This month, I attempted NaNoWriMo; as of November 29th, I’m at 17,652 words. I started strong, but ran out of steam in the second week; life happens sometimes. Unless I can bang out better than 16,000 words a day for the next couple of days, it’s safe to say I’m probably not going to make 50K.

And you know what? I’m not mad about it.

I’ve generated more fiction in this one month that I have in any given month of my life. It’s the most time I’ve dedicated to writing, the most involved in the craft that I have ever been, and it’s a very encouraging sign that I can actually do this.

In the past month, I’ve built the framework of a story that I genuinely enjoy, and I’m a quarter of the way (give or take) through a first draft that lets me get my hands dirty. I’m playing in the sandbox, and I’m loving every grimy minute of it.

This month I learned that I lean heavily toward the plotter side of the plotter/pantser/plantser spectrum; I can move through a story much better when I have a well-defined outline. And I’ve learned that the surest way to get through the difficult bits is to just keep writing, and let the editors sort it out.

So I may have “only” written 17,652 words in a 50K word challenge, but I feel like I got something as important as a finished manuscript out of it. I feel like I got an education.

#2017 #process #newprojects #NaNoWriMo