NaNoWriMo? Ghostwriters laugh

NaNoWriMo time!! It's a great time, a fun time, full of imaginations and people who want to get that novel done!! Writers!! This is your time of year!!

For those who are still trying to pronounce NaNoWriMo it's short for National Novel Writing Month. All of November joins in for the writing of a 50k word goal! You'll see status updates, badges (we don't need no stinking badges), and your writer friends will be pulling their hair out, mumbling to themselves over calculators (trying to find out how many words they need to write to catch up on those few days they skipped).  

In the beginning, I was like: "The F**k? 50,000 words?"

Seriously, I was thinking, how the hell do people do it? How do you write over 2,000 words? Then I got into writing and listening to podcasts and realized, this is something you can do! YES!! EVEN YOU! Even if you hunt and peck at the keyboard, you can get those words out!! Here are some things I do to get me going:

• If you know how to type, and by god I hope you don't hunt and peck if your a writer, that's just a tool for your craft--not a luxury--close your eyes and type. Don't look at the screen. Don't worry about mis-spellings, just type the scene playing in your head. Your first draft is messy anyway, what's a few extra spelling mistakes you have to correct?
  
• Listen to this inspirational music on Youtube that is absolutely amazing at breaking through your stuck mind.
  

If you can't find music on Youtube to help with that writer's block, then perhaps music isn't your thing. Try visuals on pinterest boards.

• Writing prompts work! Consider writing prompts either a challenge to stretch you, or something someone is paying you for. Realize your mind saying "I don't want to write about that" is fear grabbing you through apathy. 
• Taking a walk only works if you've been at it for hours and you need a break. But if taking a walk helps you before writing then by all means--take a walk. Run with the dogs on a lone path where people are scarce.
  
• Last but not least, if you're suffering from what I call "word count loss" go find your wonder! I keep track of my word count and record it. If I see my word count going down for a few days, I go to LACMA, the Science Center, the LaBrea Tar Pits, or any museum for a few hours. It recharges me because these things bring wonder back into my soul. Wonder gets me thinking, and thinking gets my mind on the what if of storytelling.
  

These are all things you can do to help you get out of a funk, but it does not help you if you're making excuses not to write. Sometimes it's just fear. Fear of failing, fear of success, fear of disappointment, fear of finding out your not cut out for it. That my friend is your demon to contend with.

In the beginning I was both thrilled and terrified when I got my first ghostwriting job. Would it be good enough? Would people read my stories? Would I make the deadline? That's all past me now. I know what I can do. Consider NaNoWriMo your time to see what you can do!

Now, after becoming a Ghostwriter I'm thinking:
"NaNoWriMo."
"I did that last week..."
"Whaaaaaa?"

Okay, it does take me about two weeks, but I realized Ghostwriting is a lot like NaNoWriMo--every month. Writing for others, for money, gets your butt in gear. ACTION ITEM: So this November, make a contract with a friend, pay yourself to get the job done or dare to write a story on a deadline for money. That last one will bring the knowledge of yourself to the surface. See what you can do! Don't stop! Good luck!  He-he!

Yes, that is me smiling at past thoughts of, "How the hell am I going to write 3,000 words a day?