Day 3, as promised

I remember two things that I read about NaNoWriMo before I started. The first is that I would find myself on Day 3 writing something completely different than what I had intended. The second is that NaNoWriMo is essentially a waste of time because the time spent editing the crap you write in that thirty days will likely take longer than taking the time to write well in the first place.

It is Day 3 and I am, in fact, writing something completely different than I had intended. Despite the great idea that came to me during a rare moment of peace in the shower. Despite the fairly detailed outline that I came up with as a result of my shower-time inspiration. Despite starting off exactly as I had planned, I am now off in another direction entirely. Which is just fine. The words are pouring out, and I'm happy.

Which also brings me to point number two. I am, no doubt, writing some crap. Hopefully a mix of good and crap, but I'm not kidding myself into thinking that it's all pure genius. But whatever it is, it's a heck of a lot more than I had written in the last...well, let's not quantify that time frame. And that's something I've been trying to do for years. To get myself to just sit down and write every single day. It has only been three days, but I have made time each of these three days to focus on writing, and I am proud of that. Even if I only make it through one week, I've improved as a writer. I don't mean that to sound defeatist. I will make it to 30 days and I will write 50,000 words. But my point is that this is in no way a waste of time. This is exactly what I need. It's a kick in the butt. Often kicks in the butt don't just come and find you. You need to stick your butt out a little and invite them in.

Oh, and if you're getting tired of hearing about this NaNoWriMo business, then maybe you should check back on December 1st. :)