The Rush of Falling Down Happy
I ran track in high school and always complained when coach made us take a long run. “I’m a sprinter! Why do I have to practice for distance?” I would question. In her wisdom she explained it built up my endurance.
And so it is with NaNoWriMo. I usually don’t write every day, and I especially don’t write nearly 1,700 words when I do. My usual writing regime is to toss down an idea, thought-drop a page or two, or a chapter, or pick apart a passage. I tend to sprint write, in other words. I’m not much for sitting down hours at end, pushing my muse to exhaustion.
This is why NaNo has been good for me.
Of course I didn’t think that as I realized (often) at 8:30 pm I needed to enter my daily dose of words. I especially did not embrace the goodness of attempting to write 50,000 words in 30 days. And I especially wondered why I would think it a good idea to marathon write when my life was pretty full already.
Because it builds up my endurance.
I know now I can do it–oh, have I shown you my certificate of completion yet?
Having completed the grueling word run, even in the midst of parent/teacher conferences, posting quarterly grades, preparing for Thanksgiving, and living life as usual, I now know I can go the extra mile at a pace that is uncomfortable at times, but still doable.
I don’t know if I will make NaNoWriMo an annual event; however, I do know I like the feeling, that rush, of falling down happy once done.
To those who persevered NaNo, I raise my bottled water to you in salute. Even if you didn’t participate I know you were cheering us along the way. Thanks, I, and we, needed that.
Related articles
- What Comes After NaNoWriMo? (fulltimewritermom.com)
- Day 30 of NaNoWriMo (clairevioletthropeexpress.wordpress.com)
- NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up (allmeanssomething.wordpress.com)
- Day 30: Is November over already? (orestn.wordpress.com)
- Just Because NaNoWriMo’s Over, Doesn’t Mean the Camaraderie Has to End (lindathorlakson.wordpress.com)
- What I learned from NaNoWriMo 2012 (emhouston.com)
- The End of NaNoWriMo (takayta.wordpress.com)
Pam Webb 
It’s an interesting concept, endurance. Although I can’t really relate to running, I’ve never been a runner, I prefer hikes or just long walks, I understand how it relates to writing. It was difficult at first to really push myself to write long, drawn out pieces until I forced myself to do so and grew accustomed to sitting down for hours letting words encompass me. After a few pieces I was really passionate about broke the few thousand words mark it became easier and now, it isn’t such a big deal.
I hadn’t thought about the running analogy until the day after NaNo–it felt so good to stop! Which is how I felt after those long runs. Endurance is a good thing to learn. I will need to remember this as I begin editing 🙂
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Endurance, what’s that? I was never a runner, either, and even now I am pathetic at endurance. I never thought of writing as a practice in stamina, but how true it is. Thanks for the reminder.
Both writing and running involve pain and gain-oh yeah, discipline is in there as well. And dark chocolate as reward and incentive.
Writers do have to exercise all of their creative writing muscles, don’t they? Nice work!
Thanks! And a big congrats on your book–did it come out in time for Thanksgiving sales?
Oh, yes. It’s now in its second printing. So woo!
Thanks for linking to my post, CricketMuse. I like your running analogy. Though I’ve never run a full marathon (yet) it seemed to me that approaching a NaNoWriMo was a lot like how I’d approach a marathon.