The things I learned from Nano

It is finally the end of the month and hallelujah I made the goal of 50,000 words.  I'm not going to lie there were several times I didn't think I'd make it and there were times I wanted to quit but somehow I endured.  It has been a long month but here are some of the things I learned from my writing experience:

1.  It doesn't matter what you write just write!  Even if I was writing a conversation as stupid as "why did you do that?" "I don't know, why did you do that?" "I don't know." I was still working my way through my stories.  Sometimes these moments of humdrum brought about an exciting surprise and that's why I just had to stick to it!

2.  Let go of the perfectionist.  I am a writing perfectionist, I think because I have been teaching for so long and stress proofreading to my kids so often I find myself caught in a vicious cycle of thinking "that wasn't perfect/what I wanted" then I get very liberal with the backspace button.  Nano made me stop doing that and honestly that is one of the biggest lessons I learned!  I need to stop re-hashing and re-writing and just move on.  Which brings me to my next point...

3.  The time for editing is later.  So many times while I was writing I would think, "Hmmmm.... did I include that minor detail in chapter 2?  Did I remember to explain (minor plot element) here? Man this writing sucks!"  while those things are important and they do need to be put in the book it is also important to just keep moving ahead.  Once the manuscript is done that is when I can go back and go through all the details with a fine tooth comb, for now just getting to the finish line is the key!

4.  Writing every day is hard work!  I started to feel like it was my part time job!  I appreciate the good habit of writing that this taught me but I also see that I'm a better writer when I have a day or two to mull over what I have written then can go back to the story fresh.  The every day writing burned me out!

5.  Time for a much needed break!  I appreciate my Nano experience and all that I learned from it, plus I finished two transcripts, but it is time for a break from writing.  My plan for the next week or so is instead of writing at night time to start reading more frequently.  The writing time cut into my reading time and I am missing the comfort of other's stories so for now I'll step away from my own stories and indulge in someone else's.