If you are still behind, this entry is for you. My friend, the time has come to make a decision. Do you want to continue? We have four days left in this challenge. That is plenty of time to catch up, provided you have at least 15,000 words. If you are under this threshold, but have a firm grasp on your story and are able to clear your schedule, go for it. If not, sadly, I think it is safe to say you will not cross the finish line. However, you can still write to your heart’s content and finish this story at a time that is a little less hectic for you.
Now, on to the rest of you who are woefully behind and wondering if you can make it. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. See if you can clear out some writing time. Stay up later. Put on your best writing music and write. You are on a deadline. That pretty finish line ribbon we discussed this weekend will be taken down. You can still finish after that time, of course, but the NaNo deadline is approaching. You have four days.
Can you do this? Absolutely. You can buckle down, drive out distractions, and type to your heart’s content. If you’re sorely lacking in words, stop using contractions. Remove dashes from words that should be strung together. If you’re running out of plot and still need words, include song lyrics. Include the artist name. Describe a new landscape or a new outfit.
Remember it’s okay to come back later and fix things. Your purpose this month is not to fix what you’ve written. Your purpose this month is to get it written. Get that story out of your head and onto the page. Worry about the things that don’t need to be there or the wrong choice of words later. Today, your goal is to write. I have not bugged you before now about getting ahead.
But as of today, you only have four days! You not only must write, but you must write more than your daily quota. You know your best day’s word count? Try to beat that today. You are close to the finish line! Don’t quit!
Now is a good time to remind you that NaNo’s word counter is different than yours. Sample what you have and see if their word counter puts you ahead or behind. Adjust accordingly.
That pretty finish line ribbon is still strung across the borders that mark your 50,000th word. That line is incredibly close. Keep going!
I think one of my greatest strengths as a NaNoer is not worrying about how crap my writing is and all the things that need fixing, during the first draft. I know other writers are more perfectionist with their rough drafts than that, but not me. ;)
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