Things I learned from (not finishing) NaNoWriMo

So let's start with the hard, awful truth.  I have attempted NaNoWriMo now 7 times.  Out of those attempts, I have completed 50,000 words or more towards a novel in 30 days only 6 of those times.  In 2010, my wordcount ended at midnight November 30 with a mere 22,669 words towards the 50K goal.  To be fair, that was also my wordcount at midnight November 29, and I spent November 30 doing other things.

However, not to despair, there were some interesting things I gained out of not finishing NaNoWriMo this year.  I was able to wrap up the November Poem-A-Day challenge and get all 30 poems written in November, instead of cramming those last novel words in.  So that's one thing.  And I got some valuable noveling lessons out of NaNoWriMo this year that perhaps I should have learned before.  Most of these gems contributed to either my lack of capability or desire to finish this year or they helped bore me with this year's project.  Here they are:

• If you want to do NaNoWriMo, you need to forego your weekend activities.  I had learned this in previous Novembers but apparently had forgotten this wise tidbit this time around.  There will be nights during the week when you cannot or do not feel like writing, and that is just a fact.  But the only way to keep yourself from falling way into the hole is to do at least one big catch-up day each weekend.
• There is a limit to binge writing capabilities.  In years past, I have relied on the last 2-3 days of the month to crank out 20K worth of words, a schedule which has given me an unrealistic sense of my own magical binge-writing ability.  This year, I doubted before I got there, but I had left myself over 35,000 words to write in 2 days.  It just was not going to happen, so long as I wanted sleep and still had some household duties.
• I tend to write the same story.  The facts change, the protagonist's job changes, the victim's reason for death changes, etc., but some things seem to be very repetitive (outside the parts that are supposed to be repetitive - e.g. someone dies, and protagonist figures out murder).  I have some growth in those areas to be able to diversify the sub-plots, etc., and I may want to even try out different but related genres (crime fiction anyone?) to force some different plot devices.  Unfortunately, the repetition also tends to bore me on some fronts, leaving plot holes or huge things that I don't really want to resolve, which demotivates me from finishing the novel (if demotivate is a word).  Perhaps writing a sequel or second novel in a series may force some of that if I have to deal with different catalysts for character growth.
• You have to keep writing even through the crappy parts.  I had a real lull in my story this year and I started to get bored with what my characters were doing.  This happens every year.  But when I got past it (finally, on November 29), I started to hit fun parts to write, and then my time was up.  If I had just pushed through on the 20th, I might have spewed out lots of the fun stuff before the clock buzzed.
• Outlining still doesn't work for me, but man, I needed more planning.  In years past I had a much better sense of at least the 1,2,3 of the book, and I had a cast of characters in mind.  Perhaps that is because I started thinking about the book in September instead of October 22.
• Scrivener for Windows needs some work, but with a few feature additions, it could be my new favorite writing program.  I think it is certainly more geared towards a planned writing effort than insane seat-of-pants-ness, but the organization and goal things are pretty cool.  The Find & Replace needs a ton of work, the bugs need to be worked out, but hey, it's beta software.  Oh, and yWriter - you need to mimic some of these features or risk being blown away by Scrivener (except that yWriter is free...).
• It is more difficult to write when you have a baby around (or other obligations).  Ultimately, this is a time-management thing in general, but when you have obligations that leave you with less time than you are used to, you either have to make writing a priority, or it is going to fall victim to the "I need downtime" monster.  Everyone has 24 hours in a day, to be sure, but some priorities cannot be overlooked (baby), and sometimes that means (for me) that I am choosing to use my remaining hours as slack/relax time instead of productivity time.  There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that instead of trading some productive activity for another, I have to learn to forego the unproductive time, which, it appears, I am not ready to do (yet).
• There is nothing left for NaNoWriMo to teach me.  I have six novels, in varying stages of revision (now 7 with this one-third-finished draft), and ultimately, the first draft process (what NaNoWriMo gets you to do) is the same.  Over and over.  And it may take longer than a year.  But I think the lack of newness to the activity made it feel stale and boring.  It most certainly would be more exciting if I saw the six first drafts evolving in different phases, etc.  So rather than crank out another crappy first draft, I need to get a prior draft up to speed.  Revise Revise Revise Revise Revise, and maybe even move into Submit Submit Submit.

So, while I am still a little disappointed in myself for not finishing this year, I had already started making excuses for myself halfway through, and my heart wasn't in it.  I have done this 6 times with success, so far, so this time, I am glad to have tried and learned these exciting and fun truths about my writing life, and hey, I wrote 30 poems in the last 30 days, which will be getting a cleanup and submission to a chapbook competition.  So there's still something.

So - anyone out there reading this - did you finish NaNoWriMo this year?  If so, congratulations.  If not, do you think there is merit and benefit to trying, even if you failed?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

And now, onward to December!  Land of presents (that I still haven't bought) and bowl games (that I plan to watch) and decorations (that still need to get put up) and cookies and candy and holiday treats (that I most definitely plan to eat).