This semester I have been busier than ever before. It’s not due to class, (I had more one year ago and about twice as many students) and it’s not due to learning Chinese (though that’s still kicking my ass). It’s also not due to hanging out with my friends as I’ve barely seen them.
I think it’s more due to the fact that I’ve been here a long time. I know so many people, and as one of the few foreigners here people tend to come to me for help. Just to give you an example today I had 4 hours of class, followed by 2 hours of chinese. (My lunch break was spend chatting with a student explaining the recent Jimmy Kimmel controversy that, yes, chinese people are very aware of and not too happy about.) Then, in Chinese class was interrupted by a former student (and friend) who was calling. Guess who was in town and wanted to visit? I was very happy to see her, and catch-up a bit, but I only had an hour before I had to rush off, do some shopping then finally arrive home around 5 in which I had time to make and eat dinner before meeting another student for some administrative stuff at 6. Then, after that I had to work on prepping my class and doing a bunch of research despite the fact I’m physically and mentally exhausted.
That’s just how my days have been. I’m not complaining (okay, maybe I am a little) but everyday I pretty much have to squeeze everything in. So what did I decide to do about it? Make myself more busy.
Yes, after years of wanting to do it I finally decided to participate in NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. It’s an international, internet thingy in which you sign up on their website and attempt at writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. For those of you not good at math that means I need to write 1,667 words per day, or about 3 and a half single-spaced pages. Every day. Last year about 350,000 people participated with about 10% actually achieving it (by midnight on Nov 30th you submit your manuscript to their website and they have a program that counts the words.)
There’s no prize (except the satisfaction of achieving it) and yes, you could do a lot of cheating (like starting before Nov. 1st, or working on a half written book) but I’m going to follow the rules and give it a shot. It’s something I’ve always thought about, especially living in China. But even though I don’t have to deal with the holidays here, November has always been a busy month and I’ve always said, “next year.”
So no point in putting it off, right? The point isn’t to write a good novel, it’s just to write a novel. It will help me sit down everyday and write, and will hopefully prevent the “inner critic” from discouraging me. After all, you barely have time to read what you have written the previous day, much less edit it.
And so far, it’s fun. When I announced it on Facebook I found out a bunch of my friends have done it (and are doing it again) and so we are going to encourage each other. Also, they have message boards, and one is dedicated to people living in China and there will be a few ‘group writing’ sessions in various towns and cities in China.
So I’m a little nervous, it’s a big undertaking, but excited as well. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Anyone else participating? Tell me in the comments!
I’ve tried it once before two years ago if I remember correctly, I didn’t get even close to finishing. I got the email to my inbox again and thought about it, I just wish it would be in December when I have much more time.
You know Sara, I’ve always wondered why they chose November because in America we have Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas and it’s just crazy in general. But so far so goo! One week in and I’m only a few thousand words behind but hopefully I’ll be catching up this weekend (if no one calls me and bugs me for english corners, or milk teas or helping them translate something, haha!)