La-Tessa Montgomery

It’s that time again!

Once again, I am taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge.  And once again I got a ton of stuff going on which will make it even more of a challenge for me to “win”.  It’s not going to stop me from trying though.

However, I will not commit to daily or even weekly updates this year.  I honestly have too much going on.  But I will update when and how I can–which means a lot more Twitter NaNo updates that actual blog posts about it  .

Ok, off I go into NaNo land…. It’s 11/4/11 which means I’m already running behind.  I know, I know. Not a good way to start off things,  but I still have faith!  The weekend is upon us and I have plans on churning out some serious word count.

I’m a few days late with this, but it’s November which means it’s NaNoWriMo time!

Once again, I’ve signed up for the ride.  The goal is to complete a 50,000 word novel within 30 days. Or in my case, add 50,000 words to my current wip. I’ve participated in NaNo the last 2 years but I’ve not successfully completed the challenge

However, I’m feeling this year is my year.  I’ve been writing routinely the past month as part of my mentorship, so I just need to push my daily word goal a bit and I think I can do it.

I’ve added a NaNo word count widget to track my progress. As of today, I’m running a bit behind, so I’m off to do it to it.

Final Word count for 2009 NaNoWriMo effort:

I didn’t quite meet my 50k word goal, but that was 100% my fault.  I flaked out on my daily writing schedule more times that I care to admit for a variety of reasons.  I could make excuses, but I won’t. 

I’m actually proud of my progress this year, I managed to do 662% better than I did in NaNo ’08.  Last year, I only managed 3,980 words (yeah, I really sucked). So maybe 2010 will be my NaNo year

Ok, back to the grind.  I have a manucript to finish & polish, and another to brainstorm and outline.

Oh, and ROCK ON to my 14 NaNo buddies that won this year!!!!

Decided to do a NaNo check in today, so here goes.  It’s Day 6 and I’ve not written today yet (but I plan to, no worries.) 

And I will admit, Day 1 & 2 were more than a bit rocky.  For one, I’m still actively writing and polishing up my contemporary romance (Worth Fighting For), so that keeps me busy.  But determined to get a good, more than good actually, start on my Urban Fantasy, I decided to challenge myself this month and give working on two manuscripts a chance.

It’s also been slow going because I decided to undertake this challenge without a plot overview/outline or character sketches.  Apparently, just jumping in feet first is soooo not my style. 

Now, I knew this going in, but I am always trying to make myself a better, more productive writer; and that means I have to challenge my established procedures from time to time to make sure I’m not bogging myself down with unnecessary processes.

So I decided to spend time during my lunch break this week to work on character profiles for my main characters.  So far, I have 3 out of 5 done, and the story opens up more and more each time I complete one.  Yesterday, I had my best day yet, clocking 700 words on my NaNo project. 

Yes, is far below the daily word goal of 1,667, but I’m very encouraged by it.  Now that I have I clearer view on my story, I know longer have to wonder around in wide circles, waxing poetic about nonsensical things.  (Because trust me, I have.  If you could only see some of what I’ve written thus far-lol) 

I’ve been rolling along nicely, and I hope the trend continues.

It’s Dec 1, 2008, and I am checking in with my final NaNoWriMo word count.  So for the month of Novemeber, I wrote a grand total of….. (you ready for this?)… 3,980 words!!!

No, it’s not the 50,000 needed to actually “win” NaNoWriMo, but it is almost 4,000 words that I wouldn’t have ordinarily had if I had not participated.  So I am actually proud of my modest accomplishment; with all the things I had going on in November, it’s a wonder I got more than 100 words written.

So, what did I learn by participating in NaNo this year?  I learned the importance of setting a daily writing schedule and being disciplined enough to stick to it.  Another thing, and probably the most important, I learned is to just write.  This is something I have to train myself on, and literally would not have done it if not for NaNo.

Published authors have been drilling this mantra into my head the entire year; be it at conferences, reader events, or in my local RWA chapter meetings.  When you’re trying to crank out 50,000+ words in a month, you have NO CHOICE but to tell your inner editor to take a hike.  Not only does this help you get your word count, but for me, it helped to spark my creativity.  I was able to pull some things together that really helped me with my overall story.  And if I could do this with just 3,980 words, imagine what I could do with 15,000, 30,000, or even 60,000+ words.

So NaNo was not a total lost for me this year.  It was a fun exercise that taught me quite a bit about being a writer and all the intangibles needed to be a successful one.

~La-Tessa
Someday I’ll fly…