Overwhelm, Blocks and Distractions -Oh My!

 Just got back from a lovely weekend away only to face (*insert dramatic chord here…*) the bald fact that I’m behind on my word count for NaNoWriMo.

(For those of you unfamiliar with this madness, NaNoWriMo [NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth] is an activity / challenge / obsession  where people around the world sign up to write a 50,000 word novel first draft in 30 days. For more information on this, see www.nanowrimo.org )

And, what’s worse, I’ve got a little bit of a cold, so I’m tired and achy and less than motivated.

So I sit here, and stare at the screen, and don’t write….

Which raises a good question.

What do you do when you’re tired, or behind, or the project seems overwhelming, or you’ve got writer’s block, or are distracted by a million and one other things?…

Well, if you want to be a writer, you write anyway. Slowly, if need be. Badly,  if need be. But you write – even if all you can write is “I don’t know what to write next” or “There’s no way I’m ever going to be able to write all the words I need/write something worth reading/ break through this writer’s block.

You see the obstacle, nod to it cordially, and drive on by it. You keep writing. And as you write poorly/slowly/ laboriously, the obstacles will melt away and you’ll remember how to write with joy and style and panache again.

Just hang in there.

 And keep writing…

Catherine Kane

11/22/11

(P.S. And putting my posterior in the chair and my fingers on the keys broke through my block as well, with another 1500 words worth of progress. Sometimes you’ve just got to sit down and do the work, even if your head’s in a different space…)