Day 30: NaNo reflections from Chris

When November 1 came, I felt completely blocked. I had a very sad year, and lost several people whom I loved very much. I hadn't written in months. When I started to write my "novel" it came out in fits and starts, each plot spiraling into nothingness. I realized that I just needed to write about my year. Thank you to all the pep talkers who told me to use nanowrimo as a tool, to use it in whatever way I needed. I just needed to write, to get it all out. I wrote and wrote and wrote, going deeper with each thousand words. It was hard; most days, just the fear of not "winning" kept me going back to my computer to tally up another 1667 words. I kept a close eye on my "nano stats" line, knowing that I would not be able to pull any miraculous marathon sessions. On top of everything, I have developed sciatica, so I can't sit for more than an hour at a time. I needed to be the "slow and steady" turtle this month. Finally, at about 45,000 words, I started my novel! My characters are popping out of the page. More important: what I was afraid to write about, I now dive into bravely. I'm so excited. I slipped past the 50,000-word mark today, and I'm still going. I can't wait to see what December brings. Thank you, pep talkers, for freeing my writer within again. I feel like I have a part of myself back.

I learnt that as my Pastor says, it really is a cinch by the inch and hard by the yard. I learn that it really was possible to balance a family (husband and 2 children), a full time job and this. I made sure I wrote something every day. I learnt that even when I had no idea what I was going to write, I could just start piecing words together and something would come. The story went in directions I never could have imagined. The characters came to life many times without my help. Most of all I learnt that your imagination can take you just about anywhere. My first NaNo ... A truly awesome experience.

I learned that no matter how close you get to your goal, keep pursuing it like you just started.

It was the first, and biggest novel sized story I have finished from beginning to end, and it is not entirely terrible. This gives me hope and it gives me something to revise and put on the kindle market for a dollar.
All going well, the sequel will be written next November.

I'd like to thank everyone on Twitter/facebook for their encouragement and support and I'd like to thank Google Documents for their not too distracting, cloud based word processor, that I used to write all my nano novel, when at home on my computer and when I was out and about on my android phone.

It has taught me to not preplan everything. Some of my best stories, my best writing just started with a memory and branched off from there, the spontaneous moments I allowed myself helped me get started in some of the best writing I ever did!

- Relearned that writing is the light of my life.
- That hackneyed phrases are fun.
- That practice makes better in story and habit.
- That process stays pretty much the same and though I never really get used to it, I learn to accept it, a little more each year.
- That I love nonsense so very much.
- That more complexity the better as long as there's a long and winding path through it.
- That I am ever and still grateful for the ability to sit down without a single notion and let the story flow until I am both happy and pleasantly surprised.

What I have hoped to learn the last couple of wins (this is my sixth) is how to keep on writing until the story ends. Perhaps this year.

This is my first NaNoWriMo and I think the biggest lessons that I can take away from this year are:

Regardless of distance, support comes from all walks of life, and that a kind word from a complete stranger can make all the difference.

Thirty days is an incredibly short time in the grand scheme of things, but a simple hour is enough to propel me toward a completed goal.

I have the ability to do anything to which I put my mind.

I learned each word is precious. Write at least a few every day even if you don't get to 50K. And that is exactly what I did. Didn't win, but I won.

My first NaNo novel answered my question, Outline or no outline. Two answers, at least for me:

1. Definately not. An outline is a roadblock to my unconscious. I learned that my first draft has to be the work of the untapped, the shadow, the underbelly of my soul I fear so much. It's the bubbling cauldron from which crawl all those characters who try to, and maybe should, steal (or steel) my plot.
2. Absolutely. If left to its way, my unconscious would spoil everything. It is an undisciplined willful brat that wants to run away from home every time I sit down to write.

So, now that I've written around 275 pages of (to borrow Chris's phrase--great video!) not-to-terrible characters and scenes and conflict, only to be one third of the way home, I need to outline. Boy, do I need an outline.

I have learned that no matter what, no matter how hard the world seems to be pulling you away, no matter how much your personal laziness desires may be, and no matter how much your family may bother you...you can complete a novel, with fifty thousand words, and you can be proud of that novel, and yourself, for coming so far in just one month.

Before November 1st arrived, my thoughts were that I would do a lot for someone who has never written more than a couple page paper. I never in my life thought I would actually hit the finish line with more than 50,000 words. So the biggest thing this novel has taught me is to keep going and keep writing. I was never a great English student, but I think that helped me not to go back and edit more than little things like wanting to add a character to a scene earlier than I did. It was a fantastic experience. I hope I can do it again next year.

My NaNoWriMo experience taught me a lot. I've never done this and obviously this is my first time. I learned about this project and I thought it was really exciting and interesting so I decided to join in. First I was struggling with my own mind and had zero inspiration to write. That so-called writer's block.
Then I learned to discipline myself and I found I was more determined than I thought. I can say I grew a little throughout this month. I don't know if what I wrote is of good quality but I feel happy and accomplished. Next year I'll be ready to write another novel! :)

It taught me that it's never too late to completely change what was once a carefully planned out plot.

I passed the 50,000 mark about eight days before the end of November, and I was feeling pretty good about myself (it's my first year trying this!) but I didn't want to submit it until the book itself was finished. I took a look at the plot, at where I was and what I had left to do, and I realized with a sinking horror that I would never be able to write what I had planned for the ending before November actually ended. Since I wanted to write a complete book in November, not just win with half of a book, I had to change things. I procrastinated at first and then panicked, realizing that I needed to wrap up the book in five days.

So, instead of having it end with a climax of mystery and suspense and violence, it morphed into a philosophical rejection of the concept of "love at first sight" and an exploration into Stockholm Syndrome. A character ended up falling in love with someone they were going to abandon in the first idea, and instead of one person escaping their doomed fate, both of my main characters died. And yet it somehow worked. It was messy and rushed, but it worked, and when I submitted it on November 30th, it was a completed novel.

My novel taught me that sometimes you have to be fluid. You just have to change things and make it work yourself.

I learned that it's okay to write from a point of view that is a little unfamiliar and from a culture that you were not born to. I learned how to weave a suspense thread through my romance.

Sadly i didn't have time at all...and it did affect me on the down side. I am probably never going to be able to write this. I am not aloud to touch the computer during the week...so I have very limited time to write. I am not trying to make excuses for myself. I wasn't as committed to this as I should have been...I'll try next year, but no one hold their breathe for me.

Goodness, NaNoWriMo might as well be one my greatest mentors. Like a harsh teacher that we hated for all the work they gave us, I learned to appreciate it all very much in the end.

Here's my story:

Early on, in a time before NaNo existed in my mind, life wasn't so good. There was a parade of problems that strutted around and stamped on my happiness. In the long run, this concoction of issues led to less-than-average self-esteem. And in terms of writing... well, every paper, every written scrawl and typed word, was nearly always something for school if not a note or an email to a friend.
A solid few months before this NaNo, when I had finally escaped a dire situation was able to finally have a clear mind, I realized that I enjoyed writing (well, actually, it was moreso that I'd never minded writing).
I began to write a bit outside of school. A few hundred words here and there, great seeds of ideas grown in the soil of my imagination that grew as saplings, branched out, but never bloomed. They were always stunted by the inner editor that haunts so many of us. My own was fueled endlessly by my deadened self-esteem.

And then came NaNo. I was confident about doing it when I'd first heard about this year. But as November and its start loomed right in front of me, I had my doubts and questions again and again as to whether or not I should have even participated. I made excuses for myself that I'd be too busy, that I wouldn't have any time. But, in the end, with a bit of convincing from a friend (whom I would personally like to thank), I embarked on the journey.

It started out fine. Day passed day and I kept up with the word count each day. But it was journey and of course bad things had to happen. What's a journey without them?

Long story short: in the end, I didn't end up with a 50,000 word novel. I experienced two accidents: one resulted in a loss of 8,000 words and the other, 33,471 words. It was partially because of technology's secret war against me but mainly because of my own absent-minded foolishness. No, I didn't end up with a 50,000 word novel.

But I did end up with 50,000 words. Even that, however, is absolutely nothing compared to what I learned as a writer and as a person, what I learned of friendship, what I learned of hard work, of failure and success, of creativity and imagination, and of so many other things. And all of that is does not even compare to the greatest lesson that I've learned: I have so much more to learn. I have so much yet to experience.
And along with that, I have so much more writing to do along the way. But now and in the future, it won't be because I have an essay due the next morning. It won't be the response to an email or a text. It'll be for my own enjoyment, to let raw imagination run wild and free. Because writing can teach us all, both reader and writer, so much.

NaNo taught me that.

During November, I've found more than words and writing. I found the meaning of true friendship. I found a passion for writing that goes beyond anything I've ever known and further than the insults my inner critic hurls at me while using my self-esteem as a footrest.

NaNo helped me find all of that.

Over the last two days, I've been asked by many around me what I won for writing these 50,000 words. Usually, I would have told them something along the lines of, "Now I have the first draft a 50,000-word novel!" But I couldn't. Still, I had something better. So instead I smiled, didn't respond, and thought to myself, "If only they knew."

For all of this, I thank you NaNo, an infinite number of times. And I thank you, creators of this site, for inventing such an amazing and inspiring November. And I thank you, writers of this site, fellow participants of NaNo, whether you won or not (as I'm sure you've all learned something, whether through one word or one hundred thousand, whether trivial or life-changing), for keeping this site alive, for being such an awesome community, and for... well, for being writers!!

Until next year,

Monsilver

What did I learn? The answer to the question, "Could I really write a novel?"
The answer is, "Yes. Yes, I can."
And it was fun. Now, my novel IS terrible--don't know if it is even worth trying to revise.
But, I had a great time writing it.

And, "Yes. Yes, I can," feels great.

That I actually could write a novel and that if I really push myself, I can do whatever I would like to. I also learned that age hardly affects ability and that anything can inspire you!

I learnt that it's never too late to put your back into it, and to never give up when doing so. I had already started Nano a whole week later, and on top of that, school events like camp and formal took out yet another good 4 days. I thought "Oh well, I can easily write over 1.7K per day, and began writing away, much too slowly; by the time it was just a week left, I was still far from finished.

I was just about to give up, and even was about to resorting to cheating by copy pasting a chapter or two to get the numbers I needed. And then I realised, this isn't some life threatening situation, where if I don't complete it, I'll get kidnapped or captured by pirates or beamed up by aliens. Rather, it was something I should be enjoying, and that was just one of the things I wasn't doing. Others included thinking and sleeping.

I began writing in earnest, letting whatever words I had in my head flow, and with a little help from a few litres of coffee and more than enough sugar, I managed to catch up with par, overtook it, and finished in the nick of time. Other things I learnt were that it's NEVER a good idea to sit at a table and try to write for hours on end. Space it out with breaks, go do something else, preferably physical, and return later with a fresh mind. And ALWAYS remember to sleep =D

This is my first year to win. I tried once before and quit after about four days :(. This time, though, I told everybody I knew that I was doing this. On the days that it was hard to sit down and write, I thought of all the people who were going to ask and who would pat me on the back and say, "It's okay, I know it was too much for you."
I just couldn't face it.
That was good for the first two weeks. After that, I slowly went crazy every day until I sat down and wrote, even if all I could spit out was 600 words. I had to write something within the story.
The biggest lesson I learned, and I really knew it already, was write every day and keep pushing the story forward.
The second, and this has really held me back in the past, was research can happen after the story is written. Just spit the story onto the page. I'm pretty sure I totally butchered police procedure and probably insulted various Colorado police agencies, but I can fix all that later. And they never have to know about the first draft.
The third is that Colorado gives you thirty days after your registration expires to fix the damn car so it passes the emissions test. Considering that my registration expires in November and was a large part of why I didn't finish NaNo the first time, this is a Very Good Thing. Yay old cars!
I'm looking forward to next year. This was/is an incredible experience. Besides, if we start now, maybe we can actually get a free shrimp dinner!

I think first and formost was leaned I can do it. I had had so many starts and a pile of non finished products. It wasn't easy by any means of course. I had days where I was sick and or tired. The kids, work ect. All of these things usally killed my inner muse and buried her deep. So I learned lession two of just plow threw the roadblocks even if it seems grudgely slow. I learnd to let my characters speak and take me where they wanted to go and indeed I had some wonderful surprises from it. I've learned that im so much more a better writter in the pesence of others. I for the first time went to the Safehoue coffee shop here in Tucson. I love the place it has an good flow of energy. Its a place for smokers so my lungs are especialy gld Nov is over since I'm a non smoker. Reading the pep talks and watching the funny videos were also a tool to help push me. The stat bar was so awesome with its own rewards an days of kicking myself. I cant wait for next November!

I learned to ignore that voice that keeps telling me that the writing is no good. I now refer to that voice as my evil twin, and I learned to ignore my evil twin in November 2011.

Nice job 13-yr-old buddy! I'm almost finished with 50k (no where near the end of the novel itself) but then again, I have absolutely no life. So yeah.

I'm thirteen too and I managed to finish this and keep my grades up... I think that you are really brave to try this

Same goes for inner editors - subzero temperatures are a killer! :>

Good for you! Bear in mind that Christophy Paolini was 15 when he wrote the first draft of Eragon. Not only do young people have something to say, sometimes it gets made into a movie. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that so many young people are in the winners' circle. You are all so inspiring! I'm going to work on getting the Young Writers Program up and running within at least one of the local schools this year so I can hang out with young writers.
So again, I say, loudly and with glee, "GOOD FOR YOU!"