{"id":1185,"date":"2018-12-03T19:50:28","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T00:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=1185"},"modified":"2018-12-03T19:50:28","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T00:50:28","slug":"no-gain-no-shame-when-life-gets-in-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/03\/no-gain-no-shame-when-life-gets-in-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"No Gain, No Shame: When Life Gets in the Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p> $\"\"$ NaNoWriMo<\/a> always surprises me. Every Fall, it hovers around the corner like one of our kittens, furry butt wiggling in preparation for The Pounce and, the minute November 1 arrives, it attacks my conscience. I always want to be a NaNoWriMo writer. I\u2019ve occasionally planned to participate. It just never works out.\n

Maybe it\u2019s just me. I know I\u2019m not the only writer who has a busy life outside my writing projects, but since 2018 opened its doors, I\u2019ve jumped in with both feet to multiple twitter pitch parties. I submitted to Pitch Wars. I joined Critters<\/a>, where I am an active critique participant. I\u2019ve taken at least three in-depth classes at The Muse Center<\/a>, all of which called for critiquing of other writers\u2019 works, and critiqued a full novel for a fellow Critter.<\/p>\n

By the time November came around, I didn\u2019t have a massive enough project to tackle for NaNoWriMo to seem doable. Yes, there is the third book in The Founder\u2019s Seed<\/em> arc. I\u2019ve outlined it, but until book one is picked up (or self-published), and the second one is closer to that end, book three shall remain in the planning stage.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ve been idle. Oh no. This year, I\u2019ve completed another set of revisions on TFS book one, and completed a first draft on book two, which came in at just a smidge over 100K words. I\u2019ve written four new short stories, revised six others, and started three more. That feels like a lot, to me. I just didn\u2019t do it all in thirty days. (Hey, we can\u2019t all be Brandon Sanderson<\/a>.) I\u2019m not terribly effective when it comes to time-management, so I write when\/where I can, and don\u2019t much care what the calendar says.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong. I love the idea of NaNoWriMo, and gleefully cheer on all those who participate. Truth be told, I\u2019d love to take it on in 2019 (or 2020). There may yet be a year for that but, apparently for me, this is not the one.<\/p>\n

In truth, I\u2019ve been in something of a slump since the middle of September. Work and kittens and an assortment of Life Challenges have all gotten between me and my keyboard. But I suppose that happens to us all, on occasion. The trick is not to let it get you down. I keep telling myself this. So far, it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo? If so, Yay You<\/strong>! What was your final tally for the whole month? Share your NaNo stories here \u2026 that way I can at least celebrate vicariously through your success!<\/p>\n

Time Flies photo by Angeleses<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"