Last night before the time coasted into midnight (like it always does), I coasted over the required word count goal (to be on time averagely) of 25,000 words.
My nano collection of random stuff I’ve worked on that was strictly fiction writing projects (no blog posts or poetry although please count them if you fear not hitting your totals; that’s acceptable) ended last night at 26,969 words. That means I already cleared today’s total too.
Between, the story I started this month and leaned into? It has reached 18,691 words.
Really to hit Nano goals, I need to hit ‘the end’ on Between. Or on another work that’s longer than 20k. That’s really the goal (or hit on multiple that are short stories. I was going to do 30 super shorts.)
Between [I failed is about it with the opening] looks to be a trilogy. I was thinking novella, but the speed is pushing that back to novel. It may be one of my 70k novels I’m getting used to writing. So even if this thing ends during the month, it’ll also be continuing. There is serious big main plot energy. I wonder if I’ll manage to harness it properly. (Ask if you want to alpha read and help keep me on track.)
To celebrate my new found success, I made up some oatcakes. So I had cookies before midnight after clearing my goal and then some. So great. [Recipe: Oatcakes the recipe should be about the same as this one.]
This is not shocking at all. I’m getting out of serious long covid (although watch me sink again; that’s normal) and burn out (it’s been going on for months already… more than a year actually). Finishing nano isn’t a dream; it’s part of my reality. All it took was sitting down every day to write something. Anything.
Writing happens for me. Story telling is a piece of my soul. So what if I screw up a lot during the drafting phase? I have time to make a story perfect. I’m just writing. I’m just getting this story down. And if I can’t do anything more than have a final first draft when I die, I’d still be happy enough.
The problem being there’s always another story. I always have a first draft going. I’ll never finish creating new. So when I die, there will definitely be works I regret not finishing. Works that are still in my head wishful in creation.
Those plots and unfinished drafts are going to haunt me instead of me haunting them. [Way over a million words give a little update to my current totals]
How is everyone else’s nano going? Success? Struggling? Gave up?
There is nothing about nano that is a requirement for a writer. This is a general skill building challenge. And for those not ‘way over a million words written’ it is a serious challenge.
Don’t hate on yourself for anything around nano. If it’s demotivating, skip it. Cheer on others. Write at your pace. Take it on a year that’s not as challenging. Try to do Nano’s expectation over the course of a full year. One novel written over the entire year. Don’t push yourself in a direction that is hard. Weigh your skills and time line and let yourself just go.
Don’t give up completely.
but I won’t complain if you skip nano. Pick a challenge that makes sense for you. Or if goals don’t help (or deadlines), don’t make them. Focus on you first. What do you need to succeed? Find that.
Cat Hartliebe 