18 Comments

First morning of #1000wordsofsummer and I clocked in at 1196. Feel like celebrating. I've been away from my novel (4th revise) since early May and damn! it feels good to be back and to recommit.

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I want to participate but I'm nervous to commit and then not deliver. The fear of failure, I guess. Any advice?

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There have been years I signed up for Nanowrimo, completed only week 1, and still got a new 8-10k word story out of it that I wouldn't have generated otherwise! I've literally never completed the 50k in any year I've participated, but I used the motivation boost for a smaller sprint that fit into my life / energy level / goals. Hope that perspective helps!!

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Make an appointments with yourself. If the thousand words are un-doable, keep the appointment anyway, and use it for reading. Maybe Craft, maybe the best of the sort you wish you had written. But think, copy, take notes. If you get ideas, make very good notes about the ideas. But don't pressure yourself, just show up.

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thank you so much Barbara <3

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If you can’t deliver, you can congratulate yourself for taking a risk on a low-stakes commitment and you’ll have lessons learned for next year when you try again.

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I understand that fear and often have it too. What helps me is to think of a time when I showed up to something and did deliver, and then reflect on: What did I do then? What qualities in me did I use that helped me succeed? I´m sure you have many of these experiences too if you think about it, and know you can do this. You also have lots of people cheering for you, and people you can cheer on too if you join. :)

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Maria, this is actually a very helpful way to think about it, I really appreciate your reply. Thank you! :)

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Glad to hear it and cheering for you. :)

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I'm excited to give this a shot. I want to make sure I've signed up at the right place.

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author

If you're signed up for this newsletter, you're signed up.

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Hey fellow first-timers and veterans, I'm Sammi, and I'm wondering how you're deciding which project to work on? Is anyone working on multiple or is that ill-advised?

Would love to hear your thoughts, and thanks for your time — looking forward to writing with you!

I'm at http://sammigale.com if you'd like to connect :)

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I get “ this link is no longer active” when I click on it. Really want to try this in 2022. How do I join? Thanks.

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author

I'm going to send out an updated link today. They time out after a while. Look for it in the email!

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Thank you Jami, excited to do this!

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Thanks Jami, I need this more than I can express. Getting prepared and excited!!!!

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💪🤩

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