I Lost NaNoWriMo and That’s Okay: After Thoughts and (some) Unsolicited Advice

I want to start off by saying, I am damn proud of myself. I wrote 40,000 words in the month of November which is no small feat. And if I do say so myself, they are some quality words. When I write, I painstakingly think over every word. In this way, I think my first draft will be more polished than anything I have ever done in the past.

If you didn’t see my blog post announcing my participation, you can read it here. For the challenge, I decided to write a completely new story: a steamy historical romance novel set in Victorian South Hampton.

Related: See my entire November bullet journal spread here.

I considered writing book two of my fantasy trilogy but I knew it would be too much. The thing with epics is that I (personally) need to have it planned and completely plotted. Especially since it is part of a series, it’s not the type of book that works well for flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. 

Romance, on the other hand, I think works perfectly for a little plantsing. Why? Because it’s about a relationship at its core. As the characters develop on the page so does their relationship and this drives the story. And for me, that’s what keeps me writing and thinking (only a couple steps, mind you) ahead. 

Romance (broken down to the bones) is about two flawed people who meet, get to know each other, want to be together but can’t for reasons. And by the end, they have learned from each other and have overcome all the obstacles so they can be together happily ever after. Hugs and kisses forever!

All of this is to say: Have fun!

Seriously, that should be your aim and it certainly was for me. If you are interested and excited about the story, that enthusiasm will shine through and will carry you through the entire month. If you are bored then readers will be bored reading it.

Which is not to say that the writing won’t be hard to do. Quite the opposite, you can still have fun but it can still feel like work. But I think the writing and the story-making comes a teensy bit easier if the story you want to tell excites you.

The Goal of NaNoWriMo

I think what I discovered in November above anything else is the reason why NaNo works. I think the “goal” of national novel writing month is to get people into the habit of writing every day. Which is a terrific goal! Sit your butt in a place and write and write and write. Until your fingers and/or hand and/or brain hurts. And then keep writing a little bit more after that. It’s about creating a habit and pushing yourself to write every day so by the end of the month you have 50,000 words. Solid. Great.

But the other sneaky-beautiful goal of NaNo that I discovered was community. That’s how NaNo can become so much more than just writing a bunch of words in a month. I got to create art alongside other people creating art. We connected to something larger than ourselves. We get to belong in a way that only story-telling can accomplish. And when we feel that universal energy, we know we can do big things. Audacious things. Important things. We have the confidence of an entire community supporting us in our journeys. And that is one sneaky-beautiful goal.

Especially, when writing in and of itself is a largely independent venture. Sitting alone and crafting worlds only we can see. And yet for that month of November, I was a part of something more than me and my story: I was a part of a community all striving to do great things and getting to cheer others along as I was told, “You got this!”

And in the end, I fell short. I didn’t make the 50,000-word “goal.” And I am still proud. That is a gracious thing to be when my perfectionist nature keeps yelling at me and saying that I “failed.” But how could I fail? Just creating at all, even getting only a couple of thousands of words would still be better than zero words. So to all that participated: congrats on one hell of a month.

Happy Writing-