Monday, November 7, 2011

What I'm Learning from Nano...

Nano Word Count: 8277
Nano Percentage: 17%

So it's been almost a week, and I haven't given up yet. I'm actually wondering why I didn't commit to this years ago...

What have I learned so far? 

That Nano, or writing for that matter, isn't hard. It's just about sitting down and doing it. That's how you become a writer. That's how you become a good writer.

I have learned that I need to give myself more credit than I have in the past. I always thought that I didn't have it in me to be a writer, that it wasn't meant to be. Yet here I am, writing my first novel, all because I chose to sit down and do it. 

I also learned it's easy to get behind on your wordcount. Especially when you're on babysitting duty all of Saturday. I wrote only 54 words that day.

But it's up to you to catch back up again. I'm a little behind as you can see, but I'm determined to catch back up and then some.

One thing that I have found that really works for me? Word sprints. Makes sense since I am a very competitive person. The daily goal of 1667 words was taking me a little over an hour to accomplish. Sunday evening, I did three ten minute word sprints and got over 1400 words! So that's what I'm sticking to from now on :)

What challenges are you guys finding during Nano? Is life getting in the way? What days work  best for you? I find that weekdays I actually write more than on weekends when most people get ahead.

Also, what have you found that is working for you?

Keep me posted on your Nano writing this month! And keep writing!












4 comments:

  1. Life is definitely getting in the way for me. Overtime at work, family gatherings, and general lack of sleep have really put me behind. I'm only at 6,700 words or so right now. I could still catch up by doing 2,000+ words per day, but it's going to be rough. I'm not a fast writer. It has been taking me 2 to 3 hours to get my daily word count in.

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  2. I'm sorry to hear that, Ben. :( I still think you can do it, though. Put your health first and get some sleep. Then maybe you could try to squeeze little bits of writing time into your day. I was just sitting down and pounding out my word count at one sitting. But now I'm trying small ten minute word sprints. I'm already halfway to my word count for the day. This really motivates me. Thanks for keeping me posted and keep writing! :)

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  3. I love word sprints too! And they are basically my best way to NaNo - several word sprints a day.

    Great post!

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  4. Thanks! :) haven't been able to update recently but will tonight or tomorrow morning for sure!

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