I have a walking cast and crutches, I'd like to personally thank - but more on that, below.
2010 brought with it, my first attempt at the NaNoWriMo challenge. For those of you who don't know what that incredibly long acronym stands for - it's the National Novel Writing Month competition - where writers from around the world, are challenged to write 50,000 words, during the thirty days of November.
That's right - a 50,000 word novel, in just 30 days.
Impossible?
That's what I first thought, when I set out to take this challenge head on. It didn't help, that I entered into the contest, having just spent almost 9 weeks with the most amazing bout of writer's block, I'd ever experienced in the four plus years I've been writing.
And so I sat for the first few days, staring at a blank page on my computer screen. Waiting. Hoping. And downright pleading that some form of inspiration would strike.
But it didn't.
For the entire first week of the month, I sat there and was unable to type more than a few words here and there. I wasn't able to blog, tweet, or really even draft up a legible email. And to make matters worse, I'd severely torn my calf muscle at one of my CrossFit workouts that same week - and was house bound with one of the most beautiful walking boots, that would make even Christian Louboutin jealous...and let's not forget, the lovely matching crutches (should I mention they were kids crutches? Yeah, evidently the adult ones, were too tall for me).
Seriously - nothing like striking a women, while she's already down.
Sleeping with my foot propped up on a bunch of pillows - it suddenly hit me. Okay, maybe being blindsided in my sleep, at 2:45am one Tuesday morning, is a better way to put it.
I immediately jumped out of bed - practically launching the cat who'd fallen asleep on my foot, across the room - and hobbled as fast as I could, to my computer. And I started writing. And writing...and I wrote, until I heard my alarm go off for me to get ready for work that day (which completely sucked, by the way).
But who was I to complain? I was finally writing again - and chalked up over 5,000 words that night alone.
And two and half weeks later, I crossed the finish line, with 52,770 words - almost 3k more than the goal, and two days ahead of the deadline.
And the best part is? I'm still going! In fact, I think I'll be finished with my entire first draft, in the next week or so - which just blows me away. Especially considering where I was, just three weeks ago.
So in the end, I owe a big thanks to my lovely walking boot and crutches.
Because of them, I was forced to sit down and put fingers to keyboard.
And because of them I have an almost completed WIP.
Thanks, NaNoWriMo for the awesome challenge! I look forward to next November, when we meet again.
Here's hoping I won't need to severely injure myself, to kick my muse into gear.