Conquering Blank Pages

I'm in for the long haul.

I'm in the second week of pursuing an arduous task. I am writing a book. It's National Novel Writing Month. The task is to write 50,000 words from November 1-30. (www.nanowrimo.org).

I've always had a story to tell. I've had the character, her background and plight all embedded in my memory. Now is as perfect time as any. My recent layoff has left me with an adequate amount of time to dedicate to developing my character's story into a credible piece of literature...or, so I thought.

You know how it is...you start a new workout or diet and the first week is great! You're all gung ho and throw yourself into it full force. You tell everyone about your new endeavor and may even enlist others to join you in the new journey. When the first week ends, you're excited and self-confident, knowing you're ready to go through with whatever.

Then, week two sets in. Suddenly, life is moving rapidly. Time-management is out the door. Everything that you set out to do has not been done. You're new endeavor is placed on the back burner and you wonder if you're ever going to be able to get back on pace. Yup, that's me at the moment. Aside from conquering these blank pages, I have my daughter (who has been home with me all week. Can we say OVERLOAD on The Backyardigans??!!), a class online for my Master's program and two other miscellaneous editing projects. This is full-time work without payment! Not to mention an overdue doctor's appointment and other random things to do that weren't originally on the to-do list but suddenly must be done. Therefore, for the last few days my story, my novel, my literary masterpiece as I like to call it, has been dissed, set aside and swept under the rug. True, I hit my 10,000 word mark (about 35 pages) yesterday, an amazing feat and accomplishment. But, that still means I'm about 2 1/2 days behind on my word count. A few days ago, I even considered putting a short-term hold on finishing it. I started to panic. I looked at my bills versus my bank account, my savings and the reality that I haven't been called for job interview since this unemployment journey began in October. I began to try and talk myself out of conquering this task, convinced this wasn't the right time and that I had fallen too far behind to catch up. I began to second-guess my storyline and found myself going back edit and proofread, instead of writing first from my heart.

At this moment, I am reminded of two things:

1) Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

2) The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

Have you ever read a book and became entagled in the story? All together sympathetic, enraged, angry, softened and excited for the character from the book's beginning to its end? If you answered yes to this question, you should be even more excited to experience those emotions all over again!
Did you answer no? Ok, good. That's the book I'll write. I'm writing it for you.

My next 40,000 words are more than some unpublished story I've kept tucked away for years. It's the beginning of turning my passion into profit. It's another goal accomplished, another piece of myself to leave with my daughter and another book that may just inspire someone else. All reasons why I can't quit, won't quit. I'll continue to push through to my blank pages. Truthfully, it's all good and all God.

I might just even start that Insanity workout...again.

Today's Reflection: Ready for the world!