It's That Time Again

It's the 30th of October. Tomorrow is Halloween, AKA the best day in the entire year. I'll be carving pumpkins and spending time with my family, and the day after that I'll be attending my local kickoff party for that beast that looms every November:

NaNoWriMo.

I write a variation of this post every year. It's relevant year-round, but doubly so in November, when many people are striving to write as much as they can in 30 days.

I've been participating in NaNoWriMo every year since 2008. In 2010, I was a senior in high school, with all the pressure that comes with that. In addition to worrying about homework and grades and my senior project, I decided I wanted to write my NaNo novel as quickly as possible, and write, not just 50,000 words, but as much as I possibly could. It was a personal challenge, and I got a wee bit too ambitious.

2010 was a rough year for me for a number of reasons, and I had a lot on my plate. I threw myself wholeheartedly into NaNo that year. I finished my project in four days, through a combination of not getting enough sleep, not taking nearly enough breaks, and pushing myself to the utter limit.

I was also sick at the time. That should have been my clue to take it easy, but I was sixteen and overconfident. So what could have been a quick, easy bout with the crud became a trip to the emergency room with a temperature of 106.3 degrees. When your temperature gets that high, you're in serious danger of permanent damage, and I remember sobbing that the water was too cold when my mom tossed me in a lukewarm shower in an attempt to bring my temperature down.

Not fun.

After a visit to the ER, during which I got a shot right in the ass cheek, I had to take a week off school. I spent the entire time either asleep or whining to my mom that I felt like crap. Not something I'm eager to repeat.

The moral of the story is this:

Take breaks. No matter how intently you're working on a story, for NaNoWriMo or otherwise, take breaks. Get up, drink some water, eat, stretch. Take a break from staring at a computer screen. Spend time with friends. Give yourself a rest. It's not worth hurting yourself just for the sake of word count. Believe me, putting yourself in the ER for the sake of a book is not only supremely unpleasant, it's pretty damn embarrassing.

Your story is important, but your health is important, too. Don't neglect the latter for the sake of the former.

Take care of yourself this NaNoWriMo, okay?

Until next time,
Jenn.