It's December 2nd and National Novel Writing Month is officially over as we head deep into the mish mash of the holiday season.
How did I do?
Interesting question. The bold, honest truth is... well, not so hot. I did write (yay!) but I got nowhere near the goal set out by the program nor did I write every day... etc. etc.
However, what I did do was write something and, in a way, it revitalized my interest in writing. This blog started as a lark but I've been repeatedly surprised by how much I really enjoy the simple act of getting something down "on paper" every day (or nearly every day). It's different from the writing I do in my normal life and I find myself looking forward to it. NaNoWriMo helped to reinforce the feeling I get from my blog, the joy of stringing words together and finding the right combinations both to the internal and the external ear (that's right, sometimes I read my blog posts aloud... to myself).
Am I alone?
Turns out no. This isn't shocking but lots of people started out on the NaNoWriMo trek and didn't quite reach the pinnacle of the mountain. I did a quick search through Twitter and some of the blogs I've been reading and a lot of folks are sharing my shoes - the experience offered something lasting but page count was not it.
It's not surprising to find but... I did better when I really got into the groove of writing... setting myself down every day and putting some words on "paper". I know that we all know this and this is a famous lesson lauded over and over by my favorite authors but I had to really feel it for myself. I need to write every day to be successful.
Yikes. Now, just how to squeeze that into my life.
Want more NaNoWriMo content? Here are some of the blog posts I liked:
Post NaNoWriMo Day 2: More than a Manuscript by Writer in Progress
Another NaNoWriMo Ends; Hello December 2009 by Triscribe
(great!) NaNoWriMo Round Up by Critically Yours
My NaNo Reward - Writing Routines by Routines for Writers
Posts
9 months ago
Thanks for including a link to my blog!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like NaNo was a good experience for you, finishing or no! Must try it myself one of these years...
I only got 10K words done, but in my defense, I was doing it without using the letter E.
ReplyDeleteWhile you may not have written every day, I think blogging counts! There were a lot of amusing posts in November so that plus doing some forays into fiction is a good start.
ReplyDeleteI applaud your efforts. Simply sharing your experience is great and helps others who have considered delving into this large undertaking!
ReplyDelete