#odd type publishing

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Short, pocket-sized poetry

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[oddtype-blog]

Perseverance

As I outlined in my previous post, there are two types of NaNoWriMo writers. The first one I discussed tends to underestimate themselves every day they write, and panic about reaching the daily word count.

The other type? Tends to overestimate themselves. I am one of these people, and usually NaNoWriMo starts out as a fun project. Every day we write, we write more than we need to and we pound out the necessary word count in a record time. We think to ourselves, it’s so easy.

I’ve done NaNoWriMo four different years, and each year this is exactly what happens. I’m excited, I enjoy writing every day, the words seem to come effortlessly. And then everything changes. About a week into NaNoWriMo, I start to lose inspiration. I get bored and frustrated and I think about quitting.

You would think I would learn, after four years of winning NaNoWriMo but its the same every time. This year, I didn’t even bother to write on the first day because I thought, “Oh, I’ll easily catch up tomorrow.” And I did. This has slowly changed over the course of this first week, however. It has become more and more painful to write every day, and I question why I’ve bothered with NaNoWriMo. “It’s not like it’s well-written anyway,” I think to myself.

But here’s the thing: this is not meant to be easy. Writing is hard, and sometimes boring, and it will likely not make you feel good. Inspiration and motivation - the feelings which get you to breeze through those first few days - do not last. Perseverance does. Perseverance is what will get you through the tough days, the tough scenes, the tough challenges of NaNoWriMo.

As long as you remember that, you’ll finish with 50,000 words or more. And then maybe, just maybe, you’ll edit those scenes and you’ll love doing it.

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Expect more posts from me, Krista, here at Odd Type. And if you want to hear more from this 22-year-old trying to make sense of adulthood you can check me out on TWITTER,  TUMBLR, and WORDPRESS. Furthermore, if you’ve decided to take on the NaNo challenge, add me as a buddy HERE. Let’s do this!

[oddtype-blog]

The First Three Days

Well, it’s officially day three of NaNoWriMo, and you’ve probably found out you are one of two types of NaNo writers. The first type is someone who softcore panics everyday. The second type is someone who can pound out the words and thinks NaNo is, dare I say it, almost easy.

I am the latter, and I am wrong every year when I assume NaNo will be easy. But I’ll address that in my next post. For this one, I want to address the first type. This group of writers are the ones most likely to fall off the NaNo bandwagon early, so I think it’s really important I help out these writers before it’s too late.

These writers are the ones often consumed by some kind of worry, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be about the word count. It could be that you don’t have enough time, you can’t get the words right, you’re out of ideas, you’re not meant to be a writer, on and on and on and on and on.

I’m here to say all of these thoughts are false. The only thing standing in the way of you finishing NaNo are your own thoughts and doubts. For some, it’s your own standards and inability to be flexible. You want perfection when the words are formed on the page, and when it comes down to it you don’t believe you can achieve it no matter how hard you work. 

Perfection is impossible. Writing is, most especially, about learning when to let go.

NaNo is most definitely a time to let go. Don’t worry about the way it sounds or reads, if its good or not. Don’t worry about if you’re “worthy” of being a writer or if you’re a total hack. And most importantly, don’t gyp yourself of an amazing opportunity by making excuses. You can do this, and you can do it better than you think.

And whether or not you want to believe it, you definitely have the time.

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Expect more posts from me, Krista, here at Odd Type. And if you want to hear more from this 22-year-old trying to make sense of adulthood you can check me out on TWITTER,  TUMBLR, and WORDPRESS. Furthermore, if you’ve decided to take on the NaNo challenge, add me as a buddy HERE. Let’s do this!

[oddtype-blog]

Editor’s Introduction - About NaNoWriMo

Hello! My name is Krista, and I am the editor for the coming anthology from Odd Type Publishing. I recently finished undergrad, and am currently on the job hunt. Luckily for me, I’ve got cool friends who start their own publishing companies which means I’ve gotten a great start on freelance editing. I’ve loved the work I’ve done so far with Odd Type, and I’m really looking forward to the growth of this great publishing company.

Anyway, Cindy asked me to do a few posts over the coming month about NaNoWriMo. If you don’t know what it is, NaNoWriMo is essentially a worldwide challenge during the month of November in which those who join attempt to write 50,000 words of fiction. I’ve done & won four different years in the past. It was fun, it was torture. It helped me learn that I could write 50,000 words for one story. Doesn’t mean I got past those 50,000 words, but I’m still a growing writer so we’ll see how I fare in the future.

I’ve thought long and hard about what I want to say and how I want to say it for these posts. Unfortunately, I’ve prepared for NaNoWriMo this year by watching Insurgent, gorging on Chinese takeout, and drinking lots of Angry Orchard while hanging out in my parents’ basement. I’m definitely not the best person to ask for advice. But I’ll try my best! Expect more posts from me here at Odd Type, and if you want to hear more from this 22-year-old trying to make sense of adulthood you can check me out on Twitter, Tumblr, and Wordpress. Furthermore, if you’ve decided to take on the NaNo challenge, add me as a buddy here. Let’s do this!