing NaNo along with me and the rest of my friends, good luck, and have lots of fun along the way. I'll drop in here every few days to report on my progress. I'll consider that my coffee break around the water cooler.

Until then,

Claudsy