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Monday 31 March 2008

BIAM with Tristi

Tristi is holding another BIAM challenge on her blog and once again I've signed up. I haven't been very successful when with her other challenges, and yet I've done NaNoWriMo two years in a row and achieved 50,000+ words each time. My husband and I were talking about it and think we came up with the reason.

When I do NaNo, the whole family thinks it is cool and pitches in to help. They fix meals when they can and try to be understanding when the meals I prepare are not as exciting as they might like. They put up with the house being a little messier than usual and most important, they push me when I get lazy or distracted by reminding me to go write. They celebrate every thousand words and make me feel like I'm really accomplishing something worth while. But when I've done Tristi's challenges, I don't make as big a deal about them and so I don't get the same support.

I guess this has helped me realize that even though writing is a solitary pursuit, it isn't something I can achieve on my own. No one can write my story but me, but it will take my entire family to get me there. This is part of the process that I'm still trying to learn. I need to discover the things my family can do and learn to let go a little. I need to share my goals, my success, and my defeats with them so they can support me through the process.

Luckily, I have a teenage daughter who wants to help make dinner despite her busy schedule and a husband who doesn't mind cooking once in awhile. It has been suggested that I don't fold the laundry anymore, but sort it into baskets and get each family member to sort their own. That one I still struggle with. I know most of the clean clothes would just get stuffed into drawers and worn wrinkled.

Like any learning process, this one is filled with surprises and errors, but someday I'll get things figured out. Meanwhile, Tristi's challenge starts tomorrow and I'm determined to make it this time. I have a story that's just begging to be finished, and if I can write 1,000 words a day, I just might get there.

1 comment:

Annette Lyon said...

Absolutely--family support is a must. I'm years into this writing gig and *still* trying to figure that one out. Best of luck with the challenge!

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