Today, a terrible thing almost happened. I almost quit NaNoWriMo.
With only a week left to go, that’s a pretty extreme decision, and the fact that there’s only one more week left to go is one of the many reasons I decided to keep going. You see, November is a very crazy month for me. Not as crazy as December, but I work retail, so November is all about the prep for December, and then there’s a multitude of other things going on in my life, mostly all of them positive, that have lead me to barely be able to touch my NaNo piece. Only today did I hit 20k. I’m so far behind, and Black Friday is coming up and there’s no way I’ll be able to catch up…
So might as well scrap it, right? Ever since the beginning, I was really doubting my premise for this novel, and, besides, the whole point of NaNo is to just keep writing and finish a damn book, which I’m currently doing with seven other projects. What would it matter if I ditched this one and just focused on the others like I’ve been doing? Writing is still getting done, it’s just not exactly 1667 words per day on this particular project that I don’t really care about. Might as well just call it another failed year and get on with my life.
Insert buzzer sound here. Eeeeehk. Wrong. I really had been ready to abandon this project, but when I settled in to work on something else with resolve, I realized how incredibly stupid it was. Who cares if I only get 20k? By the end of the week, it’ll be 25k at least, half the goal, but still 5k more than what I’d have gotten if I’d given up. And while I’m not feeling the story right now, that’s always something I can go back to when I start finishing up those other projects.
So I am not going to quit after all. I’m going to pump out as much as I can before the 1st of December, and then I will tuck it away for a while and go back to it eventually. You should never quit, and I’m a little surprised that I was going to, especially since, when I sat down and started typing, things took a more interesting turn and I’m actually pleased with how it’s going at the moment. Who’d have thought?
Have you ever had a moment where you wanted to give up, you were about to give up, and, in the last second, decided not to and things turned out for the better? I’d love to hear of other close calls with quitting.
L.S. Engler 
Keep going. Every little bit is that much you didn’t have before and that much less you don’t have to do in December!!
When I read the title of your post, I was afraid you were going to quit WRITING. Whew, that was a scare. Of course, I’ve almost done THAT myself. Quitting NaNo? Not the end of the world. BUT…if you DON’T quit, then that shows you have some discipline and aren’t afraid to keep going in the face of adversity. So it really is a big deal when you think about it. So go you! Rock those words! 🙂
I once finished a Nano novel on November 54th. Write what you can – you can always come back. The new perspective may breath fresh life into a story, as well. And best wishes and my sympathies for working retail this season of “joy.”