NaNoWriMo 2023 Reflection

If you’ve been following me for some time, you know I’ve done NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, since 2019. It’s a tradition I look forward to each season and I was particularly excited for this year. I wanted to write 50,000 words in a new project that’s been sitting in my head for quite some time. Unfortunately, some real life things happened and I was left dealing with some scary news and emotions. So, I didn’t quite reach 50,000 words but I did write 25,000 words and a great outline, so I am still very proud of the time I put in.

There was also some drama within the actually NaNo website forums, which I never used, and I ended up deleted my account on the recommendation of some other participants due to a data breach. I don’t know much about it, but since I only used the site for the word counter, I didn’t feel too bad about losing it.

The most important thing is that I learned a lot about my process as a writer. I have big dreams and I’m a perfectionist, which makes things a little difficult as a sensitive creative, so I’ve been keeping most of my work close to the chest for the most part. But after this past month, I am more determined than ever to not let circumstances stand in the way of this goal I’ve had since I was in the fourth grade.

For a long time, I’ve tried to use the outline structure that works for others. But the thing about drafting and being a novelist that you need to learn for yourself is that your process will never mirror another writers perfectly. I wrote out an outline as I saw it and made notes where I knew I needed to expand. Each day, i’d revisit the outline to orient myself in the story and get to work. If I got stuck or things veered off track, I’d revisit my outline and then see how I could make what I wrote work within that structure or how the outline might need to be adjusted.

So while I had some dark days where I couldn’t write, I have a plan to finish this book and I can’t wait to get down to it. And hopefully, things will start to lighten soon and I won’t have to worry about any of those blocks.

If you participated or have dreams of writing, I’d love to hear about them!