Day 3: NaNoWriMo: How to Handle Distractions

Have I failed if I miss my daily writing session?

So, up front, I’m behind on my words.Yesterday, Day 2, I managed to carve out about a thousand words from the ragtag outline I put together and some ideas that came to me while I was at the gym.

The headwinds I’ve been up against are lack of sleep from the Daylights Savings time change and my total obsession with this election. I’m not going to turn this post into a political rant, but life gets in the way of our best intentions. So if you’re signed up for NaNoWriMo, good on you if none of your life events ever stalls your commitment to finish your book in 30 days.

Two things came to me, however, as I began to started writing this book. First, priorities matter. I don’t take this commitment lightly, but on occasion, I’ll have to put my book aside to take care of business. I’m too old to do my best work when I’m feeling sick from lack of sleep. I spent many days during my work life showing up exhausted when I could have used a day off. When I officially retired I decided I didn’t have to do that any more. I’m also willing to put this project aside when I’m not at my best or because I need to deal with an important event. Paying attention to this election qualifies for me.

Second, I know that I can make up the word count if I take a day off because I know my work ethic. Breaking my string of 2300-word days doesn’t mean I won’t make them up down the line. Freaking out because I had a short word day distracts me from my work.

For instance, I didn’t get as many words done because I was just too tired, but I did a lot of thinking and some research. The book has taken hold so ideas and insights are beginning to pop up when I least expect them. I can incorporate them into scenes at a later date.

Can you see what I’m getting at here? Not all writing takes place during a specific writing session. I remember Toni Morrison saying she some of her best work while she was shopping for groceries. She’d reach for milk or butter and get a flash that would help her understand the point of a scene.

When a big project like a book takes hold, it’s with you 24/7. Be prepared to have character descriptions strike you while you’re pumping gas or as you begin to separate your whites from your colors, you may suddenly find a string of dialogue come to you whole that has escaped you for days.

When that lucky bolt of lightening strikes, it can set off a stream of writing that wipes out the need to count every “at” and “the” to squeeze in your word count for the day. These spurts of insight can turn on a faucet that will make up for some short word days.

I’m starting to feel aspects of the story push to the surface. I’ve had several first lines come to me, and while I’m not sure I have the one to start the book, each of them has given me an insight to the central theme and the changes in my character since the last book.

My big struggle that has slowed me down is figuring out the method my killer used to take out the victim. I spent a good bit of time yesterday, instead of writing, researching the Internet and figuring out if any of the methods I uncovered would work for me. I’m at a point where I can’t move forward without knowing the cause of death. I’m counting research time as writing.

There are also many unknowns in a mystery for me. I never start out with all the answers figured out. In my first book, Arsenic and Armoires, I didn’t know the identity of the killer until the last chapter when I was writing the big reveal. But it didn’t matter, because I had included enough red herrings that allowed me to keep writing until I’d eliminated all but the actual killer.

In this new book, the whole plot revolves around how this victim met his/her end. This morning, however, when I continued searching the Internet for some help on a method of murder, something I read sparked a memory from my own life. A light bulb went off and I had my cause of death. No, not because I’ve used it on my own victim, you just never know where your inspiration will come from.

I still have a lot of details to figure out, but I feel as though I’m on my way. But not today. I’m a political junky and today is too important to me to focus on writing. I’m glued to the TV to follow returns, plus, the lack of sleep had made me worthless at writing. I’m ready to dig in tomorrow though.

So what can you take from this scattershot approach to NaNoWriMo? I’m not recommending a lax approach to producing your daily word count if you’re serious about finishing your book by the end of November. It’s easy to make up a day or two or three of missed work. More than that you have to be prepared to put into a lot of time.

But you can do it, or get very close.

If you haven’t read between the lines, I’m pointing out that writing creates uncertainty. You never know when some something will come along and upset your careful plan for completion. Should this happen, don’t let it throw you. You don’t have to give up your project or consider yourself a failure if you miss a day. You make adjustments and push on.

Writing is like life. Mary Oliver said the road to heaven is not laid out in flat miles. Neither is the road to a completed book. Work hard, work every day, and when you can’t, take care of your life and come right back to it. You don’t follow a recipe when you write a book. You do the best you can, you don’t give up, and you don’t freak out when you have to make adjustments.

Good luck and happy writing.

I’m an editor and writer on Medium with Top Writer status. I’m also an editor for the publication, Rogues Gallery. I’ve published 55 titles on Amazon and edit for private clients. If you’d like to hire me as your editor for fiction, non-fiction, or business writing, please contact me here. If you’d like to read more of my work on Medium, click here to sign up for my newsletter. Thank you for reading and stay safe.