Some encouragement for the slower writers amongst us...

Yeshanu

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If you're being "lapped" by those who are close to finishing, and you haven't even done ten thousand words yet, read this.

Then get writing. We'll be there to cheer you as you cross the finish line, even if it's in the middle of January. :)
 

Yeshanu

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If you liked this piece, find dobiwan and give him a rep, as the piece is his. :)

You'll find many other inspiring AWers on that site. Well worth a gander if you're feeling burnt out from writing.
 

Yeshanu

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I'm going to bump this, 'cause I feel some of those who are way behind at this point might be able to relate to it.

Soooo...

*bump*
 

BlueLucario

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Um...Forgive me for not getting the story. Are you saying that "winner" is a state of mind, not a state of fact?

The girl kept going even though it was already clear who the winner was?
 

Yeshanu

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Um...Forgive me for not getting the story. Are you saying that "winner" is a state of mind, not a state of fact?

The girl kept going even though it was already clear who the winner was?

I think we've been through this before, Blue.

Yes, "winner" is a state of mind, not a state of fact. Coming in first, that's a fact. But "winner" is a qualitative thing.

You can win, even if you don't come in first, if you meet your goals or learn something new. And you can lose, even if you come in first, if you aren't performing up to your potential.

Yes, that girl was a winner, and you can be too, if you can set a goal and meet it.
 

shameless

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Yes, that girl was a winner, and you can be too, if you can set a goal and meet it.


My local RWA chapter has something we call the Quest. Based on the assumption that a writer should never give up trying to publish until they've written at least a million words, we keep track of our word counts each month and report them on a loop.

I get frustrated when authors say something like, "I failed this month. I only wrote 2K." Failure is a state of mind. If that person wrote 2K, that was 2K more than a whole lot of other people who only dream of writing a book.

While I'm Type A to the max, I don't expect everyone to write as much as I do. Trust me, it's not always a good thing. Someone asked me last week if I'd need surgery to remove the laptop from the end of my arms. :(

Not everyone will "win" NaNo. But everyone who tried is a "winner" in my book.
 

BenPanced

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"I only wrote 25,000 words."

"I only wrote 15,000 words."

"I only wrote 1200 words."

There's no "only". Again, it's 1200/15,000/25,000 words you didn't have on Nov. 1. Be proud of yourself because you took the challenge.
 

BlueLucario

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I guess. I'm the winner, just because I tried it. :)

I had fun with NaNo. I guess I was just completely focused on winning that I forgot how fun that was.
 

Yeshanu

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While I'm Type A to the max, I don't expect everyone to write as much as I do. Trust me, it's not always a good thing. Someone asked me last week if I'd need surgery to remove the laptop from the end of my arms. :(

:roll:

And Blue, yes, you're a winner, just for trying.

Something I learned a couple of months ago that really freed up my writing is this:

I got so focussed on the fact that after years and years and years I still didn't have a publishable novel that I forgot to have fun. Then someone in Office Party reminded me that having fun was really what this should be about.

It totally changed my attitude to writing, and that's what smashed through my writer's block.

Enjoy the process, and you'll be a winner! :Hug2:
 

CaroGirl

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I guess. I'm the winner, just because I tried it. :)

I had fun with NaNo. I guess I was just completely focused on winning that I forgot how fun that was.
You can "win" NaNo? Granted, I've never done it and don't know much about it, but I thought participants were just supposed to reach a set goal. But there's a winner? Who won last year?

I think you can distinguish achievement and accomplishment from the idea of winning.
 

Yeshanu

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You can "win" NaNo? Granted, I've never done it and don't know much about it, but I thought participants were just supposed to reach a set goal. But there's a winner? Who won last year?

I think you can distinguish achievement and accomplishment from the idea of winning.

Caro, the whole point is to distinguish the difference between "winner," which refers to anyone who meets their goals during NaNo, and "first place," which we could use to refer to the person who finished their 50k first.

Everyone who writes more words during NaNo than they might have ordinarily is a winner. Everyone who has fun during NaNo, or learns something -- all winners.

As for the person who got 50k first, I'm not sure we can even find that out, because we don't even validate that we've done it until after the 25th of November. And really, who cares if you were first, or if you were last? That's not the point of the exercise at all.

So to reply to your last statement, accomplishment is winning. Being in first place? Not necessarily so.