Nanowrimo Winner!

The past month has been a blur for me. Combined with school, family, and Nano, I have been nothing but busy. I was able to do it though, 50,000 words in a single month. 

I employed three methods to aid me in seeking to accomplish my goal. 

The purpose of this post is to explain how I was able to win Nanowrimo and what the benefits are from this achievement. 

Reasons for my success:

1. Stifling the Internal Editor
2. Daily Word Commitment
3. Supporting Family

The first item on my list is the most important. One of the problems I struggle with the most is my Internal Editor. Every word I write, every thought I put on paper, gets scrutinized and rejected by my critical eye, judging my work as inferior to successful, published authors. Nanowrimo helped shut that voice up, ignore its complaints, and write with freedom and reckless abandon. My abilities have improved as a consequent.

The second Item was almost as influential as the first, I had struggled to gain the discipline necessary to write consistently every day. During Nanowrimo I was able to sit at my computer almost every day, and with only two exceptions, exceeded my daily goal, keeping right on par for completion up until the last day. It takes three weeks to form a habit, and I spent four completing mine. This habit has carried over into my everyday life.

Last, but not least, the support of my family was a big aid. I did not try to hide my goal to write 50,000. I was honest and my family responded. Often they would ask me questions like "How far are you?", "Have you done your Nano yet?", and "Wow, you got a lot done today". Including my family in the Nano process gave me a support group, cheerleaders who could motivate me to continue when I felt like giving up. Because they supported me through my first Nanowrimo, I now know they will support me through my journey toward publication. This gives me the strength to continue even when achieving my goal seems hopeless.

While I was doing Nano I slacked off creating blogposts. Now I will pick this back up and add to my posts and pages more consistently and frequently.

NaNoWriMo

Recently, I have been in a slump when it comes to writing. Family, School, and other conflicts sapped my time and energy like a mosquito at a red cross fundraiser. So where did I turn? NaNoWriMo. I am three days in and have already been motivated to write five times more than I had previously written in the past three months. 

So how does it work? They have great FAQs and instructions for how to get started. Once you've created your novel and writer's profile, they have forums, give aways, write-in hang outs, pep-talks, and a myriads of other resource to help motivate you to write and achieve your goal of 50,000 words in a month. Its a great way to meet other writers across the country and across the world. Connecting with people is as easy as clicking a button to add them as your "Buddy". Everyone is super friendly and its a great environment to be in.

Most of my creative juices this month are going toward Nano, so this post isn't going to be exhaustive in its coverage. The resources to learn about Nano are out there and easily accessible. Instead of wasting my time and your time remunerating them here, I'm going to get back to writing my novel, and let you do the same.

Click on the NaNoWriMo badge at the top of the post if you want to see my Nano profile.

Photo provided by: NaNoWriMo