Somewhat random pep talk

I just sent this out to the participants in National Novel Writing Month who are members of the Miami region, and who are thus fated to receive such emails from me twice a week. May it motivate you as it is supposed to motivate them.

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A friend told me a story the other day about her time on the high school track team. She and her teammates would run for miles every day, each keeping her own pace. Some people were able to move ahead of the group, some kept a steady pace throughout, and others would fall behind. Sound familiar?

Well, one day she was running next to one girl in particular, the two of them trekking side by side through the neighborhoods around the school. My friend got very tired and wanted to stop for a rest, but she looked at that girl next to her and told herself, “If she can do it, so can I.” To her surprise, she found reserves of energy she hadn’t known were there. When they reached their destination, my friend told the girl, “Thank you for motivating me to finish the run. I was so tired I almost dropped out, but you kept me going.” The girl laughed and said, “I was about to tell you the same thing!”
That is the beauty of NaNoWriMo. We are all running separately, but we are on the same path headed for the same destination. Look at the word counts of your fellow Miami Wrimos and let them motivate you. Pick a NaNo buddy and try to keep pace with him or her. If you’re falling behind and feeling discouraged, know that you’re not alone and that we all feel the same way sometimes. At those times, we look to that person next to us and think, “If she can do it, so can I.” And who knows: someone may be looking at you for that encouragement!

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