NaNoWriMo #2: Responding Responsibly to the Distractors

In my first NaNoWriMo blogpost, I focused on how I plan to average close to 2000 words/day starting Nov. 1. To summarize, I figured that I could sacrifice 2 hours each day, cranking out 800-1000 words per hour. The plan that seems to be the best is to log the first hour of the day early in the morning -- before going to work -- and concluding each day with the second hour -- before hitting the sack. And what will be sacrificed at those two times? Browsing the Intrawebz, that's what!

Yuppers, it does seem so easy ... maybe even too easy ... choosing to set aside the electronic distractions in order to meet the goal of writing a 50k+ word novel in thirty days or less.

But what about the human element? Even if the distractions appear to be taken care of, what about the distractors? What about the people who will -- by no fault of their own, with no malice intended -- attempt to get my mind focusing on things that I generally read about when I'm burying my face in the Intrawebz!

Let's pretend for a moment that it's already November ... that NaNoWriMo has already begun ... just for a moment ...

"Hey Dave! Did you happen to catch that Cards game last night?"
"Uh, no, Bob, I didn't."
"Man was that great! There the Redbirds were, one game away from elimination, when they ended up beating the Pirates ... in their own stadium even!"
"That's very nice, Bob, but I am in the middle -- "
"What? You can't be serious, Dave! You didn't watch the game? Oh, that's right. You don't have cable ... or even dish."
"Thank you for remembering that, Bob."
"But you do have a radio? DSL? You could have at least listened to the game on the radio? Or even on the Internet?"
"I suppose I could have, Bob, but I really was busy last night."
"Busy? Too busy to keep up on the Cards? What could you be doing that is more important than that?"
"Writing a novel."
"Oh, that's right. You're writing another novel. What? Didn't you just finish your third novel a few weeks ago?"
"May, Bob. I finished the last book of the trilogy in May."
"Never mind ... but it's the Cards, Dave! Where's your Redbird spirit? They're in the playoffs, man! The playoffs! And they were one game away from elimination!"
"I made this commitment to write 50000 words in the month of November ... to write an entire novel before the month is over."
"You did what? Write a book ... the whole book ... in a month? Now that's just nuts, Dave! Why did you decide to join this ... this NannyMoNaNooNaNoo thing? Now wait just a darn minute here! What about the NFL? Fantasy football? Aren't you keeping up with your fantasy football teams?"
"Yeah ... I guess I am."
"So how are your teams doing?"
"Fine ... I guess ... "
"It's bye-week time, Dave. You are making good adjustments for bye-weeks, aren't you?"
"Oh yeah ... bye-weeks ... I hate bye-weeks ... "
"Aw, c'mon Dave! You can't be serious? You're too busy writing a silly novel to fix bye-weeks holes?"
"Well ... I suppose I could be -- "
"What about the federal government shutdown? The Obamacare debacle? The budget mess? The debt ceiling crisis?"
"I think I've heard something about that ... "
"Oh no you don't! You definitely gotta be pulling my leg now, Dave! Seriously? All of Washington ... the whole bloomin' country ... is in an uproar! And you think you've heard something about it? War memorials have been shuttered ... World War II vets in wheelchairs have torn down those barriers ... "
"I'm trying to write at least 2000 words a day, Bob. And to do that I have to sacrifice the time I spend on the web."
"My oh my oh my! This is not like you, Dave, not at all like you! Aren't you the guy who teases everybody about their knowledge of current events? Aren't you the guy who has always taken pride in being on top of who's hot and who's not in the NFL? Aren't you the guy who by now has memorized KU's men's basketball team roster?"
"Am I really that crazy about the Jayhawks? Oh never mind ... It's called NaNoWriMo ... writing an entire novel of at least 50000 words ... in the month of November ... "
"Yeah, yeah, I've already heard that, Dave, but this is -- "
"I have chosen to sacrifice ... to give up my time ... to stay away from the Intrawebz ... I have chosen to write ... chosen to write ... chosen to write ... "