Tuesday, November 3, 2009

NaNoWriMo Fuel: The Battle of Resistance

For all my friends who've taken on the challenge of National Novel Writing Month, I salute you!  More than that, I'd like to scream for you until I'm hoarse, hand you Gatorade, and wave a huge banner with your name on it.

But we know the Internet has not progressed as far as that. The cupcakes laced with inspiration that I keep trying to send you through the broadband connection keep getting stuck in the transfigulator. And the assassin I dispatched to quiet your internal critic keeps missing his target and dropping his cone of silence over those random popup ads that blast techno dance music. 

So, to cheer you on in your word battle, I can only offer more words. How about a quote for you, as often as I'm able? Today's is from Steven Pressfield, the author of The War of Art. I found it via this inspiring post, The Battle of Resistance, at the blog, There Are No Rules.

Maybe it's too early in the month to talk of resistance. You're probably flying along, feeling the rush of words. But one day, this month, you're going to face a wall. All the more reason to stockpile now the encouragement you'll need to get through it.  And think about it: isn't this act of overcoming just what you're asking your characters to do?


Resistance is directly proportional to love. If you’re feeling massive Resistance, the good news is, it means there’s tremendous love there too. If you didn’t love the project that is terrifying you, you wouldn’t feel anything. The opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference.
The more Resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/project/enterprise is to you—and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it.


Go, NaNoWriMo-ers! Go!

4 comments:

  1. I'm doing the play version Naplwrimo. It's been thrilling so far, there really is something about such an intense focus to create.
    We'll see how it is on Day 22....

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  2. I'm revising this month, so no nanowrimo for me!
    I just got back from the school book fair. I bought Operation Yes for my fifth grade son (and I) to read. I was so excited to see it on the shelves. I'm going to get started on it tonight!!

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  3. "But we know the Internet has not progressed as far as that. The cupcakes laced with inspiration that I keep trying to send you through the broadband connection keep getting stuck in the transfigulator. And the assassin I dispatched to quiet your internal critic keeps missing his target and dropping his cone of silence over those random popup ads that blast techno dance music."

    I love that paragraph.

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  4. Lindsay, someday I'm going to try NaPlWriMo, just for the fun of it. I think I'd learn so much about dialogue and pacing and structure. Or I'd tear my hair out in frustration. One or the other. :)

    Kelly, thank you! Hope you and your son enjoy reading it!

    Adrienne, I appreciate your appreciation. Extra cupcakes for you. Wait...Dang. Sorry.

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