It seems to me like most people who quit Nanowrimo quit in the third week. The pep talk for the third week and the chapter in 'No Plot? No Problem!' that talks about this part of the process make it sound like the third week is smooth sailing. I've noticed that for many people participating in the collective madness, the third week is when the personal disasters occur, when the word count deficit becomes overwhelming, when writing is no longer fun, or when you just want to do something else -- anything else. I'm seeing a lot of people who just cannot do it any more, and I wish them well.
I'm going to give a big cheer to those who are still plugging on in the face of adversity, a big hug to those who are preserving their sanity by leaving off before their minds explode, and a little rallying cry to those who are undecided:
You want to finish, but you don't know if you can. Your determinaton is perhaps wavering. You want to feel the sparks of joy and hope you felt when you were first starting and everything was fresh. Try narrative tricks and games, like spontaneously ending the story with a major disaster or string of unexplained deaths and have the rest of your book be a similar story, giving you the chance to start anew with some of the same themes and devices you enjoyed going in to the process. Make the rest of the book a short story or novella with completely new characters, if you despise your current cast. Find some old story idea you fell in love with years ago but never fleshed out and hurl it discus-style into the mix.
Get a cheerleader! Find someone else who's plugging along beside you, who is stubbornly refusing to give up. Ask them to cheer you on and give you little shoves when you falter. Look for someone who inspires you in some way, with their ideas or their dedication.
Take mini-vacations, when you promise yourself not to agonize over your nano for a set amount of time, like an hour. Set an alarm if you have to. For that hour, do the thing you want to do the most but felt guilty about doing because of how behind you are. Sometimes stepping away and breathing untainted air is the best thing to rejuvenate your tired brain diodes. Think of the nano like a baby -- sometimes you just need a sibling or sitter to look after it to give you a reprieve from the constant demands on your time and well-being. It doesn't mean you love it less. It means that you're a separate individual asserting your separateness.
I hope all this didn't sound too pompous. I couldn't stand to quit now, but I know if I was harboring any doubts I'd probably like to see things or people out there that bolster my confidence and give me a desperate desire to shine.
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