NaNoWriMo Day 28

 

Looking backward, I always knew I could write 50,000 good words in a month. When I worked full time for NY houses, I averaged 40 pages a week which is 40,000 words a month. That was the average. But I had not done that for a long, long time. We are talking 2009 before I ever had one single social media account. Social media is an anathema to writing or to any art. I am going to be honest about that. I have not written a decent thing really since I got on social media until now. And that's the truth.

As I have said many times previously, I am not a crappy draft writer. I don't use them if I write them. I completely rewrite them or throw them away. So I had to also write a fairly decent draft of 50,000 words, a draft that I intended to keep and revise. I did a lot of revising as I wrote this time in NaNo. I reread my writing each time I sat down, from the beginning. That's how I work anyway. It made the days long writing days. All this was to prove to myself that I could go back to writing novels full time. 

What does that exactly mean? Writing a novel full time. It means wanting to be published traditionally, too. It means, writing a second novel, a third novel, and hopefully more. That means working full time as a novelist like a job. A habit. An art form you practice every single day that you can. Others may not find that daunting, but I have a very good memory and a clear vision of what kind of labor that is, not only to the mind, but to the body, to one's social life, to one's health. And so when I worked through NaNoWriMo, I attempted (because there were failures) to do the things that helped me stay active and content, even healthy. I made notes on when I failed and why, so that I could hopefully learn from them. But even doing all this, there were days that were just chaotic and I wondered if I would really complete the task and sustain it. Sustaining a writing career is very different from writing a single novel. Believe me. Trust me on that. Sustaining your writing might mean no social media or limited. It may mean saying no to parties or TV shows. I haven't watched TV all month. I've watch a couple of movies. Committing to writing long novels is work. And it hurts. Remember that. I do. I know this. 

My original goal had been 37,500 words because I felt comfortable writing that goal. But by the end of the first week, I said to myself, "Jane, go for it. You know what it takes to write a novel. Do it." In NY, writing means writing a novel a year or every other year for most people. That said, there is no novel completed. I don't write 50,000 word novels. I can't remember the Regencies even being that small. No novel goal was ever 50,000 words which is 200 or so pages. Even a Harlequin paranormal romance novel for a line was longer than that. Novels are 75,000 words up in the publishing world. And so I have to write on. My novel is not even halfway finished. My pace will be 40,000 words a month. And then there will be time for revising and rewriting and polishing and editing and then tidying it all up. And then, only then, will I have a completed novel. I don't use beta readers or outside editors. That's not my practice. I don't know anyone in the early days of my publishing life that even knew what a beta reader was. But a few people will read my manuscript.

NaNoWriMo Day 28: Words 50,660.

Updated Nov 29: 53,185.