My NaNoWriMo Experience

I'm coming down from the high I've been on since November 1st when I first sat down to write my first novel. As I type this, I'm sitting slouched down in my recliner chair instead of sitting upright in my desk chair at my writing table. My eyes are half-closed and I know bed is going to feel real good tonight.

It's nice to have reached my writing goal of 50,000 words as a participant of National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo. I'd like to summarize how the 22 days went. I'm really too tired, but let me try.

1. It was exciting to be doing something I'd never done before.

2. I knew if I sat down at my keyboard, words would come.

3. Some days I really wanted to sit down and write.

4. Some days I sat down to write only because I knew I had to in order to reach my goal.

5. When I make up my mind to do something, I'm hyper-focused. That worked to my advantage.

6. It was fun having blogger friends who were also participating. Knowing we were all doing the same thing at the same time was comforting and motivating.

7. Instead of writing nonsense in order to reach 50,000 words, I found myself with a certain amount of purpose and direction. That was unexpected and made the whole challenge more worthwhile.

8. Writing 50,000 words wasn't as impossible as I'd anticipated.

9. I'm looking forward to going back and reading my novel. Considering how quickly I had to write, I'm sure a great deal of my novel will be somewhat unfamiliar, like reading someone else's work.

The most exciting thing about writing for me is reading something I've written and being amazed. Reading something I've recently written and barely recognizing it as mine is an unusual experience, one that keeps me coming back for more.