NaNoWriMo - What I’ve Learned Week One


We’re a week into November and I’ve learned a lot about myself, my writing process, and my story. Here are the top three things I’ve learned:

1. I have time in my regular schedule to write.
Often people tell themselves (or others) that they’re too busy to write. With my current work schedule and the realities of COVID where I’m not going out much at all, I have a lot of free time. What I usually think about is that I don’t have time to work on all of the writing and personal projects I want to and keep up with my work, household chores, and still have some relaxation time. This week has proved to me that I can do it all and still be ahead on my writing schedule.

On Fridays, I like to do popcorn, a movie, and relax - basically a date night with myself. This week, I had a lot of errands to run as the holidays and my brother’s wedding are just around the corner. When I got home, I made dinner, cleaned up, and then relaxed with a couple of good movies - one of which inspired me to come up with a few ideas for my story. I could have probably worked a session in if I’d wanted to or tried, but I decided that after a successful week of writing sessions, I’d take some time to reward myself with my usual evening off. And the best part was I didn’t have writer’s guilt with that decision. I felt good going to bed knowing I’d had an excellent week.

2. I love the story and characters in my current WIP.
I’ve been thinking about my current project constantly for a long time, whether consciously or subconsciously. During every writing session this week, I was able to escape into the world I’m creating and was reminded during every second that this is the story that I’m meant to write.

3. Writing first thing in the morning inspires me to come back to writing after work.
With my current work from home schedule, I’ve been waking up as close to the time I would normally wake up to go into the office as my lazy morning self will allow (I don’t seem to have full control of her). This provides me with some time to write before I clock in at 7:30. I’ve been wanting to take advantage of this for the last several months, but hadn’t be able to incorporate it. 

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I was able to do it and it felt so good to be back into my writing again after a long break. I was able to get anywhere from 1,400 to 2,200 words in first thing all three mornings. This started my day off right so I was in a good mood and was very productive at work as well. After I clocked out, I made myself some dinner and then eagerly went back to where I’d left off that morning. 

On Thursday, I didn’t get to my writing before I clocked in. I noticed that I didn’t have the energy I had had the previous days during my day job and then found it challenging to get back to my writing after work. I did get to my writing session and got my word count in, but I didn’t write as much in that evening session as I had before and it didn’t feel as satisfying at the end of the day.

My goal for this week is to maintain my new routine and see if I can incorporate even more productivity into my daily schedule.

What have you learned this week in your NaNo journey?

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