Next to procrastination, I would have to say that excuses are the worst enemy to writers everywhere. One of the first points in Jack Bickham’s 38 Most Common Mistakes Fictions Writers Make is “Don’t Make Excuses.” All they do is rob you of your potential.
So even though the first week is a little intimidating and you keep hearing the voices in your head telling you things like, “Why are you even trying?” or “Are you crazy? You’ll never finish this,” if you want to finish what you started—and when I say “want to” I mean “want to” like you would if you were already successful at it and were getting a pretty penny’s pay for your efforts—then you’ve got to make yourself not make excuses.
Writing is a constant effort; you’re always in danger of discouragement, so you’ve got to dig in your heels and stand your ground. During the first week, you’re not going to give yourself a reason to quit and let your “other you” get in your way and convince you of anything but forward progress.
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How to WIN at NaNoWriMo: A Month in the Life of A NaNoWriMo Participant
Non-FictionDoes the term NaNoWriMo mean anything to you? If you're a writer-especially a young writer-who's been online for the past 15 years, then it probably does. In 2009, I set out to finally achieve my goal of writing a novel. The premise behind Nationa...
