NaNoWriMo 2014 Wrap Up

I looked at the calendar today and saw that it is the 1st of December. This came as a bit of a shock for me, and I was a little bit sad to realise that this means I have no more time to complete my 2014 NaNoWriMo. I only managed 10,722 words due to a much busier schedule than I had originally anticipated (see my previous post on this).

However, I am far from disheartened. I have learned a lot from this year's NaNo. Chiefly:

• I have learned how I write best. In tracking daily word counts I have discovered that I work in large bursts, following by long periods where I need to rest my brain. This is good to know. It means that I need to make sure I have zero interruptions during my writing time. It also means that I know there will be gaps where I will have plenty of time on my hands to complete errands.
• I have come to realise that I am far more task oriented than I am goal oriented. This means that, for me to maintain my motivation, I need to set myself smaller tasks to be able to achieve that overall goal.
• The story that I was writing makes me cry a lot.

I have accomplished the main thing that I wanted to achieve during NaNoWriMo. I mostly set out on this adventure as a way to get to know a character that had been proving elusive. I feel I have a good understanding of her motivations now, and she feels much more real to me. I am really excited to go back to my pre-NaNoWriMo novel and implement everything I have learned about this character.

And so, this is not the end of writing for me. It's just the end of yet another competition. Just because November is over does not mean that the words have to stop.

Happy writing, everyone!