Declaring my own WeNoFinMo!

Novel writing isn't exactly like completing a puzzle. When I put together a puzzle, I can leave the puzzle pieces off to the side for quite a while and merely pick up the endeavor for five minutes here or there, as time allows. If I go downstairs and think that I can sneak a few, I might set a limited goal of putting 5 to 10 pieces in place. Nothing doing ... no problems (well, that is, if small boys aren't off chucking salt out of the water softener).

However, I have found that when I attempt to snag a half hour or two for working on my novel, it doesn't work. I spend the entire first 30 minutes reminding myself where I am in the process. It is like the picture on the front of the puzzle box fades if I walk away from it and then determining where the pieces go becomes far more of a challenge.

When I participated in NaNoWriMo, back in November, I merely dedicated myself to sit down with the novel every evening until I had completed the 50,000 words of my goal. Most nights, all I re-read was the previous sentence or paragraph. Now, I have to remind myself of where I was at and where I was going.

So, I have decided that the best course of action is to throw myself in to NaNo mode again. Thus, I am declaring the month of May as my own "Wendy's Novel Finishing Month!"

I received this clever, amusing letter from the NaNoWriMo people back in December:

Dear Writer,

I ran into your 2009 NaNoWriMo novel yesterday, and it said that you two are currently "taking a break." I offered my condolences and mentioned that I'd probably be seeing you today. It quickly scribbled out a note for me to give you. The note seemed kind of personal, so I didn't read it. Here it is!

"Hi! Come back to me. I'll be better this time, I promise!"


Okay, so I accidentally read it. Wowza! That book loves you! And this is really none of my business, but if it were my business, I would tell you that you've been smart to let things cool down this month. November was a wild, tumultuous time, filled with expectations and hopes---some met, others unfulfilled. Before any of us had a chance to work out exactly where things stood with our books, the clock ran out and we were swept back into the flow of our busy lives. Our books, meanwhile, have been working themselves into a funk over their plummeting standing on our "recently accessed documents" list.

No pressure, though! You've got a lot on your plate right now, and you can't be expected to drop everything and rush back into the arms of some moony novel you just met last month.

I would, however, love to see you guys get back together in January.

I chuckled, but that was about as far as it went. I have written a total of 2,500 words since November. That is both sad and pathetic. Especially because I actually do have an idea of what the big picture is supposed to look like. I know what happens to bring about the climax. I don't know how it ends, but I have a feeling that will take care of itself once I get closer to the denoument!

Feel free to drop by and hold me accountable. I will try to keep track of the numbers on the side-bar. It was just too good a book to let sit on the back burner for too long. If it helps, picture my rear end with a large "Kick Me ... if I'm not writing" sign on it." Hee-hee.