Can you write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days?

Camp NaNoWriMo is coming up with June and August sessions this summer and I want you to give it a try.

Did you attempt NaNoWriMo in the past but fell short of the 50,000 word goal? Were you totally jealous of the winners and their winner goodies? Or have you always meant to take on the challenge and just never had the chance? Is November a terrible month for you but you still want to participate in the writing fun? Or have you never even been interested in NaNoWriMo but just like winning free stuff?

There are no prizes for winning Camp NaNo like there are for NaNoWriMo Original Recipe (aka the one in November). But, just for signing up for even one of the 2012 summer sessions, I’ll give one lucky camper…

5 Free copies of your novel from CreateSpace!

This is one of the prizes you would have won if you were a NaNoWriMo Winner last November but anyone is eligible to win it, even if you’ve never participated in NaNoWriMo before. Read more. . . »

Image via Wikipedia

You offered to read your friend’s book. Or maybe it was a short story. Or a play. Either way, your friend wrote something and you promised to be a beta reader and give them some feedback.

Except that now you’ve changed your mind. Maybe you’ve since realized that you’re too busy and won’t have time to read it. Maybe the project is awful and you just can’t get through it. Maybe you just plain old forgot and now you’re totally embarrassed to admit it.

Hey, you know what, it happens! Sometimes life doesn’t go exactly how we plan it. But if you need to back out of your critiquing commitments, here’s a few tips for dealing with this change of heart without being a jerk about it.  Read more. . . »

Image by Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL) via Flickr

I love that quote above. Obviously, when it comes to writing, it’s particularly relevant. So many writers lament that they just aren’t inspired to write or that their muse isn’t telling them what to write or whatever way they justify it to themselves and these are all just excuses. You need to still sit your butt into the chair and force yourself to get writing even when you aren’t inspired if you are serious about this process.

I love that image of stalking off with a club over your shoulder looking for ideas you’ll beat onto your page. This is me most of the time. I always feel like I’m fighting against something when I sit down to write: other commitments, fears, pressures, deadlines, distractions, etc.

But I also think this quote applies in just about every aspect of life. You can’t wait for a social life to find you, you need to go after it by joining groups, getting involved in activities, etc. You can’t wait for a new job, opportunity or promotion, you have to go after it. It’s like the old take the bull by the horns cliche… no one is going to hand you anything. You need to go out and fight for it yourself. If you ever want to accomplish anything, you need to take a tough love policy when dealing with yourself. In many ways, that club is for beating back that whiny, defeatist part of your mind that just wants to wait for a handout.

I wanted to write about this because so many of my Wrimo’s have been saying that they just aren’t motivated or inspired to write anymore and I want them to understand that the only remedy for that is to seek out the things that inspire you, to force yourself to work through that feeling of not wanting to write and follow the trail of words back to the productivity that lies beyond.

How you do you go after inspiration when it eludes you?

(Behind the scenes:

Me: I want to write a post about that quote. You know. The famous one.
Husband: …?
Me: It’s something like, you can’t wait around for stuff you need to, like, go after it with an axe or something. Come on, what’s that quote?
Husband: I have NO idea what you are talking about.

Thank goodness for Google, people. It knows what I’m talking about even when my husband doesn’t.)