The Menu

Posted on 11/01/2015 by Andrew Reynolds

It officially starts today: NaNoWriMo
Yes, National Novel Writing Month.  The month when hundreds of thousand of folks commit themselves to writing a 50,000 word novel in a month.

1,667 words a day.  They don’t have to be good words, just words. Editing is done later (question, when is NaNoEdiMo?)  The idea is to just free write and get past the blocks that stop us from writing.

I’ve decided not to participate.  Yes, I’ve looked closely at the menu of creative choices I have and decided not to do this one.  There are lots of reasons.  First it would take me two to three hours to write that many words.  That much extra writing a day would send my arm into terminal tendonitis.

I can just see the look on my doctor’s face while asking me, “You did what?”

Another reason is, that’s not how I work.  I tend to think a lot about what I am going to write before I get to the keyboard so I’d really need six hours a day to complete 1,667 words.  Three hours to think and three hours to write that all down.

It’s a bit like me seeing broccoli on the menu.  There is really no reason to even consider it.  I’ll say it again, “I hate broccoli.”  It tastes horrible.  I don’t care if it can cure every disease known to humanity.  It tastes awful and I won’t eat it, so I don’t waste time ordering.

Okay, NaNoWriMo isn’t as bad as broccoli.  It’s more like zucchini.  I like zucchini, really.  Put it on my plate and I’ll eat it.  Now, I won’t order a large plate of it, but I’ll enjoy a couple of spoonfuls.  Three, if it’s Heather serving my plate.

Last week I mentioned tuna melts and hinted that I order them a lot.  Turns out I really like a good tuna melt.  Sure there are other things I on the menu, but sometimes the tried and true is the correct path.

And that’s why I know what I’ll be doing with my writing time this month and why it’s not time to start something new or change directions.  I have a poetry collection to finish, a novel work on and poor Miguel is still on that little boat.

So yes, I am ready to order.  Ice tea, a tuna melt with a side of coleslaw.

Till next week,
Andrew

About Andrew Reynolds

Born in California Did the school thing studying electronics, computers, release engineering and literary criticism. I worked in the high tech world doing software release engineering and am now retired. Then I got prostate cancer. Now I am a blogger and work in my wood shop doing scroll saw work and marquetry.
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16 Responses to The Menu

  1. ParentingIsFunny says:
    11/08/2015 at 3:02 pm

    Mmmm… tuna melt…. 🙂 And I’ll bet you share a bit of the tuna with the cats.

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  2. frederick anderson says:
    11/05/2015 at 6:59 am

    It defies imagination – come to think of it defies stenography skills, creativity and NSMH (the National Society for Misuse of Hard Drives – the ‘D’ is silent). Unfortunately, there are those, I am sure, capable of writing something almost as banal as this comment, although much longer, in a month. Not for me. PS I like Zucchini too, but if I’m honest its the taste of the butter that really makes it palatable.

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  3. aranislandgirl says:
    11/03/2015 at 12:41 pm

    I could never entertain the thought of such commitment either. Just not my thing to be so structured. Health is more important than anything really. Besides, you need those arm tendons in good nick in order to lift the tuna melts. I like mine with sliced beetroot. 🙂

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  4. aginggracefullymyass says:
    11/02/2015 at 2:19 pm

    First of all, I like broccoli. Don’t hate me… Second of all, I’ve got my hands full with 700 to 800 words per week. So it’s not for me either but I would order the broccol

    I think if I really put my mind to it, I could do it, but good heavens, it would take a chunk of time out of the month! This is something I’d have to plan on doing years in advance… And we all know that isn’t going to happen. But it is tempting – just like the challenge of running a marathon!

    As Sean Connery said, never say never!

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    • Andrew Reynolds says:
      11/02/2015 at 2:43 pm

      I don’t mind if other people eat broccoli. In fact you can have my share. If was going to do it I’d have to plan to take three months: One month to plan, one to do and one in the hospital to recover.
      But like you say, never say never. I should check my health plan…

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Jacqui Murray says:
    11/02/2015 at 7:25 am

    I’ll join in–not for me. I am completely impressed by people who can write like a train’s chasing them, every day for thirty days. Just doesn’t work for me.

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  6. JoHanna Massey says:
    11/01/2015 at 8:08 pm

    Not participating either. To focus on the word count would contradict how I write. Not criticizing that method, it is just not mine.
    A nice newsy post, Andrew. Do dill pickles come with tuna melt?
    Have a great week.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Carrie Rubin says:
    11/01/2015 at 7:42 pm

    I don’t do NaNo either. November is always such a busy month for me. But I’m pretty good about keeping a work rhythm up so every month is kind of like a mini NaNo. 🙂

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    • Andrew Reynolds says:
      11/01/2015 at 7:52 pm

      While I admire the goals of NaNo, I feel I have a good writing discipline and don’t need this particular format to complete anything. Although there have been a few times I’ve been temped.

      Liked by 1 person

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