Let's call it a wrap!

I started this NaNoWriMo adventure spontaneously the day of, with no plan and no expectations. These last ten days have been an interesting ride, and I've definitely learned a lot... but I also know when it's time to fold, so I'm cashing in my chips. (Ten days in a row is still good and a new record for me, in terms of both consistency and frequency! There are no losers in a writing challenge.) The "official" goal is 50,000 words in 30 days (1,667 words per day), so for the sake of curiosity, this is how I stacked up:

Word count:

Day 1 - 822
Day 2 - 1,232
Day 3 - 124
Day 4 - 618
Day 5 - 46
Day 6 - 911
Day 7 - 983
Day 8 - 624
Day 9 - 854
Day 10 - 531

Grand Total: 6,745 words

Average: 600-800 words per day

Of course, that is strictly looking at the body of my blog posts - I'm sure I frequently exceeded the daily word count if you include all my other communications. In summary, 50,000 words sounds like a lot, but I don't think it's quite as much as it appears on the surface. If you had a plan and were writing one novel with consistent characters and settings (and not trying to come up with random blogging ideas every day...), I don't think it would be terrible to write every day, even if you didn't achieve 1,667 words.

That being said - it does require a certain level of persistence (no one just "accidentally" writes a novel), and though I was excited to challenge myself and write about whatever inspired me each day, the act of pointedly sitting down to do so was not always an easy task. If I made a living by writing, I'd like to think there would be no shortage of time in the day to achieve whatever goal I might set my mind to, but it's not always simple or practical to squeeze writing in to an already full schedule of work, chores, the occasional social commitment, and sleep. (I suppose eating is usually somewhere in there, too?)

I believe I could go the full 30 days (although I might be a bit worse for the wear, by that point), but these last ten days, writing has taken the place of most of my spare time, so it comes at the cost of reading books, maintaining my house and personal affairs, and leisure activities that spark my interest and creativity. Overall, I'll chalk this exercise up as a success, and perhaps with more forethought, I'll be able to best myself in the future. Quality over quantity is key, but it's nice to know this task is a little less impossible than I imagined.

Until we meet again!

~

"This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it's done. It's that easy, and that hard." Neil Gaiman

"Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on." Louis L'Amour

"You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." Jodi Picoult