The passing of November into December marks a major milestone finished for another year: NaNoWriMo. This year, my success was not in finishing 50,000 words but in actually sitting down and plotting out a novel. A novel that I am still working on, even though I did not meet the word count for November. I was feeling a bit down about this until a very good friend of mine sent me the following message:
'The thing a lot of people forget about NaNoWriMo is that you can also write in the other eleven months of the year. Because EVERY month is novel writing month. So yes, keep writing.'
That made me feel better. I will always try and complete the challenge every year, but I will not make it my only time to write. In fact, I have re-worked the original plot outline and I am continuing on with my idea.
I am actually enjoying the process this time around, rather than feeling stressed out for not writing as many words as I thought I would. By not placing any kind of expectation on myself, save for writing well, I am far more productive.
I found my secret to writing well. And it took failing NaNoWriMo to find it.
