NaNoWriMo Update...

NaNoWriMo Update.....

NaNoWriMo ends in four days. I am not going to complete this year sadly. It has been very eye opening to me about my writing this year. I really did not enjoy writing this book at all... This year I thought I would do something different and write a contemporary mystery. The idea is still good. But I am not good at writing contemporary. And I learned that you need a lot longer than two weeks to plan a very complex mystery novel. I wrote about 26K of the novel. And that is about it. I am not going to ditch the idea. But I will be putting it to rest for a while. 

I feel absolutely horrible about myself for not being able to complete this year. But you can not force a story that is not going anywhere. 

So this is what I learned about myself as a writer. And things I could do differently. 

• I am a planner. I was very busy finishing up my course and didn't have time to plan out this novel. I was already mentally drained from a whole year none stop of being creative. So I had nothing left in me. I need to have a good month in front of me for planning, I know my story will change over the writing stage. But I have to have something to stand on in order to get anywhere. 
• I need to read a lot before I begin writing. This not only motivates me to write. But you really get a grip at character narration and how stories are constructed. I had not read anything for a while before this month. Not enough anyway. 
• I am not very good at writing contemporary. It's not my strongest area writing simply about normal things. I can still do it. But it is not exactly what I personally enjoy writing. 

• I enjoy a good world building. I love writing about worlds and societies I have created. It gives me a sense of control. Something I did not have in this novel. And I think that was my downfall. I love being in control, and in my own worlds there are boundaries I can break through. The only limit is my imagination. 
• I like conflict. I know I'm a girl. But I love the aspect of war, and political power, etc. I love a good drama, a good mystery. Some times I just need to destroy something (like a building...I don't know.) I need there to be some action (thanks Dad for raising me on epic sci fi, action packed movies!) For my novel this year, there just was nothing happening. It was driving me insane. 
• But I still like to have the balance of dramatic events and my characters normal life. 

Yeah. So the point of this post was to say that I am not going to win NaNo this year. And I am okay with that. And to everyone who is in the same boat as me. This does not make you a bad writer. You are not a failure. And just better luck next year. Things I am going to do better next year. Is plan before hand, write more during the year, read more books, and write in the genre I am comfortable, and confident in writing. (Still go outside your comfort zone... try new things. But don't hurt yourself.)

Stay awesome! 

-Rachel