Writing

NaNoWriMo Day One: When Things Don’t Go as Planned

Journaling my novel-writing journey

Day one of NaNoWriMo didn’t go as planned. I had planned to get up at 5 am and write for two hours before my boys got up. The night before, Halloween night, my younger son wasn’t feeling well after getting home from hanging out with friends, so we stayed up late with him, which carried over to the morning.

He ended up staying home from school yesterday. I stared at a blank Scrivner page, hoping the words would bubble to the surface somehow through my sleep-deprived haze. After a few words trickled out, I decided a nap was needed.

After a two-hour, I shifted my mindset to giving myself grace on this first day of NaNo. My son needed me and that is above anything else. If I wrote on the first day or not, it was okay.

After dinner, I lit my writing candle and squeaked out 624 words, 1000 words short of my daily goal. I reminded my anxious mind, “it’s okay.”

I set goals and take part in writing challenges to keep myself focused. But life is messy. Things happen that are more important than my writing goals.

If your first day didn’t go as planned, it doesn’t mean you failed. You keep going. The journey is still there for you to enjoy, whatever that may look like for you on that day.

— Ellie

“Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived…Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation… Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend. What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here.” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Are you writing a book? I invite you to share your journey at My Novel Journey.

Written by Ellie Jacobson, @2021 all rights reserved.

I’m a freelance writer and editor from Minnesota, writing my first novel, a psychological suspense novel. Are you a writer? Check out Sparks, my newsletter filled with writing prompts to spark your creativity.

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