NaNoWriMo Pep Talk: Come As You Are

When undertaking great tasks like writing a novel in a month, it is easy to get lost in the idea of the thing – the idea of what it takes, who we need to be to accomplish our lofty goals.

Right now, I am having to remember this daily, as I move into a new phase of life where I am writing for a living, I’m learning how to write new things, how to ask for help, how to query jobs, how to reach far beyond what i thought my potential was.

It’s exhausting sometimes – particularly when I forget that I am capable of doing what I need to. I feel like I have to wear some kind of costume, be different than I am to accomplish what I’m working toward.

But I don’t. None of us do.

It’s so easy to forget the vastness of what and who we are already. We are beings who are able to go about our lives – well or poorly – every day. We breathe, argue, love, cry, and imagine. We create vibrant worlds in our minds as we sleep, and wake shaken to the core. We turn wood into houses, raw ingredients into meals, time into money, money into shelter, food, and entertainment, and finally, time again.

Creating, living, doesn’t need a costume. It needs only that we show up and do what we can that moment, that day, that month. We don’t need to be anything else. We can come to the page every day, exactly as we are. No dress code required.

You already have all you need. You are all you need to be.

Just begin.