That One Last Push: Victory and What Lies Beyond – Pep Talk Week 4

Just write button

We’re in the home stretch. Check out this pep talk by our own Eden Mabee, and recharge yourself to finish big!

Congratulations JuNoWriMo Winner!

I don’t know where you are in your JuNoWriMo progress.  I don’t need to know–really!  I already know you’ve won.

You see, you started a challenge that pushed you to write even when you weren’t as ready as you hoped you would be, even when you felt sick or the kids were now out of school on summer vacation, or the boss needed you to cover a few extra hours because your co-workers had left for a cruise…

You started JuNoWriMo, and you’re still here, still writing.  No matter how close you’ve gotten to that magical 50K, whether you aimed for that exactly or declared yourself a JuNoWriMo Rebel and set your own word count… you wrote.

Hopefully you’re still writing.  After all, you still have a few more days to get those words in, and a story doesn’t stop on a number.  Keep those fingers limber, your caffeinated beverages topped off, and the inspirational music playing.  If you’ve run out of story–start another.

Just Write.

It’s our motto here at JuNoWriMo for a reason.  You’ve heard the adage “You can’t edit a blank page”.  Well, those pages don’t write themselves.  The stories, the characters, need you.  Your words give them life.

Good thing they have you on their side, ready to make that one last push to bring them forth, to fill them with breath and vitality.  

But what do you do afterward, you may wonder.  You’ve spent a month with these people–you know them almost better than you know your cousins, and…  despite all your hopes for them, you just aren’t sure if they’re going to be ready to face the world.

Do you shove them in a drawer  and throw away the key?  Do you start them on a regimen of beta reads and line edits to prepare them for the harsh realities of Life?  Or are you like me… so very fond of them that you want to find new ways to spend time with them, meet their friends (and friends’ friends) for more adventures and chats?

And how do you do this when you don’t have time?  I mean, not everyone can set aside huge chunks of writing time.  That’s why the NaNoWriMos are challenges.  Because we have to set aside this time we’re not sure we have to spare to write stories that imaginary people in our heads demand we write.  If that isn’t challenging…  I don’t know what is.

So how do I do it?

I write something most every day.  It doesn’t have to be a lot, but it has to be something involving my characters and their stories.  I have a personal ‘goal’ for this I call my Five Sentences.  Other people have come up with different ideas: The One Minute Writer, 10-Minute Novelists, the Test Mile.  They all ask you to give one last push each day to get your words written.  They say “You’re not too busy to write–see?  Just Write.”

If you need encouragement on a regular basis: There are groups for that too.  There are more communities and websites out there dedicated to making sure you keep writing than I have bookmarks–or books!  You’ve joined one of my favorites, JuNoWriMo, and you probably are involved in the NaNoWriMo community as well.  Then there is the WANA community led by the seriously fun and kind, Kristen Lamb.  There is Kait Nolan’s Round of Words in 80 Days (the ROW80), which I love and sponsor for, and the Ready Set Write (RSWrite) summertime writing challenge.

Just to name a few.

They have all one goal…  to make sure you keep writing.  To make sure you keep being that victorious writer who makes that one last push every day for your characters. Because… that’s what winners do.

And you, are a winner.

Eden MabeeA ‘Jane of All Trades’ in a long line that has included farmers, slack-rope walkers, mechanics, forgers, teachers, horse-thieves, and writers, featured author Eden Mabee shares stories of a universe filled with magic, tech and political intrigue. She’s a self-proclaimed WriMo addict and photography dabbler.

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