Word count was not the only success I experienced during National Novel Writing Month. Consider some of my new learnings and
successes:
1. Branching out and meeting new people at the
meet ups and write ins were helpful for my psyche and work ethic during the
challenge. The joy and duty of a writer is to meet and interactive with
new people. (Hey, you never know when you might meet that new character you
were searching for your next book.)
2. Establishing boundaries for your
writing time is key to successful writing. It became very clear during
NaNoWriMo that I had a writing goal. (It is especially helpful if you remind
your loved ones how many words you have completed and how many more you have to write.)
3. Exploring new methods for
overcoming writers block and sustaining creativity. (Daily pep talks and writing
tips are available from both NaNoWriMo staffers, Municipal Leaders, and veteran
writers.)
4. Participating in an activity with
not only individuals in your community, but the entire world allows you to feel
that there are more people like you trying to be heard and read. (More than
365,000 individuals wrote this year and more than 3.2 billion words were written. (Yes, the word is
billion.) These words were produced in the month of November.
5. Announcing that I was going
to write 50,000 words in a month created a few skeptics. To all who may have
doubted my ability, I say, next time you will believe me.
Writing is a passion with me. Books, ideas, poems,
jingles, greeting cards, letters, newsletters, programs, catalogues, technical
manuals, scripts, blogs, emails, and yes even love notes are all part of my
writing repertoire. I am a writer. I proudly wear my NaNoWriMo 2012 Winner's shirt proudly.
