Whew! We are just at the tail-end of the month, though I am reserving my review of successes and failures for next week.

Instead, I will focus on the beauty of being just close enough, even if you don’t feel quite there.

Words Surrounding the Drain

Two days. Who could possibly get an additional thirty thousand words before November thirtieth, at eleven fifty-nine without taking any and all possible tricks?

Honestly, not many people can dedicate the amount of time or energy to accomplish such a herculean task. Instead we must pull together what we possibly can. I find that this is the prime time for overcoming inertia with whatever kinetic energy we have built up.

For we are at the last push, the end of the rope, the words that are circling the drain before they disappear. It is the time to do whatever works whenever we can, completely letting go the idea of perfection. We are not trying to die on this massive hill, instead we are trying to complete a whole trail without becoming exhausted and dehydrated.

While acknowledging all senses for self-preservation, go in what increments you have available: break by break; Pomodoro sessions; by hitting the next 100 or 1000 words. It is about throwing down whatever you can within the moment. You are a juggernaut, these words are bolts striking down from your hand, unrelenting force of thoughts and ink!

Release the Wild Animal

What we have yet to acknowledge, is the fact that real soon, we have to let go of this project. While being lost in the haze of a creative groove, or the daydream of characters and possibilities, we have to remember at some point, we have to set this back down. How else could we recover from a long excursion?

At some point we have to know when to let go of this beast we have been containing. For some this means letting it go for a bit as they recover from bites; if you need to make changes to your approach, then this is a valid time to take. Others may have to gather different resources, maybe study the creature a bit more.

Then again, you might have finished your quest, captured the entirety of your novel within this time. Where do you plan to place it? What comes next, after completing this whole damn thing?

But to know where to go next, we have to hold the beast in place or put it somewhere safe. Recovery, researching, editing… all of these require a beat of quiet. So have a spot ready to place your wild beast, so you can have that margin of time.

And remember, the light on the other side is multi-colored: there is an array of possibility available just around the corner.