NaNo20: Reflections

It’s been two weeks since NaNo ended, and I figured it was time to do my usual (sans 2019) statistics review because I love this kind of thing! Here is how NaNoWriMo 2020 went:

• Total words written: 150,051
• Most words in a day: 15,009 (11/26)
• Fewest words in a day: 1,204 (11/08)
• Daily average: 5,001
• First word/last word: Parken/interested
• Number of words past original goal (150,000): 51
• Number of words past previous best (606,606): -456,555
• NaNo Lifetime word count: 3,245,083
• Number of projects: 2 (one planned, one pantsed)
• Asked what could go worse for characters: 8+ times
• Average daily sleep: 7 hours

While 2018 continues to hold the record for highest NaNo word count and I wrote just a hair more (155,551) in 2019 than 2020, I felt a lot better this year than in 2019, and I was able to keep up with my other interests in and obligations. It wasn’t the year I’d hoped to have, but that was entirely due to my own frustrations with slowing down than with the slowing down itself. I just have to learn how to relax!

Now, you might have noticed the lifetime word count. I have a wonderful, terrible idea that is still just an idea. I was thinking of bringing that word count up to 3.25 million during a Camp in 2021. Why only 5k words, you ask? Because it would set up that number to make achieving 750k in NaNo2021 look really tempting. 750k would round me up to 4 million lifetime NaNo words.

The 750k is my next great goal, though it is almost 150k more than what I achieved during my best NaNo. I also worry that aiming for it will destroy me. After all, it’s 25k words a day on average. That’s a really good day. Having to repeat that for 30 days in a row is rather daunting.

Consequently, it’s just an idea. I’ll know better what my year will look like once we get into it and edge closer to November.

Nonetheless, 2020 has been a good year for me, and I hope that your NaNo experience was wonderful!

NaNo20: Day 30 Finale

The bells are tolling, the curtains are falling, my back is aching… yes, NaNoWriMo has concluded another year!

After a few hours of distracted toil tonight (and a great many more hours of utter procrastination during the day), I’ve brought my efforts to a close at 150,051 words, having written a little over 9k. That brings me to about 5k words fewer than last year’s outcome, but far from my worst showing. Especially since I waited so long to start (no surprise there).

I went super easy on myself this month, almost to the point where the usually thrilling challenge of NaNo was absent. Yes, I had moments of competitive go-getterness, but instances of compromise far outnumbered those of unrelenting discipline. That made it a challenge of a different order! It’s much easier to write a ton of words when, you know, you’re already writing a ton of words. There’s some level of accountability there. Likewise, there was some accountability to be nice to myself this month, which is relatively rare. I enjoyed things I don’t normally enjoy very much during November–exploring shops, decorating for the holidays, enjoying time with family–without worrying about how I would make up my lagging wordcount, or if I could finish one book and start on the next in a given evening.

And so, I’m claiming this NaNo as a sure victory. I might not have worked on the project I planned, at least to the extent I expected, but I had fun. And that’s what matters, right?

Still, I’m eyeing next year as a potential blowout year. Many factors and hours separate me from that moment, but I’m going to calculate and deliberate on the attempt. We’ll see how my sentiment changes over the course of the year.

I hope you enjoyed NaNo this year, in spite of whatever craziness is happening in your life. And if you’re still writing, you’ve got this! Go for it! I’m cheering you on, and wish you continued happy writing.