What a Challenge!

National Novel Writing Month 2007 was one of the best writing experiences I’ve ever had! Stephanie and Shonna convinced me to think of it as a 4-week experiment once a year. It’s the one time of the year I can afford to do something different, something that might not work and might cause me to be further behind instead of ahead. But if I plan for it, make it an annual routine, I won’t be behind even if the experiment fails. Last year, I learned that I can do far more than I think I can – in writing, and in life in general.

As October drew to a close and my time for note taking came to an end, I got more and more excited. Until about halfway through Day One. Suddenly, I didn’t know what to write! I barely made it to 147 words and then had no idea what came next. But this is what happened: every day I opened the file and wrote something. Every day. Even when I was out of town and couldn’t post the words to the NaNo web site. Even though sometimes I only wrote thoughts on the book and not an actual scene. Even though sometimes it was only a few sentences.

Every day I wrote.

And every day I prayed that I would use my writing talent to the fullest extent.

And that’s how the magic part happened. By the last Monday, with only five days left to write 28,296 words, I had a pattern down. I woke up, showered and dressed, kissed John goodbye, read my Bible, prayed, then opened my computer file. It became a routine for me. And my brain had finally gotten used to the routine and was ready to really work that last week. It was an amazing thing! Plus, I only wrote between 9am and 7:30pm. Very few words went down outside of those hours. So I was well rested (though mentally exhausted), and I didn’t miss out on time with John.

All I can say is that participating in a writing challenge like NaNo was a turning-point experience for me. I wrote in essence the first draft – the beginning, the end, and most of the main scenes in the middle – in 30 days. (Most of it in a week!) And for the most part, I was pretty darned happy with it. The frantic pace helped me to be willing to write scenes that I wasn’t sure about. I wrote scenes that ended up being backstory, but at least I knew the characters better by writing those scenes.

And the more I wrote, the more I relaxed and had fun! Which made me want to write more! So if you’ve been thinking about joining NaNo, do it! Go ahead and add me to your buddy list so I can cheer you on! I think you’ll find, too, that you can do far more than you think you can – in writing, and in life in general.

Let us know – are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year?