Scribbles by ME

What I Learned from Participation in NaNoWriMO

I wanted to participate in NaNo last year (2009), but I was still teaching and teaching for me was a full time experience.  Since I had no ruler of how much time would be involved, I opted out.  I did promise myself, however, that I would take up t he challenge in 2010.  So this was my very first experience.

Hear are the things I learned:
1.  All you need is a sentence to get you started and a vague idea of where it is going.....it always changes.
2.  You'll get your characters all mixed up if you don't have someway to log them and identify who/what they are/do.  I used Character Keeper which is a free download.
3.  YWriter was of no use to me.  It comes with little direction and it would have taken me too long to learn the program and how to use it.  Can't beat Word!
4.  Word counts vary--sometimes greatly--from program to program.. I used a spreadsheet which I made to tell me the Chapter number, the number of words per chapter, and a column that added each chapter's words automatically when the  numbers are added.  I also had a column to tell me how many words I still needed and how many words I was ahead or behind based on 1667 words a day.  Very helpful to see it grow.  It was a motivational tool for me.
5.  I didn't need any 'party' or lounge help for inspiration. 
6.  I told a few people  I was going to do this primarily so I could not back out.
7.  I smartly put aside a time when no one but the cat and I were up.  Two big pluses from this:  no interruptions and my writing did not interfere with family time and other chores.
8.  I LOVE GETTING UP BETWEEN 4:00 A.M. AND 5:00 A.M. TO WRITE.  IF I WAKE UP AT ANYTIME DURING THESE HOURS, I CAN NO LONGER GO BACK TO SLEEP.
9.  My beloved cat, Houdini, really can do a trick!  He comes and meows at my door and wakes me each morning.  I never had to set an alarm.  He does expect a treat while my tea is brewing, however.
10. My biggest pay off is that now that I have finished, I want to continue the habit of getting up at that hour to write.  I hope it has become a habit now.  I can always find something else to do during the day besides write.  Therefore, I haven't written anything in a year.
11.  When I began 50,000 words seemed like an impossibility to me.  But, I was determined to do it if I had to write a bunch of short stories and string them together......maybe I did do that in some universe. 
12.  I rarely checked how many words I had during the day's' writing to see when I could quit.  That happened twice near the end when I was already over 50,000.
13.  I am amazed at all the people who want to read my novel."  In their minds publication is a done deal.  I keep trying to explain that it's not much of a novel and the editing process would take a year or more.  They refuse to believe me.
14.  I was proud of myself and no one can this experience from me.  I was a bit  concerned to learn that many people here at wdc had gone over 100,000 words in the same amount of time I did  50,000.  How Awesome!
15.  Even an old woman can still achieve things that are awe inspiring.