The tipping point

Week Three is when people realise that Nano is Hell. Some people are behind. For them, it is Hell. SOme people are on target. For them it is Hell. Some people are ahead. For them, also, it is Hell.

In Week One, enthusiasm and the giddy excitement of madcap excitement carries most nanoers along. Before they know it, it is over. Yup, a few run into difficulties straight away, but Week One is a time of wild optimism. "So what, I've only got 500 words, and I've just had both hands amputated. I can so do this!"

Week Two is usually pretty tough. Then, dismal reality sets in. What had seemed like a flurry of plot ideas turns out to have been a plot unravelling. Characters that seemed 'mysterious' in Week One are now just stubborn. Those foolish enough to credit muses for their inspiration, generally discover that muses are fickle, work-shy slackers who bolt at the first sign of trouble.

Week Three is different,a nd yet the same. Some are horrified to find that the problems of Week Two don't magically disappear in Week Three. Others realise just how bloody big a task they've set themselves. Others start to feel the effects of nano's pressure cooker environment - they get stressed, they get sick, they give up.

Some people hang on, bitterly punching out words, because somewhere in Week Three, they will reach 25K - the half way stage. And when they do, they think, they'll feel better. Half way! Wheeee!

Wrong. Halfway is just that. When you hit 25K, you'll feel like a train wreck. You'll be tired, sick, depressed, confused, saddled with a plot that you have no faith in and characters you hate. And you'll be acutely aware that once you reach 25K, you have another 25K to go. And you won't be sure that you want to do it, because you'll know how much the first 25K hurt. And you won't know if you want to do it again. Because doing it once hurt like Hell. So doing it twice will hurt like two Hells. And that can't be good.

That's when you need to keep on going. 25K isn't anything special. Everytime I've reached it, I've found it to be an anti-climax. But somewhere between 25K and 35K (usually 28K to 32K), I reach what I call the tipping point. Suddenly I relaise - really comprehend - that I've written a whole lot more than I still have to write. If all the words I'd written were piled up, and another pile of the words I still have to write was put beside it, the first pile would be much bigger than the second pile. And suddenly, you realise that you're going to damn well do this thing, no matter what. Up until now, you might have said you're going to do it, but it's always been with a little sliver of doubt. But now you know you can, and you will. And this time you really mean it.

And that's the tipping point. From there on, it isn't easy. But it is easier. The last 20K or so can still be painful, but somehow you know you're going to get there.