NaNo Pep Prep : )

October 23, 2009

Sunday, Oct. 25
CONTEST ROUND: 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 2009, and what you will do to celebrate when you win.

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Dear Noelle,

NaNo! I’m so excited to have it so close. It is going to be amazing. I just cannot wait to dive right into this novel and get my muse on. Oh what a thrill it is, going to that place—you know what place I’m talking about. That wonderful world within my imagination that I love to go to, where exciting things happen and adventures await. It’s that place I go to when I write a story off-the-cuff and it is as if I’m living the story as it happens for the first time, and writing… writing… writing all at the same time!

Now, I know Nano is tough and some days I’ll just flat out feel too tired to find my muse, but ALWAYS remember: I did it once before, just last March, and I can do it again! I am committed and determined to reach my 50,000 word goal and get my first draft of The Spire Light completed by November 30th .

In November when those days occur where it will seem like I have no time or energy to write, I WILL BE READY. First, I have set aside a time everyday as my “Nano time.” I think best following a good night’s sleep, in the wee hours of the morning, when my children are all still snug in their beds. That takes care of potential distractions like kids' interruptions, Spongebob's hideous laugh coming from the television set, and the telephone ringing. If for some reason I cannot write during my scheduled Nano time and have to write later in the day, I have picked out a special purple hoodie sweatshirt to wear during my Nano time. I have announced to my whole family that this special hoodie when worn means they are NOT to BUG me (unless, of course, it’s an emergency ).

Second, I had some trouble during March 2009 NoWriMo because I found myself dozing off at my computer . Yeah, that was the toughest part about the whole month for me. This time, I am going to make certain I am fully rested BEFORE my Nano writing time. If I find myself dozing in November, I have a plan. I set up my treadmill right next to my computer desk. If I start to doze, it’s ten minutes on the treadmill to get the oxygen flowing back to my brain!

Third, and this is a big one for me, the Procrastination Queen, I vow NEVER to put off my Nano writing. Daily. That means EVERYday I will write to reach that wonderful goal. I plan to conquer the procrastination pull by scheduling a nightly word count update on WDC and Nanowrimo.org for accountability. I will also list my Nano word count on my WDC handle to inspire myself (and hopefully my friends who are Nano participants), watching my numbers go up because of my hard work.

Reaching every 10,000 words will be my five short-term goals in which I will reward myself with a $20 bill for every 10k words I write. I will place each $20 bill in a jar, labeled "I'm Awesome," beside my monitor.

When I have finally reached my goal of 50,000 words, the first thing I am going to do is crawl beneath the warm comforter on my cozy bed and take a long, well-deserved nap (because I will need it!), and then, I will look inside the "I'm Awesome jar" beside my monitor to see I have earned $100. I am going to take that money and use it to move up my WDC membership to Premium!

I Rock. I’m Awesome. I am a great writer because I just do it: I write, write, write…

Truly you,

Noelle