Here We Go a-NaNo-ing!

National Novel Writing Month starts at 12:00am November 1st.  It runs until 11:59pm November 30th.  In between, participants race to write 50,000 words.  That's 1,667 words every day, which is just shy of 7 double-spaced pages.  When I trip into The Zone, that would take me a little over an hour.  Days that are heck-awful...well, I might make it to 500 words.  It's a lot of work, frustration, shoulder cramps, and fear.  And a lot of one's brain going, "Wooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"  I've never won.  I REALLY want to this year.  I've got my story.  I've got my characters.  I've got my determination, and my muse is holed up in an uncomfortable cabin in the snowy woods (metaphorically-speaking...she's really the visualized archetype of my creativity...but she can be a right pain in the bum!).  Now all I need is the time!  I'm rushing to finish up as much of my school work as I can before the month starts.  It's a LOT of work.  But so far, so good!

Now I just need to set my rewards.  Oh, first, a caveat.  I don't do the rewards system as behavioral training thing.  It doesn't work for me.  There is nothing I can simultaneously not live without and still survive if I don't get it.  I've seen people use going to the movies, or buying new clothes, or going on vacation.  Me, if it's a movie that means something to me, I'm not going to miss it ('cause there aren't that many I *have* to see).  I don't have the money for clothes, even if I enjoyed the purchasing of them.  And if I don't have the money for clothes, I sure as heck won't have cash for a vacation!  Even chocolate, which I've attempted to use in the past, simply gets eaten when my conscience and willpower aren't looking.

So, I am trying something new.  Rather than setting levels that I fight to reach so I can get the reward, I'm setting rewards that are bonuses.  The idea is to not deny myself of things I want for bad behavior, but to enjoy something extra when I achieve things.  It's a fine hair to split, conceptually, but in practice it might make a huge difference.

I'm going to brainstorm a little bit, and then return to post my rewards.  That's something new this year, too. Normally, I don't let other people see them so I don't have guilt. ;)  This year, I just need to keep track of them someplace that won't get buried in the move!