NaNoWriMo Word Count: Zero

Hello and Happy NaNoWriMo!

Last year was the first time I attempted this great feat.  I achieved a whopping 17,000 words.  I was pretty disappointed in myself, to be honest.  I really thought I could do this.  I had a good idea for a book, and I was excited about it.  So where did I falter?  You know what?  I don’t even remember.  I just know I didn’t get it done.  I finished the book much, much later.

So I’ve had some qualms about signing up this year.  Do I really want to make this commitment and then let myself down?  Haven’t I been just so completely busy already without piling another 50k words on top?  But then again, I have another great idea for a book.  Shouldn’t I just do it?  But on the other hand, it’s already getting late in the evening and I haven’t had a chance to write a single word.  That big zero at the top of the NaNoWriMo page is not just taunting me, but making outright fun of me.

Hulu has the old Bob Ross shows now.  (Don’t worry, this is going somewhere.)  I used to absolutely ADORE this show.  I watched it all the time as a little kid.  It turns out that Bob is just as hypnotic as he was back then.  His soft, even voice makes it seem like even I could pick up a brush and a gigantic paint palette and create a beautiful scene of trees on the water.  It’s just a bunch of simple little paint techniques that don’t seem like much of anything when you look at them individually, but when you stand back and put them together they make something beautiful.

Hmmm.  That sounds like something familiar.

And Bob starts with a certain type of canvas, but he tells me I can use any kind of canvas I want.  And I don’t have to paint the happy little trees right where he puts them; that’s completely up to me.  And sometimes, he says we’re going to get a little crazy and put a few extra plants over here in the corner, and just see how they look.  It’s all just whatever I want; no big deal.

Okay, Bob.  I get it.  I can paint my own beautiful scene with my words.  They might not seem like much by themselves.  I have to stand back and look at them all together.  And it’s okay if I don’t have all of my decisions made ahead of time.  I can throw in an extra scene here or there and just see where it takes me.  No pressure.  It’s all just whatever I want; no big deal.

Time to start writing!

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