NaNoWriMo: The Mid-Point

Can I just tell you how much more I’m enjoying NaNoWriMo this year than last year? There are many factors but the most important is that I love my story this year. The inspiration for it didn’t even come to me until the day before NaNoWriMo began so I jumped into this with no real planning, no back stories, no “world,” but I knew the conflict I wanted to portray and I’ve just been building on that. Right now, I have the first half of the story fully outlined so I know how I’m going to get to the pivotal point of the story and then… well, then the characters are going to have to lead me to the ending. I have no idea how it’s going to end and that makes me giddy. 

I love how the story has matured in the first fifteen days. Going into it, I thought the story was going to be told from one character’s point of view but now I know it is clearly the story of two people. Right now, one character is the primary focus and will be up to the crest of the story arc and then the other will take the focus as the story works toward resolution.

Another reason I’m enjoying it more is that I’m not as alone as I was last year. Not only do I have a larger band of cheerleaders on Twitter this year, I’m also attending the weekend write-ins of the Peoria-area NaNoWriMo’ers. I get to sit in local coffee shops with amazing fellow writers and feel spurred on by all the inspirational writing energy in the room. We also have our own Facebook group so we can connect outside the write-ins and it’s been great fun. They are good people.

The final reason is my own attitude. Last year, I was in a do or die mood, I wanted to get the story written, cross the 50,000 word finish line as quickly as I could and move on to something else. My only goals last year were to see if I could do it and see what 50,000 words looked like. This year, I’m enjoying the process of writing. I’m enjoying not knowing where scenes may end up or how my characters are going to react. I’m enjoying not even caring if I “win” or not. This year it’s all about telling this story that I need to tell, learning more about my own writing style, meeting others who share this passion and having fun with it. So, from that perspective, I’ve already won.

At the mid-point of the month, I had wanted to have written somewhere around 25,000-30,000 words, just to make sure I was pacing myself correctly and not going to feel stressed at any point during the month. I am currently at just over 35,000 words so I should be on target to finish the month without any late-night writing cramming sessions, which is great. Not that I would do that anyway, because the goal isn’t to win but to enjoy, but it’s nice to know I should be able to do both.

Wishing much luck to my NaNoWriMo’er friends and sending my heartfelt appreciation to those of you cheering me on this year. It’s great to have you there when I lift my eyes from the page. It means so much to not feel alone at something that is very much a solitary activity. Thank you!

Comments

[Kellee]

I am SO glad you put up your last reason for enjoying it more this year. When I read the first sentence or two, that was my immediate thought. "Well, I think the reason she is enjoying it more is because the pressure is off - it was a last minute choice. She isn't doing this to prove something, she is doing this because she wants to and she is excited about an idea." Yay! I'm glad you are having such a lovely experience this year! :)