This is the most fiction I've ever written in 30 days, so in that regard NaNoWriMo has been a success. But it wasn't until yesterday I began to see another direction the plot could go, a better direction. Did I need to write 46,700 words before that option made itself available? Or did I just need to sit back and brainstorm a couple of days first?
I will have failed NaNoWriMo in the sense that I end the month with a completed novel. Sure, I can (and will) tack on a cheesy ending, but that doesn't seem to be in the spirit of the thing. However it is always good practice to produce. I've proved to myself I can write 2,000 words at a time, even when those words are very bad. And with time, perhaps the percentage of bad words will dwindle and I will be left with a much stronger result.
Crawl before you walk, and all that.
In addition, I've managed to submit five stories this month and receive five rejections, so with previous subs I have a total of seven out now.
I'm thrilled with those numbers.
This month, while writing 50,000 words, I have also rewritten two short stories and made progress on a brand new one. So overall the month has been a success.
An interesting psychological side effect is I don't feel like I've accomplished anything, which is partly why I keep posting my progress here. Having not completed a new work this month, I feel incredibly slothful, and I need to remind myself that's not true. Heck, submitting five stories in a month is one of my all-time best numbers. I guess I just need to reexamine my perspective on success.
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