Writing a novel in a month

November is National Novel Writing Month. This crazy endeavour was started by a couple of Americans over a decade ago. The friends decided to try to write 50,000 words in a month. Over the years NaNoWriMo has gotten bigger and bigger and is now a worldwide event. I've tried to do NaNoWriMo for a few years now and the best I've ever done is about 8000 words. The first few times was when we were living in Hanoi and November always coincided with our annual return to Melbourne for Christmas so despite my best intentions, I never wrote much. The best attempt was the November after we returned to Australia for good. I only had one child at that stage and tried writing in long hand, grabbing moments when I could. I went well for the first week or so and then my enthusiasm petered out. So far this year I've only managed 2000 words and I really should have over 10,000 by now.

All this makes me wonder why I bother and more importantly makes me ponder my motivation and commitment. It's so easy to blame having kids for not being able to write. I know women, published writers, who write and have kids. They are organised and keen. They get up early and squeeze out words in quiet moments. I saw Catherine Deveny speak at the Writers Festival last year on the topic of art and motherhood and she says she gets up early and writes 500 words before doing anything else. Before even getting a cup of tea!! These women inspire me. Every time I see one of them doing well, it gets me motivated...but not for long. A musician friend recommended a book to me not so long ago. "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. In it, Pressfield discussed the factors that block and impede creativity - what he calls 'resistance' - and how to break the hold resistance has over you. Great book - well worth a read. One thing he says in the book is of interest to me. Breaking through resistance means being a professional, not an amateur. Treating your writing like your vocation, your job, your life. And I think that's where I need to make the transition.

Meanwhile, I will go back to my NaNoWriMo novel with a whip in one hand to get me going and a thesaurus in the other.