NaNoWriMo Meets Multitasking

So there's this long running joke that goes along with NaNoWriMo that for the month of November you give up everything that does not have to do with your novel. Except that in many cases it really isn't a joke at all! Many loads of laundry and dishes, and many showers are pushed back until the end of the month, as are other tiny details such as grocery shopping and making time to acknowledge your other family members.

Even if you are a fast typist you feel the press of time during November and all of us try to fit in our normal lives along with the daunting challenge we had just taken head on. Usually this works well for me. I've managed to be a full time student and go through finals for my past three Nano's and I've also had all sorts of things going on, such as a job one year and a little day called Thanksgiving that is really about five days long in my family.

While the hundreds of thousands of are off writing sometimes we have to multitask. Maybe that just means plowing through your word count as quickly as you can while the baby is sleeping, or maybe that means tying in your sleep because if you don't do both at the same time you won't get either! I was definitely multitasking today, but I didn't plan on doing so. I am a furious fan when it comes to Utah State University football and basketball, and of course since it is Fall I have both to deal with. I just so happen to have both happening today. I had it all planned out - write before the football game and during half time and then more afterwards.  Well it sure didn't happen that way! I ended up writing before and right through the whole game. I am honestly surprised that I managed to crank out 4K while listening to a football game that I was very much invested in! So, while I was sprinting away, I was also doing this:

Of course you just read all of my posts backwards, but you get the idea. Props to my writing friends for being worried about me going astray! That is what writing friends are for!

So, it is a Saturday in November, which means you are bound to have something going on. Were you doing any multitasking today? Or did you stick it out all the way, solid as a rock? If you did, you are amazing. Way to go writer!

- Heidi Nicole Bird