Writing with wreckless abandon

Just a bit of an update on my novel-writing for NaNoWriMo. I’m finding that after my initial burst of “let’s go!”, I’ve slowed down tremendously. It’s November 3, and Google Docs is telling me that I’ve only written 2180 words. That’s certainly far more than I’ve ever written in the past when trying to write a novel, but I’m going to have to pick up the pace.

I know what’s happening, too. When I first started writing, I was in “full speed ahead!” mode. Now that I’ve written a bit, the analytical bit of my brain is trying to take over. It’s saying as I write: ehh, no, that’s not quite right. No, that could be better. What’s the backstory for that? Why would that character do that? These are all very good things to be experiencing while writing, but doing so and listening to this mental banter while writing for NaNoWriMo isn’t the time or place. I need to keep this bit from the NaNoWriMo About page in mind:

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

My brain is definitely trying to kick in and make me start tweaking, editing, and ultimately, tearing down and rebuilding various passages. I can’t do this, or I’ll never make the deadline of 50,000 words by the end of the month. After a quick looksie at Windows Calculator, from this point forward, I need to be writing an average of 1850 words per day, every day. It’s time to tell my analytical brain to piss off, and start writing with wreckless abandon. Wish me luck!