NANOWRIMO

2nd year participating.Finished four days early. For the record still writing 1700 words/day.

1st year I finished as a winner, but I never went back to revise my novel. I was tired of it by the time I finished. I thought it was stupid. I moved on to other things.

I learned from that mistake.

Lessons I learned the second time around: 

• start with an awesome outline
• keep up the momentum even when it’s not November
• spend time revising and editing. Don’t stop until this baby is polished and ready to send off
• go back to last year’s nano novel and finish revising and editing
• keep up with daily quota no matter what. Work in small chunks (500 words at a time) until daily quota is met
• keep writing, writing, writing. Growth only happens when you keep trying. I’ve learned so much in the last few years.
• keep learning. I have an insatiable appetite for learning about the craft of writing (as you can see by my Christmas list). Learning is such a huge part of the process. It also includes learning other things too. I’m currently reading a book on how to make ideas stick. I’m learning how to build a robot with my son. I feel like the more I learn in any domain, the better the writer I will be.

Will I keep up this awesome momentum beyond November?

I think the answer is yes.