I learned through my first time as a NaNoWriMo ML (in November 2009) that there is one thing more satisfying than crossing the 50,000 words line yourself... it’s watching a struggling Wrimo do it.
The wrimo who gave up on countless hours of sleep and a wee bit of sanity to get the final words in. The wrimo who overcame death in the family. The wrimo who lost 10,000 words five days before the end and rewrote them. The wrimo who broke up with their boyfriend. The wrimo who was 25,000 words behind on November 28th. The same you drove six hours to encourage.
No one is a lost cause. Sometimes, believing in your Wrimo and cheering them onward is all they need to keep going. A little push. A smile. A high-five.
A good cheerleader is generous with his time and energy. He’s always rewarded, too. There is nothing as heart-warming as a Wrimo walking up to you and saying ‘I wouldn’t have made it without you.’
The best in all this? My entire region is made of cheerleaders, and I have received more than my share of love in encouragements through the years.
So to the Wrimo struggling with his script, to the writer behind on edit, to the author receiving yet another rejection letter... Find a cheerleader. Let him support you, no matter what.
And...
Don’t give up. You can do it. We all can.
I am so in love with this post.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post. There is nothing quite like support to make impossible writing tasks seem possible.
ReplyDeleteI remember some of that cheerleading, Claudie. It helped me a lot as I cruised to my personal victory during NaNo. Nearly finished with the revisions on that novel too. Thanks so much for your efforts.
ReplyDeleteCheers --- Larry
Great post and so true.
ReplyDeleteThanks, all! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd Larry, I'm glad to hear I was helpful in some way! Keep up with the revisions.
Our region lost some of that support last year. Somehow, we morphed from being supporting to cliquish, and it wasn't exactly fun. Don't get me wrong, our MLs are AMAZING, but it was a different experience last year. I'm glad you have such a supportive group. Ours is great online but in person it gets tricky.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. I think I just contradicted myself to my comment on your "c" blog. C'est la vie!