On The Subject of NaNoWriMo 2016

Once upon a time, a few years ago, I won NaNoWriMo.  With a plan completely in hand, an outline ready and determination, I wrote the first draft of Seeking the Storyteller in a month, even though it was well over the 50,000 word goal.

But I haven't beat NaNo since.

This isn't a blog entry about me failing, or attempting to relive some goal I completed years ago under completely different circumstances.  Instead it's addressing something I've experienced every year after that - dealing with the fact that I couldn't catch up to myself.

Every year in November thousands of people - probably a heck of a lot more then that - pledge to join National Novel Writing Month and write 50,000 words in a single month.  We post our blurbs and summaries and get to typing, with varying degrees of success.  And I've participated each year, with different expectations.

This year I didn't expect that I'd finish.  As hopeful as I'd like to be, I was under no illusion that the political climate looming would affect my progress, not to mention all the holiday orders I have to fulfill from my other job.  Then there's the vacation and yeah, a less then adequate time of year for starting and finishing a novel.  So instead I gave myself a different goal:

I would finish writing a short story I started last year, titled Summons.  I would edit that story so it was ready for my wifey to read and I would sort through the growing pile of horror stories I've written to see if there's a novel in there somewhere.  Those goals - while they didn't add up to the normal 50,000 words, were very doable and I accomplished them!

So the point of this little entry?  Easy!  It's ok if you don't complete NaNo, not everyone does.  And if you know that the month might hold too many other things to do, set a different goal for yourself and work just as hard to get to it.  You can still win the month, even if the little word counter on the site seems to say otherwise.  And there's always next year, where hopefully things will line up a bit better.

In the meantime, Summons has become "The Great Wizard of Shoes and Sock" and has been sent off.  And my horror anthology "Little Creepers" is that much closer to being ready to be edited.  So there will still be more from me in the future.

And later this week I should start editing magnifiqueNOIR, cuz the first draft is sooooooooooo close to being done!!