For those of you too young to know the reference, Lonely Boy is a song from 1976 by one of the decade's many one hit wonders, Andrew Gold. Ok, he was a two hit wonder, responsible for the Golden Girl's TV show theme, Thank You For Being A Friend. Kinda fits with what I have to say today.
This week, week four for NaNoWriMo, I hit a word wall. I knew it was coming, but I didn't know how to climb over it. That's when I discovered week three's enemy: solitude. Writing can be a lonely business - just you alone with your thoughts, worlds, and characters.
But a good friend gave me a lift up over that wall. She is the Book Babe, Faith Hochhalter. If you don't know her, you should. Here is a wonderful blog interview with her by the equally wonderful and soon to be published Shannon Messenger. Included is a chance to win a critique from the fabulous Book Babe herself. Go now. Well, maybe wait until the end of this, which is coming quick.
Last Sunday, I complained to Faith that I didn't think I could still get my word goal out for that day. A lazy Sunday afternoon and frenzied writing don't always mix.
All Faith did was tell me I could. 'All'. Like that's a little thing. It's not. It's huge. And it made the biggest difference for me. I hit my goal that day and the days following. I'm at 42K words. Only 8K left to go and a week to do it. I CAN do this.
Faith - Thank for you being a friend. See? I told you it would fit :)
Don't be afraid to seek support. We all need it. It can change everything.
Good writing and, this week especially, ¡Buen Provecho!
Yay to writing, yay to friends, yay to Faith (and faith), yay to accepting challenges that push us and pain us but keep us moving forward.
ReplyDeleteYay to climbing that word wall -- I'm right there behind you climbing the darn thing, too. :-)