NaNoWriMo 2017

I'm giving NaNoWriMo a try this year, working toward 50,000 words in a brand new story. It's day two and so far I feel pretty good, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself because I still have 28 days to go (and 45,985 words still to write).

I'm not known for being a fast writer. I've been working on a story for a few years now and it's still not done. So this "write a first draft in thirty days" thing is crazy to me. My hope is that by doing it fast, my overactive judge-y brain won't get in the way so much. I'm praying that writing fast like this helps bring back some of the joy to writing that I once loved, instead of the slow, torturous, self-hating drudgery it's become.

Plus, it's good to try new and scary things every once in a while. I was reminded this on a recent trip to Kings Island. We went with one family goal: ride as many scary roller coasters as possible in one day. Getting off the Flight of Fear coaster, we met a family with two crying kids. The mom admitted they'd tricked the kids into riding their first "upside down" coaster by not mentioning the loops (the ride is inside and in darkness so you don't know what's coming).

My family offered the kids high fives and praise for surviving and sure enough they started grinning and laughing, proud to be in an elite group of thrill seekers unafraid of upside down-ness. Now, I don't know if those kids went on any more coasters that day, or whether they will grow up and need therapy because their parents used the "what they don't know won't hurt them" style of parenting at amusement parks, but I do know that they felt pretty good about trying (even if it was unwittingly) something new and surviving it.

I've got my safety harness firmly fastened for this NaNo ride with other writers, friends, and family all cheering me on. I have a plan, and while I understand there will be loops. I'm not sure how many or when they'll come at me, but I'm pretty sure I'll survive this crazy month and come out the other side of it with a breathless grin and an unflattering picture of what I look like while I stare death-by-word-count in the face!

Coaster game faces ready!
Also, please all note the dude photo bombing like a pro behind my kiddos. Well played, sir.