I admit it, in full transparency I did not get the daily word count and did not technically write 50000 words on a new project in 13 days. I’m still calling this a win.
Last year my local writing group, or a small portion of such, motivated me to try NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, with 1667 new words per day). I wanted the challenge, the fun and had the support. Despite it always being an extra busy month for me (birthday’s, Christmas, wood stacking, etc) I went for it, until I couldn’t.
At the end of November 2022 I had over 30000 words written and a pretty fine start to a story. Then I abandoned it for… well… life. Life consisting of daily chores, marketing, articles, freelance work and yes, a full time job with lots of reading deadlines on top of that. So yes, I wrote over 50000 words in November 2022, simply not just on the one project I signed up to NaNoWriMo for.
Fast forward to today when I just declared myself a winner on the official NaNoWriMo member site. I do so with slight hesitation as I know it’s not even halfway through, some are making an absolute effort to complete the month using the official premise (1667 words daily, brand new project, no idea until November 1st what the story will be) and I admire them. Truly respect them for following the rules and breaking all objectives! I also feel, after publishing another book (finishing the edits, formatting and uploading – even selling some!) plus finishing the 2022 Work in Progress and sending it out to Beta Readers who are loving it, I deserve to rejoice in the moment of tidying up some loose ends, making my word count (even if done over several projects) and nearing publication on a story I’m proud of!
In celebration of Write Your Way, the book I wrote compiling my journey through indie publishing, as a way to answer constant questions to help other writers be the author they dream of so I can carve out my own time to…well… write, I present to you my NaNoWriMo certificate for 2023 (unsigned as I’m busy writing, instead of printing and sharing my autograph).
So I thank you for honouring my decision to break the rules a little and celebrate with me as I rejoice at ending 2023 with magnificent accomplishments so I can spend 2024 taking care of two more WIP’s!
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
Hey Sarah,
I think you did great for writing 30000 words, 1600+ words daily is tough. When you have other chores, basically “life” to take care of, is it difficult to attain it?
You are a winner because you hit a good score and you tried.
We mustn’t beat ourselves for not finishing the race, but we should celebrate the fact that you entered the race.
Thanks for sharing.