November 30th, 2017

How I Failed NaNoWriMo

I have failed you, Literary Gods, failed you so hard. 
National Novel Writing Month.
Or, NaNoWriMo. 
The month of November came and went and so did NaNo. I was so amped to participate this year. I made charts, I had all my goals in line, outlines --which I never do--, and I had rewards, 'cause who doesn't a love a reward. I had everything you could think of planned out and ready to go. 
But I forgot one key element. I forgot to NaNo. 
The first two weeks were solid. I wrote every day. Exceeded my goals and was rather impressed with myself. Then I slipped. I forgot to write one day. That one day turned into another, and then another. 
I'm sure you are wondering how the heck  I forgot to write. I'm a writer for crying out loud. 
Beats me, to be honest. 
Although deep down I know it's the pressure that got to me. But just because I didn't achieve 50,000 words by the end of November doesn't mean I suck as a writer. 
No. It just means I have to realize my boundaries when it comes to my writing. I can't feel forced, yes, sometimes the force to proceed is needed. What I mean is that with everyone doing NaNo I felt like I had to exceed. I had to do good... because everyone else was. It started to weigh me down. I got so far inside my head that it prevented me from actually writing. 
I've done NaNo for the past three years. Each year I've failed, I'll add. The first two years I just didn't try. I was still learning as a writer --still am, really-- and just didn't want to put the time in. Blah! I'm a butthead sometimes. 
But this year was different. Half way through I came to the realization that NaNo just isn't the fit for me. That doesn't mean I will stop trying every November. 
Nope. 
It just means I am going to do it my way. Modifying it to my writing style. Suppose this wouldn't really be NaNoWriMo then, eh? And I'm also going to redo NaNo in December. 
I mean, obviously it won't be the traditional NaNo. But I plan to set my own goals I know I'll be able to obtain. I encourage y'all to join me on this. 

Well, that's it for this blog post! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!