IWSG and National Novel Writing Month
Final Word Count: 25,650
Words Remaining: Ha, ahaha, ahahah!
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| Annnnd here's my recap. (get it?! :P) |
Well, I didn't win the challenge but I did get off to a decent start. Though I am a bit bummed I fell short of the 30k mark. Balancing writing time and my nutty personal life truned out to be a bigger challenge in November.
"Tis what it is," I guess.
So what did I learn this month?
1: Getting off to a good start is paramount!
I had been told to write as much as I could the first couple of days to surpass the daily requirement. I didn't really heed this warning, big mistake. There were days when I could have used the extra word count to compensate for unexpected setbacks.
2: Have a good outline and stick to it.
My outline was too general and I ended up spending too much time trying to figure out in what direction I wanted to take my story. The other thing that messed with me was by day 5 I had taken my story completely off its tracks in a different direction (into a wall) and basically gave my outline the middle finger.
That was bad.
Bad Elise, bad!
3: Avoid traveling during the challenge. You'll never get as much writing done as you think you will.
I told my self I'd get tons of writing done in the car. And I did... on the way down. But on the way back, it was all zzzzzzzzzzz. :P
4: No matter how prepared you think you are...BAM! Life comes along and kicks you in the ankles and sabotages your writing time.
During the challenge I had to deal with some family crap and I lost two days of writing. Ugggg.
Sometimes your real life gets in the way, but that's ok. Deal with it and move on.
So I had a few setbacks. It happens. And though I didn't reach my goal, I am happy for giving it a shot and sticking through until the very last day. I also want to thank the NaNo team for all their work to make this challenge possible, and I tip my hat(s) to you and everyone who won NaNo or at least gave it a shot. And I also want to thank everyone for stopping by with your encouragements. You guys were great and made this challenge totally worth while. I wish I had had the time to reply to each and every one of you. However, I do plan on spending most of December trying to catch up with you all and see what's going on in the bloggosphere.
Thanks again for all your support and to Alex and the IWSG for another great bloghop this month. You all rock!
Now, back to work. :)
Only you could look that cute in so many hats!
ReplyDeleteGetting ahead right away is really important. Because there will be days you fall behind and that little bit extra helps.
You still got a good chunk written though!
You did a great job! Getting ahead in the word count as early as possible really works for me. It helps to have that cushion.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on hitting the 25,000 word mark Elise. I didn't finish either. A bunch of issues including my hands getting so pained I had to stop writing for days. I even had to send in paid assignments late. It was bad.
ReplyDeleteone word is better than none! I didn't actually do NaNo but I worked on my WIP as if I were and it helped, but I'm floundering with plot and themes, etc! Some MSs flow and some are so hard.
ReplyDeleteHa! Elise, you are so stinkin' hilarious. And CUTE. Love you! And you should be proud for what you did! I didn't even attempt NaNo because I know it isn't for me… love the pic. :)
ReplyDeleteHah! Love your picture so much! And i'm super impressed you were able to write in the car. I don't think i'd ever be able to do that
ReplyDeleteHalf way sure isn't bad though, half way further then you were in October. And yep, stupid life can sure get in the way.
ReplyDeleteComing here was worth it just to see you in all those hats. :D
ReplyDeleteI didn't do NaNo, but I'm struggling with the same kinds of things.
Ug. MAKE IT GO AWAY! I WANT TO BE A HERMIT.
I've often thought they should make October NaNoWrMo. How people manage to write 50k and do Thanksgiving is a mystery. NaNoers don't really have a whole month.
Good luck for 2015 (I say that because Dec./Christmas will likely be a total wash).
IWSG #151 until Alex culls the list again.
You did get off to a great start and that's a lot of words for a month. Traveling really does slow you down.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it's great that you wrote 25k words and got a heckuva start to your novel. And if sticking to your outline means that you create a less wonderful story, then by all means, give the outline the finger!!! (This from someone who has never followed her own outlines ...) Congrats on getting a chunk of your novel done!
ReplyDeleteAll great advice. Traveling while trying to do NaNo is HARD! Sounds like you did great, despite all the challenges!
ReplyDeleteI must have a hat like that, you Mad Hatter you.... :)
ReplyDeleteYou wrote twice as many words as I did. I got off to a good start and that was about it. Good luck to you moving forward!
ReplyDeleteLove the recap caps! LOL
ReplyDeleteYou tried! That's the important thing.
I admire any of you who dive into NaNo. Maybe some day.
ReplyDeleteI love your colored hats!
That recap is AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteYou did pretty well, even if you didn't meet your goal. And life is such a nasty saboteur. Just keep on typing :)
I love all the hats! :) I think you did awesome with what you did get done!
ReplyDeleteI think you did awesome, too. 25K!!! That's a lot of words in one month! More than respectable. You might not have 'won' according to the NaNo rules but you wrote a third of your story or thereabouts. I say, yay you!
ReplyDeleteLove your hats! I think you did great. You got 25k words written and 25k worth of experience you can put to good use if you tackle NaNo again. I'm proud of you! :)
ReplyDeleteHey, see! This wasn't so bad an experience, after all. You realized you did your best and you learned how to do better next time. There are 2 NaNo camps each year, on top of regular November NaNo, so you have a chance to try again in the Spring. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Elise - love the recapping .. fun to see. You look slightly less frazzled than during November. Life takes its hold and we have to go with the flow ... but so pleased you achieved a fair amount ... good for you. The IWSG guide and group seems awesome .. well they are .. .cheers Hilary
ReplyDelete25,000+ words is awesome! Great job. And don't you look adorable in all your caps?! I think you're just too busy because you're wearing "too many hats." Haha.
ReplyDeleteThat's a Hogwarts' hat if I've ever seen one. It has Writer House written all over it!
ReplyDeleteLife can be a real friggin ankle biter. I guess they wouldn't be crises if you could schedule them.
ReplyDeleteLove the recap- the Cat in the Hat would be jealous.
Hat hair? What hat hair?
ReplyDeleteThat's still an awesome word count! November can be such a rough month for a writing challenge. Elizabeth beat me to a Cat in the Hat reference!
ReplyDelete