It’s November, and it means it’s that time of year again. That time when everyone drops everything, sets a writing goal (50k words, a novel, what have you), and gets right to it. For those who partake in this: I applaud you, and I think that’s amazing. I think it’s inspiring to see anyone work towards their goals, whatever those may be.
For me, however, Nanowrimo works very much in the way that New Years resolutions do: not very well. I can keep up with something for a little while, but then I burn myself out and end up taking a very long time to get back into the groove of it again. Writing, dieting, and exercising–these are no exceptions.
Writing a novel in a month does not work for me. I am much more of a “slow and steady” kind of gal. I tried to write a book in a month when I started my first official draft of She Who Chose War, but it was not feasible for me. The world was too rich, the story too immersive. I ended up writing it in five months instead, but I don’t view this as failure. On the contrary, I’m quite satisfied with this.
I believe that it doesn’t matter how much you write in a day, or how fast you write something. The secret to success, in many things in life, is consistency, and at a rate that you can keep up with. It’s great if you can jam out 10k words in one go, but going at a furious pace for too long will just lead to burnout, and make you lose that creative streak that kept you writing to begin with.
Believe me, I know. All. Too. Well.
I suffered from serious burnout after the publication of She Who Chose War. I was aggressively writing, editing, and marketing, to the point that I was taking no breaks. All my spare moments–even hours intended for sleep–were replaced with marketing and editing, plotting and planning. I was forcing myself through writing each day, and while writing each day is good, the key is moderation to maintain consistency.
I never took a break. I never paced myself. I just kept going, going, going, until my mental health started to deteriorate and forced me to take a long, hearty break. I’m only now starting to climb out of my writing hiatus and get back into things again, but this time my goal is a slow, steady pace, so that I don’t lose the passion and creativity that fuels quality writing. And the quality of my life.
So my writing friends: don’t feel bad if you don’t write a certain amount for Nanowrimo. You are not less of a writer. You are not less of a person. One purpose of Nanowrimo is forming a writing habit, and I think that’s the best thing that can come out of Nanowrimo. So maybe, instead of fixating on finishing a novel, or writing a certain amount of words, just plan to write everyday. Or twice a week. Or every Tuesday at lunch. Start small is the best advice that I can give. Because if you bite off more than you can chew, you’ll just end up where you started off, and not any better for it.