Lessons Learned from NaNoWriMo

This year I participated in NaNoWriMo. For those who don't know, National Novel Writing Month is a challenge where participants have from November 1 to November 30 to write a 50,000 word novel. This year I wasnt sure if I had time to do that many words during Dash's variable nap time. So I made my goal 25,000, which is the length a middle grade novel should be (which I happen to be writing). I also may have cheated by starting a few days early because I knew that it would be hard for me to get writing in over the holidays.

I completed my goal (yay!) and learned a few lessons along the way:

1. I probably could have done 50,000 words! It usually only took me 30 minutes to reach my daily writing goal. 
2. I should have done 50,000 words because I didn't have time to finish my story. But they say that a lot gets added through editing, so maybe that's a good thing.
3. I should have outlined more. This time around, I would pursue a new character or mini story every day, sometimes writing several versions of a scene (which wasn't editing- I was trying out new theories). But if I had planned things better beforehand, I would have been able to have a more coherent story.
4. I should have talked to more people about my story during the month to get plot ideas. There were several days that I was stuck in the plot and could have benefitted from a brainstorming session. 

That said, I already have my story picked out for next year, and I think it will be a lot more organized. I'm glad I at least started somewhere with my writing half-marathon this year, and I was able to gain a lot of confidence in my multitasking abilities. I kind of wish I could do another month sooner than next November, but it looks like the next 8 months will be dedicated to bar review.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah