End of Month Update

One Month: 41,541 words (107 single-space pages)

I started posting my word progress because I thought it would be interesting to keep track of how fast I wrote. This was spurred by the suggestion of Elizabeth, a fellow practicing writer, that I try nanowrimo. I scoffed at the idea of writing a whole novel in one month. I'm pretty sure I tossed out the word insane. However, nanowrimo considers 50,000 words to be an average novel length. So even though I will probably hit about 100,000 words for my adaptation, 41,000 words is not too far off of a normal project length. I may have to swallow my words on this one. Insane may equal doable. Nanowrimo is typically done in November so if anyone wants to test their own writing mettle now would be the time to start.

Today, I thought I would also talk about why I write. I never sat down and said, "I would like to be a writer." In fact, I avoided writing in general. But writing papers for school and creative writing for fun are completely different beasts. However, that lesson is not the point. Back to the point.

I write because I am compelled to write. What is the difference between desperately wanting to be a writer and being compelled to write, you ask?

Let me illustrate the point.

Imagine that you are sitting across from a small child and that small child has somehow gotten a giant ketchup blob on their nose. You could sit there all day hoping the ketchup blob will disappear on its own or take care of itself, if you will. But how often does that happen?

More often than not you would just grab a napkin and clear off the ketchup blob rather than waiting for the small child to notice, or worse, for that ketchup blob to end up somewhere other than the nose.

This errant ketchup blob describes my relationship with writing. It is far easier for me to submit to writing than to ignore the stories in my head. I don't sit around scrambling for something to write but rather I write to clear my head of all the chaos; characters running here and there, simple plot points twisting into full story lines. If I don't write then the chaos becomes too loud for me to sleep at night. And I really, really like sleep.

So, like the runner who must run or the eater who must try every goodie in sight, I write because I must. Enjoying the process is just a nice side effect.

I am compelled to write and I have very little say in the matter. I simply respond to the call by focusing the ideas and putting them down. However, don't think I am complaining. I am very grateful that I feel compelled to write for it is a wonderful way to indulge in a creative world.

Off to the next 50,000 words or so!