No one said this would be easy. On the contrary, most people seemed to say that just trying would be enough because most people don't make it to the finish line. Just starting this project is something to be proud of.
I don't know if you know this about me, but that's not really how I do things. [Though, if I could have that mentality about doing the laundry, I totally would.] When it comes to my passions, I don't easily give up on the things I start. So when I committed to NaNoWriMo this year, I knew that, while I may not finish on time, I would come out on the other side with a novel.
In case you don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a challenge that takes place every year in November, when people from all over the world come together and commit to writing 50,000 words over the course of 30 days.
I completed the challenge yesterday (a day early!), but there's still one more day of NaNovember! So let me spend it telling you what I learned in the process of embarking on this journey and finishing my first novel.
1. Sometimes it's a good idea to hop on the band wagon. We've all heard some annoying adult say that "just because your friends are doing it doesn't mean you should" - but this is different. One of my friends was doing NaNo back when we were in high school, and I always wanted to join her. In some ways I'm glad I waited until this year, but I'm also bummed that I missed out on all the other years leading up to this one. If you know someone doing NaNo, or if you want to just give it a try on your own, go for it! There's no good reason not to.
2. Trust your instincts. I probably didn't follow the same route as most other Wrimos (that's what participants in the challenge are called) because I've had this book in my head since 2005. Yes, really. It started as a crazy dream I had one night, and I knew I wanted to turn it into a story. That being said, this book changed A LOT in the writing process. At first, I refused to stray from my original idea, but, after 13 years of percolating in my mind, and even just after I started writing things down, I gave my original ideas the space to grow and developed into something way better than I could have hoped for in 2005.
3. Seek out compatriots. There are people who say things like, "we're born alone, and we'll die alone," but there's a lot more to life in between. I started an Instagram account specifically for the purpose of finding a community of readers and writers to share this experience with. I know it's "just" social media, but my followers there feel like friends. When I finally reached 50k, they were the first people I told. They've supported and encouraged me along the way, and I am so grateful for them. Without their guidance and reassurance, I don't know if I would have finished this challenge.
4. Go for it! It's impossible to write 50,000 words in 30 days if your inner editor is gnawing away at your work constantly. The first piece of advice I was given about NaNo was to turn off that inner editor - and thank God I did. If I kept my editing-self turned on, this book wouldn't have existed. There are still some places that I know cause inconsistencies. But that's okay. That's what the post-NaNo editing process is for. As you write, it's important to give yourself the creative liberty to change things when it feels right. Run with the ideas that grab you, and weed out the bad ones later.
5. Just do something. It's difficult to edit a written page, but it's impossible to edit a blank one. I know that there's still a lot of work to be done to edit this book, but now I have something to work with! Before, this story was just a bunch of half-created characters and a mishmash of ideas in my head. Because of NaNo, I can print it out and mark it up, hopefully making it better with every revision. Now, it exists.
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