Underdog Battle

This month is the writing challenge known as Nanowrimo. Since my first time participating in 2010 I have successfully completed it six times though currently only one of those books has gone on to be edited or published. The rest sit idly by waiting for me to get off my butt and progress on their respective tales. I hesitated to participate again this year because my schedule is so out of whack but ultimately I couldn't deny my need to create and finish the trilogy part of the series Nanowrimo has helped me bring to life over the last few years.

In the past I have had days where I would struggle to meet my regular word count. I have fallen behind on many occasions and only a handful of days was I ever ahead. Today I find myself even further behind than ever before however. If I were on target with my word count I would be crossing the fifteen thousand mark by the end of the day. Instead I am hovering around twelve hundred. It seems a near impossible feat to cover trying to not only make up the words I am behind but to also continue on and cross the finish line of fifty thousand words by the end of the month.

I would love to say I am determined. I am not a quitter. I push through adversity in order to accomplish all my goals. My history would suggest otherwise though. I have been known to quit when things seemed too difficult. The most important thing at this point is to know how I thrive under deadlines. I have come from behind before and I am hoping to do so once again. I have en entire list of edits and rewrites but it would mean the world to me to add just one more book to that list and begin the journey forward with a nearly completed series.

When I read the book No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty, the creator of Nanowrimo, I understood immediately when he mentioned the need for a looming deadline to push people forward. That unused chart I haven't updated this month is waiting for me. It is a beast with teeth that grow with each passing day as it lays dormant, waiting to see if my desire to write or my schedule will be the ultimate victor this month. I have been an underdog before and come out on top. Tonight I will march on to see if once again my writing David will defeat the time constraints of Goliath.