So November has rolled around, even though the weather doesn't seem much like it. Some have embraced this season all the same with some special frenzy: for those who haven't heard of it, it is NaNoWriMo. This is an acronym for National Novel Writers' Month.
It's a competition with yourself in spirit with many, many other people to write a novel in the month of November, specifically 50,000 words. Everyone writes their own 50K, but there is a community of support, where people participate in write-ins--meeting other participants somewhere nearby to write or talk together--or comment on forums when someone needs an professional opinion--what actually would happen to a nuclear reactor in X situation from a fellow writer who is actually a nuclear physicist is a real example I had seen on one of the boards--and other general advice/prompts/encouragement. Even persons with no actual experience in writing can get a great deal out NaNoWriMo.
The idea isn't necessarily to create great art, but to create quantity and, even more importantly, to get into the habit of creating. I have won NaNoWriMo at least three times and each time I was back into a better habit of writing for at least a while longer again. What have I done with these completed pieces? Not much, but, again, that the act of creation itself can have as much value if not more than the actual product.
I've been spending a lot of time assessing my goals of late: I'm working on some professional goals in learning new material, I'm taking piano lessons, I've been going back to the gym, and, oh yeah, I started this blog thing. The hardest part, particularly with working the gym time back in there, is managing my energy. Living with a chronic illness is always subconsciously about managing your energy. If a healthy person runs out of energy it means a complete different thing than if a chronically ill person runs out of energy. When I am done, I am done. As an example, the difference is between "I have just enough to get back home" or "someone needs to carry me into the house." On bad days, taking a shower and getting dressed would deplete what I had for most of the day. In my major recuperation from Mayos, I would eat something and immediately go to sleep, being unconscious for the majority of the day if possible because there wasn't much else I was able to do anyway or on enough heavy medications that I couldn't focus well. I also don't bounce back nearly so well as I would like, meaning that when I try to borrow energy against tomorrow, it's a slow climb back to normal usually over a few days to be okay again. I've gotten to a point where I consistently have enough energy to get through the work day, but what I can do in the evening is still always in flux.
I remember having energy to do most everything. I had a ridiculously packed schedule for some long stretches in college, one of those periods of time I started dating Andy on top of all else--I could still make time for what was important, but I had everything planned down to minutes. I expected some energy depletion when I got older, but I really have no idea how much better this might or might not get.
Some of this is my long explanation for why I haven't updated much recently. But some of this coupled with this month being NaNoWriMo inspires this declaration: I want to post at least fifteen different blog posts in the month of November. Going for the whole NaNoWriMo goal this month I know would be too much (not that I couldn't catch up by this point--I've done 10K in a weekend before). When I have done NaNoWriMo, this usually means that I have to sequester myself accordingly, and I'm also not willing to do that this go around. In fact, I've already neglected my husband enough with some of my new interest in going to the gym--I do like spending time with him, actually. As such, yes, there will be many updates happening. I expect the subject matter to be a certain flavor of varied, too, not to mention some of the quality. This is where I'm choosing to direct some of that energy for the next while. Thanks for coming along for the ride through this exercise.
The idea isn't necessarily to create great art, but to create quantity and, even more importantly, to get into the habit of creating. I have won NaNoWriMo at least three times and each time I was back into a better habit of writing for at least a while longer again. What have I done with these completed pieces? Not much, but, again, that the act of creation itself can have as much value if not more than the actual product.
I've been spending a lot of time assessing my goals of late: I'm working on some professional goals in learning new material, I'm taking piano lessons, I've been going back to the gym, and, oh yeah, I started this blog thing. The hardest part, particularly with working the gym time back in there, is managing my energy. Living with a chronic illness is always subconsciously about managing your energy. If a healthy person runs out of energy it means a complete different thing than if a chronically ill person runs out of energy. When I am done, I am done. As an example, the difference is between "I have just enough to get back home" or "someone needs to carry me into the house." On bad days, taking a shower and getting dressed would deplete what I had for most of the day. In my major recuperation from Mayos, I would eat something and immediately go to sleep, being unconscious for the majority of the day if possible because there wasn't much else I was able to do anyway or on enough heavy medications that I couldn't focus well. I also don't bounce back nearly so well as I would like, meaning that when I try to borrow energy against tomorrow, it's a slow climb back to normal usually over a few days to be okay again. I've gotten to a point where I consistently have enough energy to get through the work day, but what I can do in the evening is still always in flux.
I remember having energy to do most everything. I had a ridiculously packed schedule for some long stretches in college, one of those periods of time I started dating Andy on top of all else--I could still make time for what was important, but I had everything planned down to minutes. I expected some energy depletion when I got older, but I really have no idea how much better this might or might not get.
Some of this is my long explanation for why I haven't updated much recently. But some of this coupled with this month being NaNoWriMo inspires this declaration: I want to post at least fifteen different blog posts in the month of November. Going for the whole NaNoWriMo goal this month I know would be too much (not that I couldn't catch up by this point--I've done 10K in a weekend before). When I have done NaNoWriMo, this usually means that I have to sequester myself accordingly, and I'm also not willing to do that this go around. In fact, I've already neglected my husband enough with some of my new interest in going to the gym--I do like spending time with him, actually. As such, yes, there will be many updates happening. I expect the subject matter to be a certain flavor of varied, too, not to mention some of the quality. This is where I'm choosing to direct some of that energy for the next while. Thanks for coming along for the ride through this exercise.
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