For the first time since I started doing NaNo in 2008, it’s the middle of the month and I’m not up to 50k yet. Everyone tends to expect me to reliably churn out 50k in a week or less, because that’s what I always do. Except this year.
It started well. I slapped down 5k a day, which is less than my usual NaNo, but a healthy amount. Then came Jet City Comic Show on the first weekend. I hadn’t expected to write much during the show, and I didn’t. I did expect to be able to pick it back up and churn at my usual pace on Monday.
The end of Daylight Savings Time messed me up this year. I guess I’m getting old or something. Then the election invaded my brain no matter how hard I tried to shut it out. I’m still roiling on the inside about my dad. I’m now worried for my LGBT friends and family, my son has taken the election results quite poorly for a variety of reasons, and I’m concerned about the future for my daughter, who is autistic, needs extra supports, and will be transitioning out of school soon.
Reading about attacks on various marginalized/minority groups has been disheartening to say the least. Watching people try to incite riots has been distracting. I stood at the bus stop with my son and faced a dozen middle-schoolers who are terrified about the election results and had to tell them the world is not ending when I’m not so sure it’s true.
Perhaps this should be obvious at this point, but I did not support Trump. I don’t like vague ideas over concrete plans. I don’t like putting people down over raising them up. I don’t want to make America great again. My idea of the future doesn’t involve bringing back the past. Every mistake we make is a lesson to be learned, not a blueprint to be followed.
That said, if you supported Trump, you’re not my enemy. I’m a citizen and a patriot. I don’t hate people for disagreeing with me. I don’t hate people for having different ideas or beliefs. Hate is the path to the Dark Side, and however much I may joke about having cookies, I am, in truth, a member of Starfleet*. In the Federation, we strive to understand and accept everyone. Bring hate to my ship, though, and I will kick your ass out the airlock.
And now, I’m plunking away, just trying to finish Ghost Is the New Normal by the end of the month. I’m not in a bigger hurry because that won’t help anything. I’m taking time to do the things that make me happy. This week, instead of being all NaNo all the time like I normally am in November, I’ll go see Doctor Strange, watch the TV shows I like, get some extra exercise, and make a pumpkin cheesecake for my mom. I’m going to figure out where I’m donating for this holiday season too.
For all my fellow NaNoers, keep on keeping on. If you’re stuck, write about how this past week or so has made you feel. If it’s writing, it counts.
*Ha! Nerd yoink!
“Live long, and prosper.”
And don’t let the circumstance grind you down.