Well, I'm back // NaNo Update No. 1

Good-day, old chaps.  I'm here to announce to you that I have officially made it through National Novel Writing Month!  (And yes, I know you're simply bursting with pride at my accomplishment, but please hold your applause.  I haven't told you the half of it yet.)

 

Now.  Are you ready to hear about my bold and daring exploit?  My courageous endurance in the face of such alarming odds?  My perseverance, my strength of character, my stick-to-itivness.  In other words, are you prepared to be blown away by my utter brilliance, and dazzled by my extreme novel writing abilities?

Well then, be amazed, folks!  For I, Miss March, wrote an earth-shattering 6,948 words in just 30 days! 

Aren't you absolutely astounded?  I have a feeling you must be.  Though maybe not by my brilliance, so much as by my utter lack of it.  Because, yes, folks.  6,000 words is piddling.  I knows it.  And I'm sure you're all wondering now how I could possibly have managed, after all this time, to come up 44,000 words short of the goal. 
 

Well, I'll tell you.  It's a trick I've learned, see?  I'm calling it the "Miss March Maneuver", but ordinary people usually just refer to it as "giving up."  There's nothing to it, really.  And yes, that's pretty much what I did.  Though not completely, mind you.  I continued to think about my story all month long, and wrote out a scene now and then whenever the mood struck me; but as for real, focused, determined work.  No.  I'm afraid that went out after the first week.

Here's the process in a nutshell:

Week 1:  Sits down at desk with loads of good intentions.  Starts writing.  Gets stuck.  Goes and cries.  Comes back.  Writes more.  Feels good about it.  The end.

Week 2:  After a weekend of feeling majorly stressed out, Miss March returns to work with the intention to relax...which translates into having no motivation whatsoever.  Sits down at the desk.  Thinks about writing.  Gets up, leaves the room, and watches Get Smart instead.

Week 3:  Manages to write a little more than last week (which isn't saying much).   Feels fairly content with the idea of failure, especially as there doesn't seem to be much chance of anything else at this point.

Week 4:  Watches a certain friend's word count go up at a steady and consistent pace, and suddenly decides it's time to put a little more effort into this thing.  So she does.  A very little effort.  Writes another whole scene.  Woohoo!

Week 5:  Plans to write two more scenes.  Doesn't succeed.  Cries.  Despairs of ever being a writer.  Has a sudden, unexplainable mood change and finishes out the month actually feeling semi-hopeful that one day she will write a story.  (Don't even ask.  Her moods are constantly changing.  I can't keep up with them.)

*****

So, yeah.   That's about the size of it.  The month certainly didn't turn out as originally planned.  I had, of course, intended at the beginning to be much more purposeful about reaching 50,000 words, but...well...that was before I knew what I was really getting into.  It's okay, though.  Despite my failure to come within shooting distance  of that elusive word count, I still consider this month to be a success.  Because hey!  I actually started a story!  And that, for me, is huge. 

And I love my story.  Not so much how it's turned out on paper so far, but the story in my head.  Doing NaNo certainly pushed me to think about it a lot, and a plot has now begun to take shape in my mind, which is super encouraging.  (You know, because it's always nice to have a bit of an idea where your story is headed...) 

I still very much want to finish this story someday, but as a dear friend so kindly pointed out to me: "Some stories just need more time to simmer. This may not have been the right time for every plot detail and character to come together in your story, and that's all right. That day will come soon, I'm sure."  Thank you, dear friend!

And thank you to ALL of you for being so kind and encouraging to me this past month!  You all are the best! :)