NaNoWriMo's over... so what now? What have I learned? · 5:19pm Dec 3rd, 2017
NaNoWriMo is over. I didn't meet the written goal, but it's not a failure.
So, What Now?
I will continue working on Claymore and try to keep up the current pace. I've already got at least half the story if not two-thirds done.
What Did I Learn
I've made some mistakes in preparing for this month. My original intention was to cut myself off from the world and write, write, write! But now I see that that was a horrible mistake.
If you followed my blog posts, I got a bit... eh... "whiny" to say the least. I realized that I would be bitching online, and no one would care, but I still really wanted to vent. What was supposed to give me more time to write actually became detrimental to my production, and upon reflection, I could have possibly written more in less time had I taken better care of myself.
In the month of November, I stopped doing the following, all of which I told myself "it's for NaNoWriMo!"
- Going to the gym
- Going to art classes/sessions
- Getting out and going to meetups
- Drawing (mostly)
By cutting out physical activity and social interaction, I've severed myself from stress relievers. And my work has become a BIG source of stress. Really a bad coincidence, but had I taken the time to exercise, draw, and unwind with others, I may have charged my batteries and really could have set my nose to the grindstone and churned out a lot more work. Like maybe doubled this amount!
Instead, I just felt stressed. I felt fat. I felt unworthy. I felt deprived. I felt lonely. I felt unhappy.
Not once did I think that locking myself away for a month to write a story about a pony made of clay kidnapping Sweetie Belle would ingrain in me the importance of taking care of oneself.
And so what we have learned/applies to our lives today/God has a lot to say/in his book...
In all honesty I could never do it in the first place. I on the contrary to you need to be all alone when I write. Even tho I also need to go out I can't focus when other people are around. Not to mention gathering olives left me tired as heck. Add to that I didn't have an outline for my story and you got a recipe for disaster.