NaNoWriMo failure...and proud

[Hannah_Deava]

Just wanted to make a little thread to celebrate anyone out there who maybe didn't (and definitely won't) hit that final 50k word count before the end of today.

This is 100% me - I'm topping out at just 20k, after massive personal setbacks and many tears midway through. I basically stopped mid-November and was like "no, this is costing me too much, too much time, too much mental headspace, my partner is guilt tripping that he misses me at night, I'm tired at work, it's basically ruining the other parts of my life and it can't be worth it"

But after a week away, repairing my mental health, you know what? I was desperately itching to get back to it. I dreamed about the characters who never met, the places I never described, the villains I never fought. That itch made me pick up my keyboard, just as much as joy of finally updating my word count again. And I just started writing again, not focusing on the daily target, or that final 50k, not sacrificing my life for it, but just writing a little, manageable bit each day, just to scratch that tiny writers itch. And? Oh my god it felt like coming home.
It now feels like a part of my actual well rounded life.

And today I finished 20k words! I have NEVER written that much of a single story in so little time. And I live what I've done and Im going to keep going! Every day, until the story feels properly done with me. And while it may not be the exact point of NaNoWriMo, I never would have reached this point without the motivation of NaNoWriMo and all the other writers doing it!

So thankyou, to NaNoWriMo, to my fellow authors (cause I'm actually starting to feel like one for the first time in my life) and thankyou to myself. I'm proud of you all

If anyone else maybe didn't make their target, for whatever reason at all, but is pleased with themselves for doing NaNoWriMo anyway, please share your stories if you want, no matter what happened We did good!

 

[CMBright]

I hit 25k and feel like I won, even though officially I didn't.

 

[LisaH46]

I'm so glad you posted this. More people need to hear this. It's a huge success that you finished 20k and listened to your body and its needs. I'm glad you are celebrating it!

 

[delb0y]

The thing to search for in one's writing, above and beyond all else, is to enjoy it. If you stop enjoying it, what's the point? If you're enjoying it and only writing a few hundred words a day - you're 100% a winner!

 

[PastyAlien]

*raises hand* Life got in the way for me as well. But I'm still happy I participated. NaNo got me going, and now I have a query, part of a synopsis, an outline, plus a few chapters. So a pretty good idea of where the novel is going, and loads of inspiration.

So even though I'm a NaNo loser, I'm still gonna wear my participation ribbon proudly (those are the only kind I ever got in school anyway).

 

[Nether]

NaNoWriMo isn't necessarily a great fit for everybody, although it's good to attempt it anyway. Even if you don't finish in November, there are other months. And even if you don't meet the goal one year, there are other years.

I think last year I only did 20-30k. This year I drafted a 74-75k word manuscript, and I'm 16k words into drafting my next project.

 

[TStarnes]

This month was a disaster from top to bottom for me, between traveling twice and getting sick in the middle of it. My original goal was 75k for Nano, and I ended at 67,582, which is greater than the standard 50k Nano goal, but well under my actual goal for the month. I'm a little annoyed at myself, especially for getting so little writing done last week.

 

[Elenitsa]

I knew I could not win this year, however I announced a project and worked a little on it (I can boast only for about 8,500 words) because I am a Municipal Leader and I considered I needed to be there for my folks (not that they were many participants anyway). Unfortunately I have other priorities this time of the year, not of writing nature (decluttering a deceased hoarder's appartment - said hoarder being my mother, may she rest in peace - and donating what is worth donating, throwing out what cannot be used anymore, making the inheritance paperwork...)

 

[Donnettetxgirl]

I have to agree with Nether. This approach isn't for everyone. I don't think about how many words I should be writing per day. For me, that would be way too much of a distraction. I write a scene-by-scene outline before I start the book. That way I know where it's going before I even start. I try to write every day. But if I don't, It doesn't bother me. Every scene I write, whether it takes me an hour, or two days, is one scene closer to the start of the next chapter. That's how I break it down in my mind. If I set a goal to write X amount of words each day, I'd waste too much time wanting to shoot myself.

 

[Gatteau]

The magic of NaNoWriMo is the deadline, which is an insane thing to try and meet. Which I must be reminded of every year. Personally, it is something I need, to give me the kick in the pants to actually do more stuff. But it also serves as simply a reminder that we should be writing more and creating these habits for the rest of the year, just to keep writing on and on...

I reached burnout during NaNo this year, just too much else going on, and so far behind, and so sure I would not make it. And I was devastated at first to come to realization that this might be the first year I would not technically finish. But then I did it - barely. I charged through close to 10k more words in the last two days. (For some reason, the last few thousand words are easier than all other thousands - still working on the fundamental theory which will shake all of physics for why that is...) And it does feel good to have done it - and that is why I do it every year. To go through the whole book process, sort of in fast forward, and feel like I've really accomplished something. But then the rest of the year, I go back to a more leisurely approach and a more sane life style, and it feels good.

I say this to remind us (mostly myself) that it is a crazy cool thing to tackle every year, but not necessarily* something we need to be doing all the time.

*unless we've got some totally awesome super powered brains fueled by rocket fuel or whatever out there that might be even better