Finish NaNoWriMo 2016. A goal, a plan, some action, a win. If you’re not familiar with NaNoWriMo, anyone that reaches the goal of 50 000 words, is a winner. I am winner. And, in many more ways than one. I achieved one of my yearly goals through completing NaNoWriMo. I have just about completed the first draft of my novel.
My Plan to finish NaNoWriMo 2016
I did NaNoWriMo for the first time last year. I didn’t finish it then. But you can read more about that over here.
One of my goals this year was to finish the first draft of my book and as of November I had not even come close to completing that goal. I decided that NaNoWriMo was the push I needed. I work well under pressure and against deadlines. So, I put a plan together.
I decided I would aim to write 2000 words a day. That’s just a little higher than the daily target of 1667 needed to finish 50 000 words in a month. I also wrote more about my plan to finish NaNoWriMo 2016 over here.
How I did it
I reached my goal of 50 000 words by the 28th November. And, to be honest, I absolutely loved the process. I always learn so much about myself during NaNoWriMo and this year was no different.
I have to admit though that I didn’t stick to my grand plan. I did try to reward myself, I set the rewards I would give myself and only actually completed one reward. This is stupid and a loss for me because honestly who doesn’t like to spoil themselves? I was just too busy to spoil myself to mini spa trips every week, which was my original intention.
I didn’t use 1 new word a week and I didn’t embrace the finer details (insert monkey with hands over his eyes emoticon, because I know I should have). But, I am determined to add these into my novel during the editing process.
However, I was true to myself throughout the process. I listened to myself. I prepared myself emotionally and I didn’t procrastinate. That’s a big deal for me as I can be an expert at procrastinating. I actually used the pomodoro technique and the tomighty timer to help prevent procrastination and it worked like a charm.
How I feel
I feel fantastic. I don’t quite feel complete elation and relief because my actual goal is to finish my first draft of my book and my story isn’t finished yet but my plan is to finish it this week. I love doing NaNoWriMo and I will definitely be doing it again next year. Joining a challenge like NaNoWriMo pushes you to do what you usually wouldn’t do. Having completed NaNoWriMo, I now know I can do it. I have also decided i want to try write a frist draft at least twice a year (including November).
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