NaNoWriMo 2013: Failure

…. if you count simply not reaching my 50,000 word count goal a complete failure, that is. After participating unofficially in NaNoWriMo this year, I ended with approximately 49,614 words (I say approximately because the last three thousand words are still only hand written at this point, and I really can only give exact counts when I’ve typed the thing up).

I’ve learned a lot about myself in this process. I learned what my natural pace is for writing. My rhythm. I was able to explore a new genre (to me as a writer), and able to give myself enough creative space in which to decide whether or not I wanted to actually continue this project (which, for the moment I still do). This exercise may have gotten me to only the fourteenth chapter of a forty chapter project (only like 35% of the project, to be mathematical about it), but it pushed me to keep myself more strictly on track than I have been able to keep myself previously. I look forward to the next couple months while I finish up the first draft for this project and let it loose to beta readers, to see the product of my own NaNoWriMo participation.

So sure, I was a little less than 1,000 words behind on ‘winning’ NaNoWriMo this year. Maybe next year will be different. As it stands, however, I am proud of myself for setting such a high goal for myself and for what I’ve learned about myself as a writer in the process. And that’s the goal, isn’t it? To consistently keep pushing myself to be a better writer, day by day, until I’m a writer who can create characters worth fangirling about in a Barnes and Noble? All kidding aside though, I do think that it’s important for me to never be entirely satisfied myself, and to find new ways to challenge myself- like with NaNoWriMo. This year was fun, and I’ll definitely try to participate again next year!