Accountable

I have added a button to the top of the right hand column of my blog. Do you see it? It's a word counter. A NaNoWriMo word counter.

NaNoWriMo - (from their website) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30.

I have attempted this competition for three years now, always throwing in the towel fairly early. I felt guilty for taking the time, my inner critic talked me out of it, it was too hard. A few of the reasons for my past failures. This year, I am determined to win! I am telling family. I am telling friends. Now I am telling you. The more people that know, the more real it will be, the more I will feel held accountable.


This is Lennon. He loves our printer. He waits patiently for pages to print and is beyond thrilled when they arrive. I am going to tape this picture above my printer so he can hold me accountable (as much as a cat can).

A friend sent me this picture. She cannot be here to breathe down my neck. She wants this for me. Bad. She knows how important it is to me. I will hang this picture by my computer. It is to remind me she's watching, holding me accountable. 

If you pop in throughout the month of November, keep an eye on the word counter. See how I'm progressing. Feel free to cheer me on! If I slip, give me a little poke, but please be gentle!

Have you struggled with a self-challenge in the past?

What tricks and/or tools did you use to overcome?