If only my 401k looked the same.
Yes! I am a “Winner” once again for National Novel Writing Month (forth time winning). Looking for today’s photo? Here you go.
I wrote 50,070 words in twenty-eight days (I hit the goal last night).
Even though I enjoyed my experience this year, I am glad it is over. Sure, it was fun, but NaNoWriMo is stressful on its own, and it is even worse when you have a bunch of other things going on like I do.
But, I was happy to take a break from the fiction novel I’m rewriting, Drake, to give NaNoWriMo another go.
Why did you partake in National Novel Writing Month? For conditioning. Really. I’m rewriting a fantasy fiction novel, Drake, and I felt like I wasn’t doing as well at it as I could be. So, I took a month off and forced myself to crank out about 2,000 words a day. When I get back to Drake tomorrow, and shoot for only about 500 worrds or so, it’ll be a breeze. It is like training for a 5k run by running five or six miles–you get used to the longer haul, so anything less is a cake walk.
Are you going to finish this National Novel Writing Month story? Maybe. We’ll see. It was more important that I just get it out of my head, and I had always wanted to try a memior/non-fiction. NaNoWriMo was a good testing ground. Even though I had fun, I think I’ll stick to fiction. But, this did give me a taste of what non-genre fiction would be like.
Are you happy with what you wrote? I enjoyed a few sentences.
…Out of 50,000 words, you “enjoyed a few sentences“? Yep. That’s how it works. This time around was a bit easier because I was basing everything on my vacation to Disney World last month, but even then there were parts where I wasn’t sure how much I enjoyed what I was writing. But, that’s the point of NaNoWriMo–just get something down on paper and out of your head. You may have this great idea, but you’ll never know if it really is or not until you give it flesh and bones.
Would you recommend Novel Writing Month to other writers? It isn’t for everyone, but I always tell people you have to try, and NaNoWriMo is a great way to force yourself to try when it comes to writing. That’s how I finally got anywhere with writing, and it has opened a bunch of doors for me. And like any craft, the more you exercise your skills, especially in less than ideal situations, the greater the benefits. You can sit around and blog or tweet about how you want to write this-that-or-the-other-thing or how such-and-such writer sucks, or you can cowboy up and prove yourself.
Everyone starts somewhere, and NaNoWriMo is a great push out of the door.
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Daniel J. Hogan is a freelance writer, podcaster, and a photoblogger. He lives in Lansing, Michigan and he ain’t been home to see his baby in about 28 and one half days. Follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.
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Just think, if every month was NaNoWriMo, you could put out 6 books a year! Or not. I’d go with not 🙂
that thought has crossed my mind!
If novel writin’ was my day job, I could crank ’em out like nobody’s business.