Thoughts & Things

Week One of NaNoWriMo

It is nearly the end of the first week of NaNoWriMo. I feel like I have done fairly well so far. My chapters have ended up being longer than I had anticipated, which is okay. My novel is actually more feminist than I had anticipated too, and that's alright as well.

I am drawing close to the end of my second chapter. I have actually managed to stay ahead of the daily word count goal for most of the week. I spent almost the entire weekend gone at our local comic-con (which was amazing), which means my word count wasn't particularly high over the weekend. I knew that was going to happen though, so I got ahead in advance, knowing that any work I did on the weekend would keep me ahead rather than causing me to fall behind.

This is the first year I have ever had so much prep done, and I can really feel it. In previous years, I would start to lag a bit by this point. I would be struggling with where I wanted to go, and dragging out scenes into a long and boring mess in order to keep my word count up while I stalled to think of more ideas. Now my scenes are only a long and boring mess because I want them to be!

I am still excited to see where my novel is going, and I still feel eager to see my own writing. I do still worry about the quality, especially knowing that a few of the scenes have maybe run a fair bit longer than they really needed to. That said, I have managed not to think too hard about that. The focus is about getting the words out.

For the first time ever, I have also participated in word sprints this year. I had no idea these would be so beneficial for me. They really keep me focused on the writing and allow me to get out a higher word count more quickly. While these scenes will likely require a fair bit of editing, I think that I really do benefit more in just having the output right now. NaNoWriMo is about getting your novel finished. Editing is the part that makes your novel good.

I think that I may actually finish my first ever novel this year. I have started dozens. I am looking forward to the day I can say that I finished one. I hope that that day is this time next month, and I will work hard to make it so.