What I Learnt from NaNoWriMo Last Year

NaNoWriMo. It could be every writer's favourite time of the year, or their worst nightmare. For me it was kind of in the middle, so I decided to make this post offering some (hopefully helpful) tips to all those participating this year, and my overall thoughts on the program.

Now I am no NaNo veteran, I only participated last year, but my experience is still pretty vivid that I thought it was worth telling. For starters, it was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. For me, I just thought that I would definitely be able to finish way before November ended and that I wouldn't need to prepare. Boy was I wrong! I went in with no rhyme or reason to my story whatsoever, that I suffered about five boughts of writer's block and left so many plot holes. I would advise, DO SOME PLANNING! Definitely sort your story out.

I also was kind of intimidated by it? I saw all of these older 20-something people on the website that were on their fourth year participating, all with published books and projects, and I just missed my teen blog buddies more than ever. I didn't really find any YA writers to connect with, which left me kind of overwhelmed, so I would say to definitely go out of your way to find other people participating that you're comfortable with talking to, it makes the experience a whole lot more enjoyable.

It seems like I'm making it out to look like I hated most of it, but I actually really took a lot of positive things from it! It's such a great motivator to look at your word count, update your progress, and meet your goal. If you're someone like me who is completely unmotivated all the time, setting a goal on a website like this really helps you to sit your ass down and write!

Once you complete your goal, you also get a lot of cool perks that make the hard work really worth it. You get all of these discounts on publishing websites, plus t-shirts, a certificate and more! Again, if you like the idea of rewards for your accomplishments, this really keeps you going.

Overall NaNoWriMo is a great way for you to practice your writing. It's an amazing tool for aspiring writers to complete a challenge, and kickstart their careers through publishing perks. However it was very overwhelming for me and also quite stressful, that for me, I definitely needed a year's break. However if you're up for the challenge, it can really pay off.

Have you participated in NaNoWriMo? What did you think about it?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Paperback's Writing: Sometimes a Book Just Doesn't Work Out

Back in November, I wrote a book. It was for NaNoWriMo, and I completed the challenge. I expected that I would spend time editing it, and then work to get it published. I even bought a bound copy of it using one of the NaNoWriMo coupon codes. However, as I spent time editing it, I realized that this book just wasn't going anywhere. I was actually embarassed by it.

Let me get one thing straight, and that is writing a 50 000 word book in a month will not create the best novel. But that's what editing is for, right? I thought so, but as I began I started to feel less and less confident in the book, and not for anything that was fixable, I basically hated everything.

I went into NaNoWriMo with no prior writing experience. I had no plan, no character outlines. I just went with it. I literally made stuff up as I was going on. Now this technique may work for some, but it did not help me at all. There were major plot holes in my story, forgotten characters and quick fixes to big problems. It just sounded so stupid.

The point is, I thought I could fix it, I thought I could make it work, but the truth is, this story just doesn't work for me anymore. It seems cliche and boring, and nothing that I am proud to put my name on. And I'm not being hard on myself, I know that this is not the book I wanted to write.

So basically, what I'm saying is, I'm basically scrapping a years worth of editing and starting fresh with a new story. I am now more educated on writing through the course I'm taking at school, and I know that my teacher can help me through the process. I'm doing a lot more planning this time, as I think this will keep me a lot more organized. I want to take my time this time around.

Sometimes a book just doesn't work out. This is one of those times. I at first felt like I was just quitting, but this is more than that. I know I can write better than how I did, and I'm willing to try. I'll keep my book saved on my computer for the memory, but I just know that I will never do anything with it. It's over.

Have you ever scrapped an entire book? Please give me your wisdom!

Emily @ Paperback Princess