Writing

NaNoWriMo Killed My Muse

I committed to doing NaNoWriMo this year and started off well. But my work schedule and limited energy due to my illness (Fibromyalgia) have stressed me out of writing. Everyday, I have been verbally harassing myself for not writing enough so the flow of words have literally left. My muse has had enough and she quit. NaNoWriMo killed my muse.

This is clearly a sign of overstepping my limitations. If I want to write, I have to respect my personal abilities to write what I can each day. Writing marathons like NaNoWriMo will not happen. Stress leads to less sleep and more pain and fatigue in a vicious cycle that will not end. Have you ever been around someone who hasn’t sleep in three days and is in pain?

It is interesting that I can tell when my muse is refusing to work with me when I step in the shower. That is when the ideas flow like the water from the shower head. Silence means she is telling me I have to take care of myself or there will be no writing.

So I am re-writing my expectations for writing my novel. The first draft will not be written by November 30th. I will write 300-500 words a day until it is finished. This new expectation is doable on the days I work and come home exhausted. When I don’t work, I can write to my heart’s content without burden.

Of course, I am still hoping to dictate some of my novel while at work. That would be a wonderful win/win for me. It is a learning curve to dictate to Google Docs and have something that makes sense when it comes time to edit.

And I still have 6 flash fiction stories to edit and publish in an anthology. I hope I can write more of these stories as they are fun to write when the spirit strikes.

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