NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up // Part Two

If you missed my first NaNoWriMo wrap-up post, you can find it here. As promised, today I'm going to be answering some frequently(ish) asked questions. 

How, what even, why? 

I'm glad you asked that question. Let me explain. 

I am a very determined person. 

Also, I am nauseatingly competitive. 

Did you even sleep? 

Yes, actually. Because I was sick for over two weeks, I made sure to get a little more sleep than usual each night. 

How much coffee did you drink?

Too much, and simultaneously, not enough. 

Surely no one can write that many words in one month. You must have used filler/purple prose to pad your word count. *squinty eyes* 

First of all, that's a statement, not a question. You had one job. *shakes head* 

Second of all, no. I don’t write concise rough drafts, because my thoughts wander when I’m writing. It takes me multiple tries to say what I'm trying to say, and I sometimes write in circles just to figure out where I’m going and who my characters are, but every word I type is written with the idea of moving the draft forward, not upping my word count. I never write words just to write words. 

I've been accused of cheating before. *sad face* And I feel like I shouldn't have to say this, because it should be apparent, but I'm going to say it anyway, because apparently it isn't (see what I did there?), but while my word count may be discouraging for those who struggle to reach the 50K, being accused of cheating is just as discouraging. I'm sorry if my word count makes you feel bad, I really am, and I don't mean to rub it in your face or put you down. I promise I'm not sitting here judging you for writing less than me. If anything, I'm judging me for not writing more. 

For the record, I didn't just wake up one morning, suddenly able to write 606,606 words in a month. I wasn't born dipped in talent and sexy. I had to work up to this. (I still look like a potato though.) Five years ago, a 3K day was a phenomenal day for me, and I haven't forgotten how magical that felt. I think I was more excited for my first 3K day than I was for my first 50K day. 

So remember to celebrate your own achievements, and please don't feel bad to tell me about them, because I would be more than happy to celebrate with you. 

Are your hands about to fall off? 

Maybe. My wrists have been sore off and on, but it’s nothing compared to last year. I'm thinking my wrist braces really made a difference. 

How many books/projects did you work on? 

I started writing my Scottish Romance, but I only got 15K in before it turned into a cynical story about why love is a destructive force, so I decided to pull the plug on that project. I also pulled the plug on another project after a couple thousand words because it felt like the sort of story I would enjoy writing at a more relaxed pace (which is odd for me). I wrote the prequel to DRACONIAN, the sequel to TIB (and planned another sequel), my ghost story, the third book in my literary trilogy, and then I went off plan and wrote two spontaneous novels: the first book in a duology about assassins and a horror novel about space travel (which was supposed to be a novella, oops). 

How did you manage to pull off three 50K days, and how many hours did it take? 

My first 50K day took 12.5 hours, including breaks and driving time. I only wrote for about 10 of those hours. In contrast, my third 50K day took 10 hours, including breaks, so only about 8 hours of actual butt-in-chair (except I tend to sit on the floor, for the most part, so butt-on-floor). I made sure to get 20K written before noon and to read during breaks, since Facebook and Twitter drain my brain cells. I also walked around a bit and made sure to stay hydrated. Most importantly, I didn't let myself procrastinate. 

Just as a caveat, because there were several newer writers in the forums expressing hopes of pulling a 50K day themselves: If you want to do a 50K day, then go for it! By all means! But also keep in mind that it is strenuous, both physically and mentally, and you might want to work up to it. If you can't write more than 30K in a day comfortably, I would recommend waiting and getting that under your belt first. You don't want to pull a 50K day, only to burn out and have no energy left to write for the rest of the month. Plus, you'll enjoy your accomplishments more if you're not about to pass out from exhaustion. 

Did you have work?

Excluding Black Friday, I worked Fridays through Sundays every weekend. Fridays were lighter work days, so I made sure to write on those days, but I didn’t push myself on Saturdays and Sundays. In retrospect, I think this was the main reason why I didn’t burn out. 

How fast can you type? 

My cruising speed ranges from 110-170 wpm, depending on pain levels and mental energy. I can only sustain 170 wpm for about an hour (hence the 10K hour I managed). 

Are you happy with your results? 

Yes. I mean, my drafts are messy, with faces not even a mother could love, but at least I have something to work with now. And editing is my jam. 

How much do you plan to write next year? 

I’ll have to get back to you on that one. There’s a chance I will have less time next year, so I don’t want to get my hopes up for an 800K year, just in case. 

Oops, too late. 

Any advice for writing lots of words? 

Keep typing. Once you sit down at the computer and start writing, make sure to maintain that momentum. I know that if I pause to think, my mind wanders like an untended hamster and I end up accomplishing very little. If I’m running low on ideas for advancing my plot, I spend a couple paragraphs discussing my characters’ motivations or back stories until the thought mill starts running again. (I know this sounds like unnecessary filler, but if I don't do this, I never figure out my characters. Last year I didn't allow myself to do this, because I got super paranoid and worried that people would accuse me of padding, and it hurt my drafts majorly. Pro tip: It's not filler if it advances the story.) 

What about you, my little coffee beans? How was your November? What are some accomplishments you're proud of? 

The End: A NaNoWriMo Wrap-Up

Well, this has been a rather eventful month, at least for me. While I certainly didn’t meet my original writing goal for November (505,505 words), I did still manage to beat last year’s word count by 40,000 words, so that was exciting. (Also, if you’re new and you’re wondering what National Novel Writing Month is, here’s a link to the explanation.)

As for my word count, I’ve been asked several questions along the way, so I’m going to attempt to answer them all here as I remember them.

 

What did you write?

Well, I (very technically) wrote seven novels in November, along with some other assorted odds and ends. Two of the books were historical fiction set during the time of the Black Death, one was a fantasy retelling of an Aesop’s fable, one was a psychological thriller, one was about time travel, one was a satire on writing, and one was a mainstream novel featuring writers, jealousy, and tea. These works all vary in length from a little under 50,000 words (the two that could be considered bloated novellas—but they’ll be longer after edits) to a little over 90,000. They all have a beginning and a middle and an end and some semblance of a plot. None of them are well-written or anywhere near presentable, which is why I won’t be sharing any snippets for a good long while. *sad face*

 

So you wrote all these words—are you going to edit them now?

Yes, or at least, partially yes. After my first NaNoWriMo (2013), I managed to edit everything that I had written because I took my three NaNo novels, went choppity-chop, and combined them all into one story. My second NaNoWriMo, I wrote five books, and I have only had the time to edit one (and that one still needs to go through at least one more draft). When it comes to revising and fixing up all my untouched NaNo novels, there’s going to be a pretty long waiting list, and while I do want to tackle each of them at some point or another, most of them will just have to wait a long time. (Translation: HELP I HAVE TOO MANY ROUGH DRAFTS AND WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THEM ALL AND WHAT IF THEY FALL ON ME AND BURY ME?!)

As for when I will begin to tackle editing again, well, I will wait at least until January. It’s going to take a while to get all my thoughts back in order and my wrists back into working condition, so I’ll be taking all of December off. (I’ll still be blogging, though, so don’t worry—or I should say, don’t get too excited.)

 

Do you listen to music while you write?

Funny thing, that. I used to insist that I rarely listened to music while I was drafting, but this month I found myself with my earbuds in a fair amount. I think that was mainly to minimize distraction, though, because I now live in a basement apartment beneath a family with young, boisterous children who like to make a lot of noise. So yeah, music was my friend this time around.

That being said, when the kids had gone to bed and the house was silent, I did enjoy writing with no other sound but the clicking of the keys.

 

What did your schedule look like, and how much time a day did you spend writing?

So on a stay-home day, I would get up and watch something on Netflix with my sister, see her off to work, and then mentally prepare myself for writing while taking a shower. And by mentally prepare myself, I mean choose which flavor coffee creamer I wanted to use, or if I wanted to just drink the stuff black. Once I’d nabbed my coffee and situated myself on my bed (because I totally write in bed—guess where I am right now), I would browse through the NaNo forums for a while and kill time on Facebook.

Then, when I had procrastinated enough for starters, I would work for about two to two-and-a-half hours before taking my lunch break (which included more Netflix). After lunch, I’d write for another hour or so and then do anything that needed to get done around the apartment, like washing dishes or doing laundry or cleaning or amassing the necessary slave armies in preparation for taking over the world. I’d write for another one to two hours before eating supper and watching more Netflix. Depending on what my sister’s work schedule was on any given day, I would either end up spending most of the evening watching Netflix with her or I would focus on getting more writing done.

All in all, although I never kept track of my times, I guesstimate that I managed five to seven/ten hours a day, depending on what else I had going on. Earlier in the month, I had packing and moving which gave me even less time to work with, and there were days when various obligations bit out large chunks of my day. So yeah, I think five to ten sounds about right, on average.

Are you even human?

Well…no. But that has nothing to do with my writing speed.

 

Wait, what, how even?

I always get a little surprised when someone finds my word count impressive (and I know you’re going to hate me for this) because I spend most of my time comparing my numbers with other over achievers who are ahead of me. Like, way ahead of me. All that to say, I’m not some magical NaNo goddess with cages of trained muses giving me inspiration and typing speed in exchange for their eventual freedom. There are plenty of others who make me look like a first grader scribbling with a crayon on a used Kleenex.

 

 

This chart tracked the progress of everyone who wanted to be included (so, it's by no means comprehensive), but hopefully it can give you a decent idea of the general NaNoWriMo topography. For space reasons, I'm only showing you the top 26 out of 221 participants, but if you want to see the whole thing, here's the link. If you're looking for me, my username is Lorna Doone 11, and I'm tied for ninth place with Caillien.

I’ve already written a post on beefing up your word count, so I’ll just give you the brief version here. The main reason why I got to 444,444 words was that I spent the majority of my free time forcing myself to write, even when I didn’t want to or when I maybe had other priorities that were more important (oops). Sure, I watched TV, but that wasn’t just frivolous time spending, either. Every break was a chance to recharge my brain and wrists and get myself back into the writing zone. And every time I stepped away from my writing, I made sure I kept the writing mindset going so that I never had to stare at my document and wonder what I was going to do next. That being said, had I prioritized better and procrastinated less, there is no reason why I couldn’t have written more, but hey, that’s me shooting myself in the foot. And even though I didn’t reach my original goal, I’m happy with the number I got.

Well, that’s it, little coffee beans. I could talk about NaNoWriMo for hours and hours, but this post is getting long and you’re probably getting bored, so I’m just going to end it here. That being said, if you do have any specific writing, editing, or NaNo-related questions that I haven’t covered, feel free to ask away in the comments and I will get to you as soon as possible.