NaNoWriMo… The Fear is Real

We’re celebrating NaNoWriMo this week at The Midnight Society. Because, let’s be honest…it can get a little scary.

I am not participating. I have never attempted the crazy race to write 50,000 words in one month. Dude, that’s insane. So I have been watching the tweets and FB posts as the month progresses and cheering you on, because you’re nuts and by nuts I mean FANTASTICALLY CRAZY AWESOME!

The month began with hope and planning, with excitement and readiness to write all the words.

However, the excitement has faded. Word counts vary from ahead of schedule, to on target, to WELL I’M BEHIND AND BEHINDER AND OMG WHAT AM I DOING?

Outlines have been stabbed to death. Fear of failure runs amok. Everyone has reached that dreaded middle of the WIP where you have no idea if the story is working anymore. Heck you have no idea where the story is going.

I’m with you. I have hit about 25K in my WIP (no, I did NOT write all that this month) and I am slogging through the muck. I know where it’s going (I think), but I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO GET THERE! This seriously slows the adding to the word count thing.

To those of you trudging through the slimy guts of NaNo… KEEP GOING! I applaud you for getting to whatever point you have reached. Because to take on this battle is a tremendous accomplishment, unlike others (YES ME I AM A BIG SCAREDY CAT) who back away slowly with our hands up.

DON’T LET NANO BECOME A SLASHER FILM! Even though…yes, I’m sure your outline needed to die by chainsaw or fire or ripped to shreds by knives.

DON’T LET THE MONTH BECOME A HORROR STORY!

DON’T LET WHAT YOU HAVEN’T WRITTEN HAUNT YOU!

Because in the end this is supposed to be a way to do your best, to write words. New words are all we need. Relax. You got this.

Whether it’s 50,000 or 2.5 words, I AM IN AWE OF YOU!

NaNo is not for the weak.

Keep writing. Keep smiling. And in case the ghosts of words past do show up to scare you…keep the lights on!