NaNoWriMo On Reflection

Total Word Count: 18,102

So, again, I have found myself not succeeding in the NaNoWriMo writing department. However, I am not so disappointed this time around as I have been previously.

Here’s why:

1. In this NaNo, I wrote more words than in all previous years combined. My current total word count is 27,209, with 18,102 of those being from NaNo 2016. This is almost twice the number of words from all previous years, which is a great achievement for me and I feel that I have really accomplished something. Of course, this is a lot less than I would have liked, but I consider it a significant improvement and feel that taking things at a more sedate pace for a while is in order.

2. I have finally found how I best write. Previously, I was sitting at my desktop in the living room, and found myself going nowhere. I went for a full seven days of being unable to write anything, and over the next five days I wrote a paltry 577 words. That was incredibly disheartening, and I almost gave up. But then, on day 18, after two weeks of getting nowhere fast, I suddenly found myself jumping from 2,828 words to 5,017, an increase that I can wholeheartedly attribute to a “change of scenery”. Nope, I didn’t go on holiday or anything, I simply took my laptop to bed and wrote there instead! I instantly found that my writing flowed freely, and that simply change to my environment made the whole process a whole lot easier. Perhaps it was something to do with the comfort factor, or maybe it was because there were less distractions, but either way, I finally found what worked for me!

3. I have made my largest ever daily word count, going from 11,026 to 15,081, an increase of 4,055 words. While my daily average still sits at 603 due to the twelve days of writing pretty much nothing, that single day of writing was really a boost for me, especially as it was a day when I had been at work. It gave me the confidence to carry on, knowing that I could at least get something down on paper, even if I didn’t “win”.

4. I learnt a lot about what I want from writing. It has been a long time since I really thought about what I wanted from my writing, editing and proofreading odd-jobbing. For a long time I found that I was writing for the sake of writing – that I didn’t really know where my purpose was or where I was going with it. I have recently come to the conclusion that I actually really want my writing to go somewhere – to take my places and to do new things. I’m not sure how, at the moment, but I hope to sit down and really think about that part very soon.

5. I have rediscovered interests in areas that I had forgotten even existed within myself. My interests in fantasy, sci-fi, art and photography still remain, but I find myself drawn increasingly toward myth, history and science. Now, I will admit, I know very little about these areas in professional terms, but I am interested in how I can draw these areas into my everyday life and do something fun with them.

I have overall found that my desire to write and publish a book has been renewed. This need not necessarily be a novel, but I am looking into various options for self-publishing and what it would entail. I am also looking into having a word with a friend of mine about how she went about publishing her books, as she seems to be doing pretty well with them at the moment.

All-in-all, NaNo this year was a great learning experience, and while I didn’t “win”, I did find out many things about myself and my writing that I didn’t know before. Hopefully, this will help me in the long run.