There has been a question on my mind for the last couple of months. Should I give NaNoWriMo a go once again? The last time I gave it a go was a couple of years ago before Olivia came along. I managed around 20,000 words before I lost my way and didn’t carry on. I’ve still got those 20,000 words saved – I don’t know if I will ever do anything with them but at least I know I still have them if I want to work on them.
The problem is 1) do I have the time and 2) will any of my ideas actually work?
Do I have the time?
Simply put, no I’m not sure I could say I have. I know they say you can make time but working from home with a toddler getting under my feet doesn’t lend itself to much spare time to work on a novel. I work not only on my blogs but as a freelance writer and proofreader for companies and also work as a Virtual Assistant (spanning content writing/social media management engagement threads) for a few regular clients and 2-3 who call me in as and when they need me. Some clients I work for almost every day, some three times a week, some once a week. But the point is I have always got something to be getting on with.
I also have the school run to contend with, Olivia’s playgroup, Jack’s clubs – he even has a new one starting in November too! Jack’s got his birthday at the beginning of December so I’ve got to consider all the things surrounding that – presents, party etc and I’ve got Christmas gift guides that need writing and promoting. Then you’ve got to think about all the ‘house stuff’ I need to do – the laundry, the cleaning, the cooking. I’ve got so many recipes I want to try such as these Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings from my lovely friend Bintu, an intriguing Shepherd’s Pie recipe I’ve come across and numerous desserts! How can I fit writing a novel around everything else that I want to do?
Will any of my ideas actually work?
Well, I won’t know unless I try! This is probably my biggest stumbling point. I may say I struggle for time but I can easily write 2000+ words in a day if I am truly inspired -I always find the time to do that. A 50,000 word manuscript works out at roughly 1666 words a day which could be easily doable if I have the inspiration. The problem is doubting myself. I have a few different ideas – and they are often so completely different from each other, it is difficult to know whether to proceed with them. But I suppose I won’t know if I don’t actually try!
I think I’m going to stop worrying about it until November actually arrives and see if inspiration strikes. I’d love to say YES I definitely will do it but I can’t honestly say I definitely will, nor can I say I definitely won’t. Are you participating this year?