NaNo '12 Prep Journal

Day 27: I am Committed to My NaNoWriMo Goal!!!

Saturday, Oct. 27 - CONTEST ROUND: COMMITMENT LETTER
Write a commitment letter to yourself promising to do your best during the month of November and vowing to not allow distractions or procrastination to keep you from your goal. Explain in the letter why you are awesome, how you plan to complete NaNo 2012, and what you will do to celebrate when you win.

*Submit your BITEM or ENTRY link by 1200 noon WDC time on Sunday, Oct. 28 to compete. If you miss this deadline or choose not to compete, you may still post your assignment completion for the grand prize per the standard Challenge guidelines.

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October 25, 2012

Dear Noelle,

         I am writing you this letter to let you know I believe in you. I believe you are truly awesome, and I believe in your strengths as a writer. Although you have set a very big goal for November, I know you will succeed. Everyday during NaNoWriMo, your mind will spark like dynamite and your fingertips will tap across the keyboard like a River Dancer. You will be proud of yourself by the end of November. There are three simple ways I will ensure your writing goal will be accomplished.

         First, if a little inspiration goes a long way, can you imagine how far a LOT of inspiration goes? I promise to inspire you and maintain a high level of inspiration throughout NaNoWriMo. I will not wait around for your muse to come to you; I will nuzzle up to and awaken your muse each time you sit down to write. Also, I will keep your story world alive in your imagination. I'll even do this during those non-writing hours (like while you're doing mundane chores like washing dishes or doing the laundry) when your mind is free to roam and imagine the next scene in your book. Inspiration is everywhere, in every conversation you hear, and I will be listening. The most critical way I will inspire you throughout November is through visualization. I can keep your eyes on the prize and help you to keep visualizing your first draft manuscript--completed.

         Trudging through the writing trenches, bearing the work load, battling through the road blocks, putting up with the perspiration--all of this is what will make you succeed more than anything else. Now that may sound scary and hard, but it's supposed to be. Writing a novel is hard. Lucky for you, I'm here to remind you of how much you love a challenge! If you start to struggle during NaNo, I'll remind you of what screenwriter Paul Haggis said about the difficulty of writing: "Every scene you come to, you know that the last scene was easy to write, but this [new] scene is impossible, and you get through that and you say, well that one was easy to write, but this next one is impossible. Every single scene is usually like that." Thinking you're stuck, you're blocked, it's impossible to write another scene is just psycho-babble. I will remind you that it is possible to write the next scene. Writing a novel is hard work, but YOU CAN DO IT!

         If NaNoWriMo is the road trip, then determination is the key that starts your engine. Determination gets you started, energizes you, and keeps you motivated from the first line of your novel, straight through to the very last word you write. Procrastination is the evil twin of determination. Each hold equal power to affect the outcome of NaNoWriMo. I promise to refrain from any form of procrastination during your daily writing times. I promise to keep to your planned schedule in order to fit in your writing time, as well as, all of your other daily tasks and activities. And, yes, I promise to allow you do your favorite procrastination-things each day in November, but they will be scheduled and NOT ALLOWED during your precious writing hours. So, I'll be hiding your iPhone between the hours of 9 and 12!

         With heaps of inspiration, perspiration, and determination, I will put a smile on your face and place your butt in the writing chair every single day this November. On December 1st, you will beam like the moon in the night, knowing that you are awesome. You will be holding the first draft of your novel in your awesome hands, grinning because you did it--you believed in yourself and you did it.


Love and Good Luck,
Noelle