nanowrimo reflections of a creative challenge: The Second Door

nanowrimo

I decided I would compose directly on the computer. That said, I figured the novel would be in a workable format instantly, but it would be just a first draft. Ultimately, the whole goal of nanowrimo is to focus on writing daily and getting the draft down.

From the nanowrimo side, I really enjoyed the organization on their website. I liked having my own page. I liked the email function with the other members. I loved the process chart, stats page and the awards. Awards? Oh yeah, they're called badges. I'm proud to say that I earned every one of them. Admittedly, I did not do the 30 day word count update because I finished early and verified on November 20^th.

It took me 13 days to complete 50K words. I wrote on average 3,850 words a day. That was about 12 pages double spaced Times New Roman 12pt font with one inch margins.

I honestly do not know how I did it so quickly. I sat down twice a day and wrote. I used the word sprint function on the nanowrimo site. I worked from an hour to ninety minutes in the morning and anywhere from thirty to forty-five in the evening. On a couple of days, I worked more, I had two days with well over 5,000 words. I generally did about 2,000 words in the morning and about 1,500 at night.

At this stage, I am very pleased with my novel, The Second Door. I had a few surprises. I really stuck to the plan I had developed. I had three characters specifically that were very fun to develop. I had a few characters who I'd have wanted to develop more, but I didn't. These characters remained enigmas.

I spent the remainder of the month revising my novel. I still used the word sprint function, but I read and revised more than anything during that time. If I spent 20 minutes on one sprint and it amounted to the revision of just one sentence, so be it.

Generally speaking, I feel like it is a foolhardy endeavor, trying to draft a novel in such a short time. But it's a challenge worth trying. I think with proper planning, it's not tough, it's just a little work. A little work is what most of us have to do daily anyway.

I don't want to commit to doing it again next year, but I will probably do it. I won't know until next fall. I may not have another novel in me. I say that after I complete any project.

This is, incidentally, the last blog post of the year. I wonder if I'll have another year of blog posting in me?

nanowrimo refelctions of a creative challenge: The Second Door hook and exerpt