Farewell, Novelember....
I did not do all I hoped, but I did more than I would have... you?
My goal for Novelmber was to play with three different projects and pick one to move forward. I achieved that, although that last week was… well, that final project isn’t as fleshed out as it could have been.
I might work on it in December. And I might not, because I “faced the productivity dragon” as Cal Newport likes to say, and took an honest look at December. And it’s chock full in good ways, of things I want to do with family and friends and things that will require that I take the time to make them happen. I also found, in my iCal, a note I sent myself last January, that said, in essence: you always start off January sick and exhausted. How about we try to take it easier this year?
I am going to listen to my past self, and not try to pack too much into December days. I’ll be aiming to touch one of my two short story projects every day that I have scheduled to work (there are a LOT of family days this month) and to do my newfound morning pages, inspired more by the wonderful novel Morning Pages ( than by the book that started the ritual for so many (The Artist’s Way). Which also means that although a December togetherness ritual sounded like a good idea at the time…I’m letting it go.
But I will be Blueprinting this new project along with the January blueprint that launches soon (details to come, but I will tell you that it’s going to be bigger and better than before, with five coaches, write-alongs and AMAs and live Zoom Q&As, and that you have to be a supporter to join, and there’s a special #AmWriting sale from now until December 31 that you can find HERE.
Meanwhile… how did y’all do? Did you finish Nanowrimo, if that was the goal? Get that romance drafted, set up book two, write the outline, revise, write 10 minutes every day? I want to hear about it.(Comments!) And maybe we’ll do it again next year.
Here’s what I did do that last week in November that I’m proud of:
I, too, found the spreadsheet to be motivating on a daily basis. I set a goal every day and almost always met it, and I got to 50k words exactly when I hoped to on the day before Thanksgiving break. I think this was my best-paced and lowest-drama Nanowrimo ever. And I actually completed (as in, got to “the end” in) all three of my stories, although they are nowhere near ready for my seven-year-old alpha reader. Thanks, KJ!
The simple spreadsheet setup proved to be a surprising motivator over here. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised; I love watching cumulative meditation days pile up on Headspace and Duolingo. The daily recording also tapped into the same reward systems as writing down books as I read them, monthly media consumption lists, etc. I also used the sticker reward system that I've heard you and Catherine Newman praise before. Anyway, for someone who has recently transitioned to writing without any bylines to show for it (yet!), I found it quite useful. Thank you!!!