The first week of National Novel Writing Month was glorious. I was consistently ahead of my daily word count, I had a routine that not only allowed me to write, but encouraged me to write. It got me off to a good start so that when I flagged in the middle of the month, I could still grind through and reach a total 50,065 words. I’m not entirely satisfied because a significant portion of my NaNo entry was fan fiction and various rants about life, but it achieved its purpose: it established habit.
I have never felt quite as focused on writing as I have in that first week. Writing became all-encompassing. My world. My life. And while everything else crumbles around me or changes at lightning speed, I have created some rather intense writing mantras. They may not be for everyone. But these mantras are what give my life structure, my existence meaning, that keep me moving forward when all I want to do is break:
This is my life now. There is nothing beyond this computer in this room.
The rest of my life is nonsense; writing is the only thing that matters.
THERE IS NO LIFE! THERE IS ONLY WRITING!
This is the point. This is it. This is the reason I exist.
Write every day.
Everything else is my life is fluff. It’s extra. This, writing, every day, is what matters. Not my day job, not socializing, not even my family.
The Cat's Cradle : On Hiatus! 