I woke up this morning with grand visions of productivity—I was going to do sprints, I was going to clean my kitchen, which was in a state, I was going to actually exercise. Instead I stared at the blinking cursor for hours and then gave up, choosing instead to do some editing work and then watching half a season of Ted Lasso.
The words didn’t get written. My kitchen? Still gross. I am wearing my sports bra, but did I sweat into it? No I did not.
And that’s okay!
Becca Heyman and I did a little Instagram live on Wednesday, where we talked about our NaNo status, and some of the drawbacks. One thing I mentioned during the half-hour we talked was that NaNo is a kind of testing ground for the writing life. This isn’t rocket science or a novel (heh) observation, but I’ve been trying to remind myself of it this week as I’ve failed to add words more days than not: there will always be good reasons not to write, and being a writer is choosing to do it anyway when the time allows.
Today, the time allowed, but the brain did not. I simply could not seem to make words word, if that makes sense. Maybe my brain needed a rest. Maybe the goals I’ve set for myself for NaNo were too ambitious—maybe trying to hit fifty thousand words in a month is unreasonable, let alone surpassing it.
Still, like I said: NaNo is a testing ground. And just because I didn’t get anything written today, doesn’t mean I won’t get something done tomorrow. The trick is to keep showing up for yourself, and doing what you can when you can.
I’m going to end it there for today since it’s later than I wanted. I wanted to end this week’s newsletter on a high note of triumph, with a huge W and a high word count. But the fact that I can’t is okay! I showed up for myself on some days, and wasn’t able to on others. As Ted Lasso says, quoting Anne Lamott: gotta take it bird by bird.
Next week, I’m going to talk NaNo coming to an end, the Harper Collins strike, the death of ZLib, and more. Keep on truckin’, folks!
READING: A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century by Barbara Tuchman
WATCHING: Ted Lasso
LISTENING: “Soolaimon” by Neil Diamond
WORDS WRITTEN THIS WEEK (so far): 2017 :(
This has been A Faster No, a dispatch on publishing, writing, books, and beyond. Is there something you’d like me to talk about? Leave it in the comments or reply to the email! You can support the newsletter here. If you purchase a book from any of the links to Bookshop.org I get a small commission at no cost to you. I am available for developmental editing and editorial assessment services via Reedsy.
You wrote a newsletter. That counts. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. 😁