Post-NaNo Blues and Happy New Year!

Browsing through the forums this morning feels like walking through a store ten minutes before closing -- everything's quiet and the air is still buzzing from the energy of the last minute rush. I"m pretty surprised so many people have disappeared so quickly, but I'm glad to see the regulars are still hanging around.

A lot of people are expressing their sadness that NaNo is over, and I totally get that. It's a mad month of friendzied scribbling, and coming out the other side is like waking up after a month-long sleep. It is sad, but it's also exciting -- now you've got the whole year ahead of you with an amazing block of raw material ready and waiting to be chizzled into something gorgeous!

NaNo, for me at least, is like the new-year's party for the writing year and I cannot wait to see what this year will bring! Last year, it brought me the confidence to go freelance whole new world and cast of characters of my own to work with. This year... who knows? But I think good things are going to happen. I feel more confident, more dedicated, and any excuse I had *not* to do my very best has been completely erradicated.

I have no more excuses, nor do I have the desire to make any more.

Whether you 'won' or not, simply by participating in the eventyou have shown more dedication, more passion and more drive than most self-proclaimed writers ever do. It doesn't matter *what* you've ended up with, only that you *have* ended up with something. And the coming year is the time to make that something into something brilliant!

So don't be sad NaNo's over, be excited for the next step in your novelling and look forward to next year :)

NaNoWriMo 2014 -- A Week In and a Reflection on Success.

So we've reached the One Week point and I think, by now, I can safely count my chickens. 

I have had two days out of seven in which I did not hit 5,000 words, and that has left me 4,000 words behind my goal (which I didn't decide on until after I had missed those two days)

But settling on my target of 5,000 words a day has really focused me and made me push myself to achieve it. 

Over the last couple of days, pretty much since I hit the half-way point, I have had a fair few NaNo'ers message in a range of different tones, but all asking the same question, 'How???' 

To be honest, I'm reeling from the fact I can include myself as an Over-Achiever, let alone that other people see me as such too, but I like to have the chance to encourage people where I can, especially when they come to me specifically. This has also brought more traffic to my blog (*waves* Hello!) so I figured I should address the question more widely here.

The Question of 'How' --

NaNo 2013

Let me start by saying that last year I was behind right up until the end, and 5,000 words was my last crazy sprint on the last day that left my wrist aching and my mind numb. My attempt at the April

Camp was horrendous and not to be spoken of again, and it was that which first made me fear the approve of November 2014. 

I was terrified that 2013 had been a fluke that I'd never be able to repeat again. I had won 2013 because I needed to prove to myself that I could do it, and I had, so what was left?

On top of that, I was planning on working on a project very dear to my heart, and (limited) experience had proven that that was a Bad Idea.

So there's my first ingredient - Fear. Fear of failure and fear of humiliation. This was increased and focused by the fact that I now had friends (supposedly) doing the event with me, who I knew would be more than capable of winning and would be keeping a critical eye on my own progress. I had to, at the very least, be able to keep up with them. 

Time, of course, is also a major factor when it comes to word count. It goes without saying, really. But more than that, it's the utilization of that time. I know as well as anyone that sometimes the more time you have at your disposal, the less you are liable to do with it. As I've said in previous posts, I really really wanted to make the most of this month, so I had to find a way to wipe out the temptation of procrastination. I do this by using Focal Filter, a really brilliant little app(?) that wipes out whatever websites you need to avoid for as long as you want. Personally, I turn it off for an hour and blast through a thousand words, then reward myself with ten minutes of forums. It works! It actually works!

Ambition. I am a very strong believer in being the very best you can be and, whilst NaNo is certainly for getting out that 0.5 Draft, you still need the ambition to keep up and stick with your story right until the very end, whether your goal is 50,000 words, 500,000 words or whatever. Ambition is crucial to anyone who wants to get to the end. 

Competitiveness also goes along with this; whether you're competing with yourself or a friend or both, you need a reason to really push yourself to and beyond your limits. Last night I really didn't think I was going to make my goal, and every time I reached the end of a scene, I considered calling it a day. But I didn't. I pushed on and through until, knackered, I could sit back and feel pleased with myself. 

Planning helps much more than I ever thought it would. Last year I pantsed completely, and I was great. This year I loosely plotted and it was even better. Whenever I get lost and can't see the wood for the trees, I just check my notes as I'm checking a map and everything starts to make sense again. Planning is a very personal thing, though, and you must do as much or as little as is best for you, and that can take some time to work out. 

Faith. I'm not religious in the slightest, but all through my life I've found that if I can truly picture myself succeeding, I usually can. The same goes the other way round -- if I can't, I don't. Try and have faith in yourself and your novel; read the pep-talks and let people encourage you. You can do this, really! 

Enjoyment. Allow yourself to ride the waves of your successes -- big and small -- they will compel you onwards in a way that nothing else can. A good day will lead to more good days; getting ahead will increase your faith in yourself. Let the positive energy (god, I sound so hippy-ish!) fill you up and elevate you higher than you ever thought it was possible to be. NaNo is a time to just bask in the pure pleasure of putting words down on paper and creating something amazing. Love your adverbs and your passive voice -- you aren't allowed to speak to them the rest of the year, so really enjoy spending time with these broken rules! 

I think that's more than enough for now, so I hope this has helped everyone a little bit, and I shall leave with you with the NaNo mantra by Nora Roberts:

You Can't Edit a Blank Page.