I really used the word “know” a lot, didn’t I?

NaNoWriMo 2009 is finally finished for me.  My novel, a shade over 50k, is complete. It will never see the light of day so don’t ask.

I did learn a few things participating this year. I can write 50,000+ words in a month. I can finish a novel. I do not work well writing at that pace. I can tailor a story to end whenever I need it to. NaNoWriMo is not for me.

It was a fun/aggravating experience. I’m glad I finished but I will not be participating next year. I want to work on quality over quantity.

Let me propose this NaNoWriMo alternative. In one month, write, edit, rewrite and edit a short story of any length until it is as good as you can get it and then submit it somewhere for publication. I think that will be better for your writing career than what I just did.

The halfway point based on time passed on Monday. I just passed the halfway point based on word-count yesterday.  That means I am slightly behind, but still going strong. Unfortunately, the halfway point in my novel passed many days ago. I’m just not sure if it will have the legs to get to 50,000 words.

But that is not the important issue. The important issue is the quality of my work. Which I am sad to say, has wavered back and forth from sub-par to very-sub par. Although I am going to finish this NaNoWriMo, I think it is made for a different type of writer.

I won’t specify what type of writer that is because I don’t want to stereotype. I’ll just say it is not for me. If I finish this book, the editing time would be enormous to get it to where I want it to be. If I had written it at my own pace, editing as I go like I usually do, it may have taken up to six months to finish but I would not have to rewrite the whole thing. Just the normal revisions and changes. As it stands I would have to rewrite a large percentage of this version if I wanted to do something with it.

But again, I wasn’t doing it for great writing. I was doing it to get into the habit of writing. Is that working? I don’t know. I am writing pretty much every day, and after this is done I will probably keep that up, but at a slower more relaxed pace. To be honest, I would have done that anyway if it wasn’t for Nanowrimo.

More to come as I get closer to finishing!

So today I got through almost 2,000 words, which puts me right where I wanted to be.

Is it quality, though? I think not. This is definitely not a good way for me to write. I can feel it as I go. I need to write better and I can’t with the pressure to produce.

Some of it is good (for me at least), but if I was going to edit now I would cut out a bunch and rewrite a lot. The way I work, I need to get it more right the first time and I can’t at this speed. Still, I will stick with it because I want to get to 30 days and solidify this habit.

I am worried a bit that the story will finish before I hit 50k. If I stick to the outline (which I usually do), the story just might not have the legs to go all the way. It feels more like 40k. I’ll have to see how it goes tomorrow!

Also, I am still without a title. I’ll have one soon I’m sure.

It’s already at the end of November 1st and even with the extra hour I only managed to write my opening sentence. A full 5 words!

I awoke encased in metal.

That is usually how I work, though. I spend a long time figuring out what opening to use and once I do the story flows more easily from there. I think the act of testing out opening sentences forces me to develop a style and tone for the whole peice, thus when I finally pick one I know what to write next.

We’ll have to see how it goes. My first real day of writing will be tomorrow. My goal is to finish the first chapter and most of the second. Around 2,000 words.