Getting To The Page

It’s the second to last day of Nano Poblano, the month-long post-a-day writing challenge, and I’m still here.

In this penultimate post, I find myself reflecting on how the month has gone.

I don’t feel that any of my posts this month have been particularly revolutionary. Most of them have been written in an hour to an hour and a half at the most, with some rolling in at less than an hour. But that’s okay, it’s more than okay…

I’m actually really happy with every one of them, because each daily post is a testament to my success at the first and really only goal for taking on this challenge this month: getting to the page. To write, something, anything at all, every day, and post it on this blog.

I allowed myself to relax and not be too much of a perfectionist. To just write what came, and not worry too much about the details, or whether I should actually post it, who might see it, or if I should spend more time than I wrote it on editing and improving and rewriting it. This month hasn’t been about any of that, it’s been about the rhythm of entering the process, not the finished product.

Nothing here is “finished.”

Morning writing has generally not been successful. I am no good at mornings, and knowing that I have to start work in a certain amount of time (usually less time than planned because I didn’t get up on time) puts pressure that makes it hard to get in the “zone,” to let the creative juices do their thing. That being said, jotting down some notes, setting the tone of the day, maybe doing a bit of reading and scribbling down a quote that sits with me throughout the day and turns into a post later on, these things have certainly been an improvement over… nothing at all. I’m still getting to the page, still making it one of the first things I do in the morning, even if not much goes onto it at that time.

Evening writing has been my sweet spot. Once I’ve accomplished what I need to accomplish for the day, I’ve eaten dinner and allowed myself a bit of unwinding time — watching a couple shows or playing a bit of video games or getting out for a bike ride if the weather is decent — I retreat to my writing corner. And I’m finding that my brain is better at slipping into creative mode after I’ve done all this other stuff — but not overdone anything. That’s where the discipline comes in, and the schedule. I know I need to get to the page by a certain time, and after almost a month of making it happen, I’m finding my creative brain start to kick on sometimes even before I get to the desk. I’m starting to feel a pull.

I couldn’t be happier about all of this, even if… even if nothing. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the accomplishment of getting to the page every day.

To celebrate, I’m going to publish this post now — before it’s perfect, before it’s anywhere near midnight — and use the rest of my evening to go for a walk in the freshly falling snow.

One day left! See you all tomorrow!

Fellow bloggers and cheer peppers: how you holding up? What’s been your biggest takeaway? Ready to sail across that finish line tomorrow?

Header image: Unsplash / Yannick Pulver