November is almost over and I have, as I posted, hit the 50k a bit ago. And I am gearing up to finish my novel.
What I like about NaNo:
- We learn what we are capable of: I know for example I am fully capable of writing 2400 works in three hours a day. Well thought out. With some research in there at times. Not rushing it in the least.
- The routine: We establish a great writing routine of doing this every day. No slacking or procrastination. This is get the job done.
- Perfectionism has no place: We learn that perfectionism has no place in a rough draft. Just keep writing. Get it down. Review it later. Fix is later. Change it later. This is for hashing out your idea.
- Pacing: we learn our pace. What pace works for us. When we hit the wall, what works for us to get around that. Get blocked? What helps get us out of that.
- Habits: We learn quite well what writing habits work for us, and try new writing habits that may or may not work for us. I tried some plotting before I wrote those year and I enjoyed it, it made for some interesting structure to my work. But trying to write at a different time of day… yeah, no.
- Community: we get to hang out with a lot of other writers and talking about writing things. Brainstorm and help with plot lines.
And now we get to spend more time on the next draft. And twice as long editing than we ever did writing.