On Writing and NaNoWriMo

I decided I would join the National Novel Writing Month challenge and committed to finishing my second novel, MIND MATTERS in the month of November. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I’m quite good at procrastination and forcing myself to finish this work should forestall my usual dithering.

Today being Friday the 13th seems like a good time to face my mistakes, well, some of them anyway. The list is long, so I’ll just admit I’m not progressing well on my writing challenge. What was I thinking? Finish a book I was only on Chapter Twelve of in the space of one month??? Madness, sheer madness! I’m actually writing here to avoid the pages of my story. It’s not that I don’t know where to go with the story. I have it all mapped out in my head and up until now, it was flowing rather well. But now I have a deadline. Holy Crap! Why am I Blocked?? Why is a deadline so daunting?

If you have read this far you will note that this is all in my head, such a mess. I set myself a deadline and then choked. All the advice from authors is to write and write every day. Well, I’m not built that way. I write when the story forms the words in my head. Sounds totally crackers when you write it down, but some of my best work, according to my editor, John Hudspith, has been when I am lost in my own story. My characters become real to me and their journey is what I must record. I’m still reading my first book, working on clarity and that holy and sacred point of view elephant in the work.

Enough drivel! I admit I’m flawed. I can’t force the words onto the page. If I’m not with my characters, I can’t tell their story with the heart and soul they deserve. These novels are a collection of real people, some I’ve known and some I only wished I could have known. So I will stop now and get out of my own way. My first novel, LIGHTED WINDOWS is nearing final edit and I will be releasing it soon. My editor has many kind words for the work and sooner or later I must let it  go, just as I must embrace my new characters. They deserve my full attention. Their story is something that will flow if I can simply get out of the way.