I completed Script Frenzy with more than half of the contest time remaining. I’m only slightly ahead of target with 16,828 words for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).Participating in NaNoWriMo reminds me of my long ago Kung Fu training. If my old Sifu was running it, my conversations with him would sound something like this.
Me: But I have work to do.
Sifu: Write anyway.
Me: But I have a conference to prepare for next week.
Sifu: Write, and then prepare for the conference.
Me: Look, I’ve written 1500 words today, I’ve done enough.
Sifu: 1500 is not 1666.7. Keep writing.
Me: But…
Sifu: You are not weak. Do not tell me you cannot write 1666.7 words a day and still do your other work. Drop your fingers on the keys and type!
I can’t just plow through this contest like I could with the 20k word requirement for Script Frenzy. I have to sit down every day at my keyboard and practice. Practice writing. When it’s bad, I practice writing more. When it’s good, I practice writing more. When I don’t want to write, I practice writing. It’s not about the outcome, it’s not about how good or how bad it is. It doesn’t matter how the story ends up. It’s only about writing.
Wax on, wax off.
Write on, fingers off (the backspace and delete keys).