Pulling an all-nighter

I refilled my soda, stretched my arms and sat back down. The hour was late and my roommates were all asleep. The only sound I heard was the hum of the refrigerator compressor. I was in the small kitchen/dining room area working on a paper. I had a twenty page paper due later in the day. I was making progress. But in the words of Poet Robert Frost, I still had “miles to go before I sleep.”

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I looked again at my calendar to see how I gotten myself into this predicament, but I came to the same general conclusion. I hadn’t done anything wrong, I had tried to work in advance on the paper. I had completed my research and created a detailed outline, but exams and assignments always got in the way of my writing. Now I was in dire straits, time was running out. I couldn’t put it off any longer. I had to write the bulk of the paper in one night.

I felt overwhelmed, but I was ecstatic when I was done. I had a few other nights like that in college. I close my eyes and focus and it comes rushing back. I can still taste the bile and stress of the moment in the back of my throat. Somehow, though, I survived.

Those late night writing sessions and feelings of frustration have been top of mind lately. I pulled out an old novel from a “junk drawer.” I started it years ago and then set it aside, but have started working on it once again. Since I was a little kid, I’ve dreamed of writing my own book. With that goal in mind, I’m signing up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) or some other related program. My goal is to write more than 50,000 words towards a novel in November.

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You can read more about my goal on Trying Something New on the Heart of the Matter. I’ve never done NaNoWriMo. It’s a new thing for me. I keep reminding myself that I’m opening myself up to a few late nights and I might even fail. Still, I keep reminding myself that just like the papers in college, I could just as easily succeed.

That’s the great thing about trying something new, you never know what you’re going to get. I’m ready for anything.

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32 thoughts on “Pulling an all-nighter”

  1. Oh, Brian, you’re going to knock your NaNoWriMo challenge out of the park! Just the motivator you need. I did it several years ago and learned a lot about writing fiction, how your characters let you know what should come next. But you’re already a pro writer, what a perfect combination! Have lots of fun with it.

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    1. Yes, I was surprised, the last time I worked on my novel is was fun to see the characters come alive and be real to me. We’ll see about this time. I just don’t know why I haven’t been disciplined enough to get back into on my own, without the pressure of a writing program. Ugh. Ha, ha.

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  3. Wow, Brian you really are serious about blogging and writing novels in fact💯🙏

    Man, I really admire your courage to pull an all nighter. I believe you can just relax and take it one day at a time. Overdoing work can be bad for your health, I recommend you take it slow🙌

    Also, writing 50 000 words in one month seems a bit impulsive, are you sure you can do that? Anyways, I wish you the best with your writing tasks🙌

    Please don’t overdo it, you will faint due to paperwork😂

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    1. 50,000 is a lot but if you break it up daily it’s about 1,500 words each day, which is a very doable task. It means getting my thoughts down on the page and coming back for true editing later. I’ve had blogs in the 1200 to 1300 word range so I’m not too concerned. The big thing is being consistent — doing it every day. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  5. This sounds like a wonderful challenge, Brian. I’ve only heard great things about the experience of participating in NaNoWriMo and wish you all the best with it. Keep us posted and we’ll all be cheering you on through the month of November!

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  6. Good luck with NaNoWriMo. I have done it for the past two years. It helped me stay motivated to get a rough draft done. Then my laptop randomly deleted files including my 50,000 words! I was so discouraged. I thought I had an automatic backup to the cloud. I didn’t. So the following year, I used NaNoWriMo to come up with draft #2. I got it done and am working on revisions now.

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  11. Good for you Brian! You can do this! 🙆🏽‍♀️ It’s kind of funny that your line, “That’s the great thing about trying something new, you never know what you’re going to get” reminds me of Forrest Gump’s, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get!” 😜👍🏼🤣 Oh well, I guess it was a long night! 😝

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      1. I think it was perfect Brian! 👌🏼 I’ve just learned to go with the flow! That’s what we do! 😜 Your message is well received for sure! I get it! 👍🏼 Much love to you my comedy champ! 😍🥂😁

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  13. I think it’s great that you’re willing to try, Brian. And it’s not about succeeding or failing, it’s about enjoying the journey along the way. Okay, I didn’t coin that phrase, but still…

    Enjoy the process and those late nights! 😁😁✏️✏️✍🏻📝

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