Dear Wrimo,
I wrote a blog post about how to get others to critique your writing. It wasn’t the most uplifting article, and I figured I wouldn’t subject that to panicking writers a week before NaNoWriMo ends.

I was browsing Reddit as I do, and in the NaNoWriMo subreddit, someone asked how many people have full time jobs. To her, it seemed that all the pep talks were targeted to people who wrote full time.
Now, I don’t read Pep Talks. Sadly, Cracked has spoiled me to the extent that if there isn’t a picture after every paragraph I start thinking about chips.

I did read Neil Gaiman’s Pep Talk though. He wrote it years ago, probably before I started reading Cracked.
Anyway, before I digress any further, I want you to know that I’m a wrimo with a full time job. I leave my house at about 7:45am. At the end of the day, I get home for 7pm. I have two children and a wife that I want to spend time with (sometimes we do novel things like go out). After that, I have two webcomics I need to complete. Furthermore, I had four gigs in November.
I don’t tell you this because I want to play the “Who’s Busiest?” game. We all have busy lives. But I want you to know that I get it. This pep talk is targeted to those who can’t devote their whole lives to NaNoWriMo.

I have under a week left, and I’m twenty thousand words behind. And I’m tired.
Wow, not much pep in this talk.
Thing is, I’m not worried. I’m not even panicking. And it’s not because I’m so confident that I’ll get it done. It’s just that it’s not helpful. I don’t have time to fret and worry. I need to focus on one thing.
I need to write.
When I get home, I will eat my dinner, spend time with my family, be thankful that my wife is putting up with me, and then write. How many words will I get done? I don’t know. I will just write until I get tired.
Do I have the comic ready for tomorrow? No. But after that is done, I will write.
What will happen the next day? I hear there is a Karaoke event. Can I go to that? No. I have to write.

Creativity requires discipline. It’s not easy. And sometimes, it’s not even fun. But you get things done because that’s what creatives do.
If you are struggling right now, if you cannot find the motivation to get words on paper, then this is your time.
Prove to yourself that you do have the discipline to be a creative. You have less than a week. You can keep it together for just a week! Find those cracks within time and space where you can write, and don’t agonize about how little time that space is. Just write.
And if you have support, well then that’s all sorts of awesome. I hope you do! Have a great last week!