November is over, a time for reflection on gratitude—and this crazy idea to write 50,000 words in one month.
As of November 30th, my word count on my YA dystopian novel, Colorless, stood at 54,588 words. I should have a good version ready for readers by spring. I could have done more that week, but opted to do the whole Thanksgiving/snowday/family thing instead.
Now is the time for thankful hearts, exercise machines, and reflections on the lessons learned during NaNoWriMo.
Even something as solitary as writing is more fun with friends—be it in person or online.
Some jewels of wisdom I gleaned by following @FakeNNWMTips on twitter:
“Characters with verbal tics add to word count and have more personality! ‘Two…two birds with, you know, a stone.’ See? #nanowrimo”
“Keep at it! You’re only making a penny per word less than Charles Dickens! #nanowrimo”
I learned that while I can write fast—up to 6,000 words in one day—I do better work and avoid burnout if I plug along and write about 1,000 words a day.
I can’t promise that I’ll do NaNo again next year, but I do know that I have more to work with now than I ever have this early in the winter/writing season.
And to all those valiant Nanoers still emerging bleary-eyed from the trenches. Take a shower, my friends, it’s over. Find those critters--AKA, your kids--give ‘em a squeeze, and skip off for a winter buried in edits. Such are the joys of writers.
Did any of you learn something new about yourself this last month?
6 comments:
Good job on Nano! I love those fake tips. Too funny. I hope you have a wonderful winter/writing season.
Nicely done -- and I agree, 1K a day is a much better path to productivity w/o burnout. But wow, 6K in one day? Impressive!
Write1Sub1
Congrats, Wendy. Yes, Ik is my usual routine - when on project. It creates its own momentum. And I also plan the opening of the next section before I end so I have something to start from the following day.
I envy Athony Trollope mind, who'd start writing on a stand-up bench and churn out 5k before starting his day job at the Post Office. Those Victorians, eh.
Angie, thanks for stopping by. I hope your winter is full of happy muses and loads of writing too.
Milo, ah shucks, weren't nothing. It looks like you will be busy this year with your one-story-a-week goal. Whew! Good luck.
Mike, Your Athony must've had a muse of steel. Mine requires frequent walking about the room, and/or staring out the window if my kids don't provide sufficient distraction. *wink* I also usually jot down where I think the story is headed before I quit for the day since a blank page is a terrible way to start the day.
Great comments guys! keep them coming.
I love nano why??? cuz I got to finally meet you and be your roomie at the retreat! I think that made it all the more fun! I love you roomie and am so proud of you being a awesome nano winner!!!
Debbie, You are so funny! I was feeling that workout for days. I've decided that Pilates is a code name for mid-evil torture.
(It was great fun though!)
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