NaNoWriMo: Week Four & Wrap Up!

NaNoWriMo is over for the year 2017 and here are all my thoughts and feelings on how the final week and month as a whole went for me! For anyone who is unsure what NaNoWriMo is, it's a yearly challenge where you're encouraged to write 50K words in a month because that evens out to a short novel length. So you're basically writing a book in a month. Each day the goal is to write 1,667 words a day till the end. I have been participating in NaNoWriMo for seven years now but I have only "won" (which means I wrote 50K in the month, it's not an actual contest to win a prize. The prize is your novel.) three times. So it's challenging, but I am taking it more seriously. For more information I recommend checking out their website, www.nanowrimo.org.

Past NaNoWriMo Updates 

Week One
Week Two
Week Three 

So week four actually went really well. Better than I expected. I was at the end of my story and I only had a little less than 8K words to write! I am not sure if those facts had me gunning for the finish line or if the story just had me in it's grip. Or both. But I ended up getting to 50,055 words on November 24th and then on the 25th  I finished my novel at 51,391 words! The story needs a lot of editing, like I've mentioned in previous NaNo updates. I haven't touched it since I finished on the 25th. And honestly, it feels like it's been weeks when it's only been a handful of days. I miss it, but I am making myself wait at least until after Christmas to focus on reading. Plus, I am constantly either reading or being told that it's best to let the book rest before going in an editing because you're more likely to be critical when the story isn't as fresh.

I have won before, but each time it felt like I was writing to just write. I wasn't trying to write anything really good or something I could maybe work on in the future. It was just more for fun. This time, I took it seriously and I am really happy with the outcome. This was the first time I ever won that I was always above the expected word count. My graph (above) never dips under the line, which honestly feels really amazing to see.

So, once the time has come to dive in, I plan on putting it side by side with a blank document and I am combing through the story and my notes while re-writing the whole thing. Then I am hoping to print it and edit a physical copy. I also am hoping to ask my fiancé to help me edit it along with anyone else I can trust to help me. I want to keep working on it until I feel like it's at the best it can be. And then, if I am happy with it, I am going to see if publishing it is something I am interested in somehow pursuing.

Overall, November was an amazing month. My mental health, although still shaky at times, felt easier to deal with when I had something creative to focus on. I am mad at myself for not using writing as a better tool sooner, and I hope keeping on both a reading and writing schedule in my every day life will help me even more. I am super proud of this accomplishment and I am excited to have a goal to strive for.

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo? How was your month? Whether you got to 50K or you didn't I am hoping you like what you've written.

Thanks for reading!