I'm already in a better place this year than I was last year for NaNoWriMo. I'd only heard about it at the end of October, which wasn't enough time to mentally prepare for it. And I only decided to do it after it had begun, so I was behind already. My final word count was somewhere in the 13,000 range - I'd get stuck on a scene because I hadn't thought that far ahead in the plot, so I'd go off and start another scene in another file, and get stuck there, too.
Some good did come of it. I started keeping a writing journal, talking about things that struck me about the characters, debates about what should happen next, and rants about various things. At the end of November, when I gave up for good, I thought I'd had enough of writing. But during December, I realized how much I missed writing every day, even just a little bit, so I started an online journal, which I managed to keep well into this September.
So, the things I have going for me this time around:
- I've been psyched up for this since, oh - around May, which is enough time to mentally prep for it;
- I have a plot, and I've thought it through to almost the end;
- I'm used to writing a little bit every day - now to write a lot every day;
- I'm living on my own - fewer distractions (which guarantees that my Mom will be saying to herself, "Must call Rebecca at random times every night for the next month" when she reads this. Love you lots, Mom!)
