Hit the Ground Trotting

Well, I'm off. I got almost three hours of writing done on November 1st and clocked in at over 2000 words. Not too shabby, although there are people out there whose clickety-clacking puts mine to shame. I think that all things considered, I'm off to a decent start, though I'll be hard-pressed to keep up the pace.

My strategy is to write what I can during weekdays, in between changing diapers, nursing, soothing tantrums, making homemade baby food (why did I decide to start doing that this month?), cleaning the house, and compulsively reading the blogs I follow. If I fall behind, as I undoubtedly will, I'll try to make up for it on the weekends. Ideally, I'll have the time and a little extra cash to do so at a coffee shop, away from the responsibilities and temptations at home.

I'm done with write-ins, however. My first experience with one was a dud. I was kind of expecting a friendly, supportive atmosphere, but no one even made eye contact with me. Plus, having a ton of laptops in a place with limited outlets was a problem; I ended up sitting at a counter with my back to the room, hardly the sort of social experience I was hoping for. It's possible that I'm just too shy, and may have missed a welcoming smile or gesture, in which case I'm being too hard on my fellow WriMos. Whatever. The point is, write-ins are not for me.

Which is not to say I don't have support. I've got a few writing buddies through Pen and Palette, the online writer and artist forum I occasionally post on. And I've got a mentor, through the local forum on the NanNoWriMo website, who seems quite friendly and knowledgeable. Slowly but surely, I'm clawing my way toward respectability by getting to know other writers. I'm opening myself up to their criticism as well as their praise, which will hopefully make me a better writer. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep getting those words down, and keep my eye on that 50k.