NaNoWriMo Day 10: 19,288 words and counting

My nose is runny. And then it's stuffy. And then it's runny again.

Whatever it is, it's not pretty.

I am officially sick to death of NaNoWriMo. Why am I wasting all of my free time in a manner such as this? I could be doing housework! I could be cleaning off food from the floor! I could be talking to telemarketers on the phone!

But I must continue. I will not be defeated by the small voice inside of me that says, "This thing that you're doing? It sucks and so do you."

For inspiration, I will now remind myself of something I read on Andi Buchanan's blog Mother Shock.

By Sue O'Doherty, PhD, a writer and a psychologist specializing in issues affecting writers via an interview at Buzz, Balls, & Hype.

Regarding self-doubt, Dr. Sue says:

Paul Cézanne once said that each time he finished painting an apple, he believed he had solved the problem of painting apples. But then, when he moved on to the next apple, it was an entirely new apple, and he had to start all over again. ... When you feel yourself falling into the trap of self-doubt, take out a piece of paper and write the following: "This is new territory. I am an explorer." Tack it up on your bulletin board. Look at it once an hour, and write it over again if necessary. Remind yourself that the most important work you are doing is in the process itself. You are discovering and recording aspects of yourself and the world that are uniquely yours. If this were easy, there would be no point to it. You are mapping out new territory, and it may be harrowing—and, for that matter, you may not arrive at the destination you had set out for. But you will experience wonders along the way, and you will transmit them to paper to the best of your ability.

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