So, my 4th NaNoWriMo has come and gone. Standing on this side of the event, it feels great to have outlined and written, well almost written - 5 more scenes to go, another story in two months. I love the energy that comes with writing something new, that's my favorite part of the process.
Since this is my fourth time playing along, it's a good time to assess what worked and what didn't this go around. So, in the spirit of my ol' engineering days, I've done a post-mortem look at this year's NaNoWriMo experience. For those not familiar with a post-mortem -- it's an assessment of what happened during your event/process for what went well or poorly so then the team/individual can keep the good practices and not repeat the bad ones. Here is mine...
The Bad:
NaNoWriMo, like Life, can be viewed like a game. So, after everything is said and done, my biggest take-away is ... Play full out, have fun, and when I have to sit out, do it with grace and poise.
Since this is my fourth time playing along, it's a good time to assess what worked and what didn't this go around. So, in the spirit of my ol' engineering days, I've done a post-mortem look at this year's NaNoWriMo experience. For those not familiar with a post-mortem -- it's an assessment of what happened during your event/process for what went well or poorly so then the team/individual can keep the good practices and not repeat the bad ones. Here is mine...
The Bad:
- I can't type in a moving car with a sinus headache.
- To do: Learn how to effectively use the iOS Dragon dictation software so I'll be prepared for next time I'm stuck in a car for large amounts of time and can still be productive.
- I let too many distractions get in the way, i.e. FB, Twitter, email.
- To do: Work on my discipline.
- Keep away from those sites while working. I know I've said this before, just goes to show that we all have our weaknesses.
- Corollary: During writing time, ONLY use the internet as a tool for researching bits for the story.
- My half paper, half digital prep work system didn't work so well, it took too long to find names and character traits.
- To do: Digitize all pre-work and add to Scrivener before starting the first sentence.
- Even with unexpected travel out of town and weekends off, I can write 50k in a month.
- It was nice to discover that with large chunks of time taken away from writing, I could meet my goal. However, making the necessary compromises (giving up exercise time, time away from the kids and husband) is not a sustainable practice for me.
- To do:
- Write when able.
- Be flexible.
- With all three kids in school, I can crank out 4k words before they get home, if all I do is write while they are gone. (Read: no internet, no cooking, no cleaning, no shopping.)
- To do: Treat writing more like a paying job EVERY month, not just NaNoWriMo. I'd probably be amazed how much I can get done ... like finish those darn revisions that are waiting.
- My husband and kids are awesome for supporting me and letting me take some of our family time to catch up on writing.
- To do:
- Thank them for their support. Over and over again.
- Keep this time borrowing to a minimum.
- I started to recognize when a story wasn't working for me, like when I was spending more time on the internet/FB/Twitter or reading artist bios on Pandora. During those times, I had to push through and let the story go where it wanted to go, and thus capture my interest again.
- To do: Continue to recognize these times and just let the story flow.
NaNoWriMo, like Life, can be viewed like a game. So, after everything is said and done, my biggest take-away is ... Play full out, have fun, and when I have to sit out, do it with grace and poise.
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