just over 7k words into nano!
I doubt this pace is sustainable, as it is that first rush of doing a thing pushing me like this.
But, I think it is also a couple other things.
I’ve done nano 2x. One was a success and the other wasn’t. And from that I learned a few things.
1. Nano is a success if you get any words written.
Yes it has that 50k thing going on, but setting all your hopes to that one magic number isn’t the most helpful thing, and that is why I am glad they now have the option to change the number.
If I treat it more as just a progression tracker than a be all and end all goal - it goes much better.
I try to frame it not as “i must hit 50k or I am a failure” but rather “look at my cute little chart, see my bar move forward, a thing is letting me know I am writing words in a way that isn’t just a word count.” (i like graphs and charts)
2. Not working on 1 specific project.
For me personally working on one thing burns me out. Why I am doing 3 things instead of one. I need the variety to keep my brain engaged. The big thing that happened one year was I did almost 50k and then was just sick of the story. Having three to switch between isn’t going to get any of them finished, but it will keep me happy.
3. I’m not updating ao3 for the month.
This one was a struggle for me. My main fandom, Kingsman there was a big drop off in content makers. And yeah I’m one of the big ones left actually putting out consistent content. So I was worried that I was betraying the fandom by not posting for a month - even as the not posting will generate three long fics for the Kingsman fandom. But that would be too much distraction for me - posting and working. I have stuff I could post, a million wips in my files, wips on ao3. But then my personal goals would suffer.
I am choosing to put myself first, which felt a little selfish, but I hope understandable to my readers.
4. Made sure beforehand that I had a support network in place.
Not just that I knew I had supportive writer friends, because I have a bunch of those, but actively talking to those people about us being super encouraging of each other in November. Epic cheerleading, commiseration, support - beyond the normal. Writing sprints, free venting without the other providing solutions. Just us saying yes, we always support each other, but this particular month, we actively and proactively are a support structure together.
I spent a lot of the last two weeks thinking how I wanted to approach Nano this year, and I do believe it will help me succeed at my personal goals.

















