Just like that, another November has come and gone. This was my second NaNoWriMo attempt and while I didn’t hit the same target as my first attempt, I still got a lot of writing done.

I ended up writing 12,062 words with an average daily count of 402 words per day. It was fun to watch the word count rise and less fun when it was stagnant. In the end, writing a page and a quarters worth every day was productive and exciting. It was real progress and it made me feel like more of a writer.

There were clear moments of some great writing happening and conversely, moments where I was writing anything to have the pen moving and the page filling up. Most importantly, I wrote. I wrote every day. No matter how busy my day was, no matter what other commitments were lingering or what mood I was in. Finding that routine again and sticking to it has helped me immensely. It meant greater focus and direction for my novel, new short stories and a slew of poems.

The middle of the month proved to be the time that hurt. I didn’t write as much as I should have. It put me a little behind and I doubted myself. But I pushed on. I refocused and got myself on track and the final week saw some big numbers. And quality words too. Not just hitting a daily word count or filling pages for fun.

The novel has come forward and is taking shape. The short stories are in a decent shape ready to mould into a complete being. The poetry has potential to be decent. With some mish mashing, there may be a few goodies in the mix.

Social media engagement played a factor in my writing too. Twitter has it’s up and downs, but seeing other writers daily word counts was a real drive to keep going. Getting words of encouragement from strangers helped push me along. Words from friends really lifted me when the words weren’t coming or I simply didn’t feel like writing.

The website posts also made a difference. I received great support, feedback from my posts and gained followers. It was a pleasure to share my NaNoWriMo journey with everyone.

I honestly recommend every writer have a crack at NaNoWriMo at least once. Whether you are someone who writes 1667 words a day all the time or someone who writes 50 words here and there, it is an exciting task to take on. One you will definitely learn form.

I am looking forward to getting some more writing done over the holiday period. I have some solid editing to do, whipping the novel into shape and getting those short stories ready to at least show my trusted readers.

I hope everyone has enjoyed my NaNoWriMo updates. It has been a refreshing experience and I am glad I got to share it.