November is over, and I . . . didn’t accomplish nearly as much as I hoped for. Life happened, I got busy, and my somewhat lofty goals were no longer attainable within a week or two. However, I still made far more progress than I would’ve if I’d chosen to set no goals at all this month, and that–more than hitting 50k and claiming a winner’s certificate–is what NaNoWriMo is really about. 🙂
Here’s where I stand on this month’s goals:
1. Research
I finished the book I was reading and turned it back in to the library on time. (#winning) Best of all, this particular book really helped me refine my story’s world, as well as the villains who inhabit it. Writing antagonists is not my strong suit, so I’m pretty freaking excited to have a firmer grasp on their motivations and strategies. I’m still planning to work my way through the rest of my current list of research materials, but I probably won’t continue that research until after the first of the year.
2. Continue brainstorming for my mystery
I’m in the process of outlining this manuscript right now, and it has been challenging. I’ve never gone into revisions with a plan before, and it has taken me a lot more time than I would’ve anticipated to figure out what I should focus on and how I should rebuild the story. I want to do this revision right though, and if that means slowing down and thinking about story structure and character arcs, and not rewriting the whole damn thing again in six months, then that’s what I’m going to do.
3. Finish critiquing a friend’s MS
Finished? No. Actually made some progress? Heck yes. I’m over a third of the way through and feeling a lot better about my odds of finishing before the holidays. I’ve started my edit letter as a preliminary approach to getting my thoughts down on paper, and I’m really enjoying my reading experience. Win-win.
4. Potentially write or start writing another short story
Nope. Expecting myself to start writing something entirely new with so many other things on my plate may have been a bit of a stretch. Oh well.
If you participated in NaNoWriMo, how did it go for you? What else did you accomplish this month?Â