The frantic writing sessions.
The cheering.
The constant accountability.
The camaraderie.
It’s over.
Another NaNoWriMo has come and gone, leaving me strangely bereft.
I miss it.
I’m a freak of nature, according to the Internet–an extroverted writer. Sure, I need time away from people, but I also get energy from my interactions with people.
I’m a social creature. And writing full time has got to be one of the loneliest jobs on the planet.
This is why I absolutely love NaNoWriMo. I’m in a writing group and I have writing friends, but this was different. It was going into the trenches everyday with a like-minded group of people.
I still have plenty of work to do. The novel I started last month has about 30,000 words left to go.
I can set my own goals, form my own cheering section.
But it won’t be the same.
Isn’t it odd that achieving goals rarely feels like you thought it would? I experience the same sadness after finishing a novel. I miss the characters and the world I created…I miss the process.
I’m starting to think I actually enjoy the journey much more than the destination.
How about you, fellow writers? Did you participate in NaNoWriMo this year? How did it go? Are you relieved that it’s over, or a little sad, like me?
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Thanks for reading!
I can’t say I miss it, because I’m still catching by breath. I love doing it once a year, not sure I could manage more 🙂
Anna from Shout with Emaginette
Hi Anna,
Welcome to my blog and thanks for writing. I hear ya.
I’m trying to keep my word counts the same, but so far I’m failing miserably.
I totally miss it! I was just telling my husband that I feel like a total slacker for not having written anything in the last two days! (and that includes my IWSG post, which will get done over lunch hah)
My NaNo novel probably has a good 20k words left till completion, which I’ll try to get through this month, and then lots of editing. But yeah. Looove me some NaNoWriMo and definitely miss it in December!
AJ from Naturally Sweet
Welcome, AJ, and thanks for commenting! I haven’t written anything except blog posts in the last two days, either, and I was so determined to stick with my NaNo word count.
I have about 30K left to go. Want to start some kind of accountability group? Are you on FB? I know some other writers we could invite who have NaNo books to finish. Let me know what you think.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who misses it.
I would love that! I just posted on the IWSG FB thread, so feel free to friend me and we can make it happen 🙂
Awesome! Let’s do this. 🙂
I bravely commit each year to not doing NaNo. I applaud all those who begin, no matter where the end up on the 31st. Someday, maybe…but not yet.
Thanks for commenting, Dean. I used to be very skeptical of NaNo, but it’s actually awesome. Maybe give it a try next year. You might find that you fall in love with it.
If not, you can always quit.
I did NaNo. One of my favorite things about NaNo is the chart and how it forces me to just get the words down.
Me too, Michelle. I love looking at my stats, comparing them to last year’s, and celebrating how much I’ve improved.
Thanks for commenting!
No NaNo, but I have been putting the Jerry Seinfeld method to work and that’s quite helpful.
That’s awesome, Steven! The more I can spread the Jerry love, the better.
One of the things I’ve appreciated about some of the online groups I’ve found is that you can get this similar camaraderie… at least, to some extent. Not the same intense level as NaNo though… and even this introvert-writer misses that!
Thanks for commenting! It’s great that you’ve been able to find that camaraderie outside of November. I’m working on it.
Introverts need love too. 🙂
I am one of the few who doesn’t do NaNo. Just not my thing and I find it hard to get motivated to write.
It’s definitely not for everyone. I didn’t think it was for me, either. But I couldn’t resist the challenge.
I hated my first NaNo, but it felt so good to “win” that I did it again. It was a lot easier this time.
I started NaNo but fell short…waaaay short! It just wasn’t a good fit for me this year. But I have 12,000 words I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t tried!
Congrats on all the work you accomplished!
Thanks, Jen. Having 12K words you wouldn’t have otherwise is still a huge win! Worthy of celebrating, I’d say.
Keep trying, if you’re up for it. I found it way easier the second time around.
Btw, did you write an IWSG post yesterday? I can’t find it.
Well, it turns out you truly are a freak of nature, albeit a nice, successful one. LOL I don’t think I know many writers who actually enjoy more the ride than the destination! I hate, hate, hate writing first drafts, specially for novels. I do enjoy the editing and endless post work to pretty that first ugliness. And then I’m done with it. After reading/rewriting the thing for the 100th time, all I want to do is throw it out the window. After I check it one more time for typos… LOL
Best of luck going forward! May 2015 be filled of success
Ha! We are different sides of the same coin, Georgina. I love first drafts and HATE the editing process! Perhaps we should combine our super powers–wouldn’t that be nice?
Thanks for the kind words. I wish the same to you.
Congrats on your progress. I didn’t do NaNo. Being away from home for 1/2 the month had a lot to do with not entering. Kudos to everyone who did it.
Thanks, Diane. Yep, that would definitely do it. 🙂 I don’t think I would have been up for 50K in two weeks, although I know some who have done it.
I finally cracked and officially did NaNo for the very first time, after learning you don’t need to write a book complete at only 50,000 words to win. I won on Day 23 and had 74,971 words by the end of the the month, and feel I could’ve written at least 80K had I not had some two-week bug which took out a lot of my energy. I’m glad to discover my area’s NaNo group does year-round weekly writeins at a local restaurant.
That’s awesome, Carrie-Anne! Wow–great output. And it would be nice to be able to meet with likeminded people weekly. I hope it works out well.
Thanks for commenting!