NaNo Prep #1: Should You Overachieve?

Hey y'all! Welcome to the first installment of my mini-series about NaNoWriMo. Today, I'm going to chat a bit about the culture surrounding this monumental event and how I'm learning to navigate it.

So, as most of you know, NaNoWriMo is a yearly event where hundreds of thousands of writers from all over the world get together and attempt to write a 50k word book in a month. To many, this sounds borderline impossible. I was one of those people. For years, I insisted there was no way I could write that quickly.

Then in 2014, I did in fact write 50k in a month and I've never looked back.

But one day I was browsing the forums and stumbled across a thread for people who were striving for more than 50k in a month. I was taken aback. Some of these people were planning to do 100, 200, even 300k words during the month of November!

I remember feeling discouraged. Here I was, proud of my accomplishment of meeting 50k in a month, only to find that people were overachieving that by a thousands. How could I possibly be proud of my accomplishments anymore when apparently I should do better?

But, over the years and after many NaNos, one of which I nearly lost because of poor health, I've come to a few realizations.

~Sustainability is key to a lifestyle~

I want to do this for the long-run. I don't want to just open my Word Doc in November, type furiously, and then never look at the draft again. I want to continue writing all year long, be able to revisit my stories and see potential, and eventually publish my books. 

In order to do that, I have to be more realistic with what I do. I should only do what I know I'm capable of doing without burning myself out. Of course, there is room for pushing myself, but I certainly don't need to go crazy and do things way out of my ability. 

So if, at the time, 50k is all I've got, that is awesome. I may only have 10k. Or less. That is still awesome. 

Before my first NaNo, all I had in me was a few thousand a month. I didn't have ready access to a laptop until I was in my late teens, so my only option really was to write everything by hand. That takes a lot more time than typing. I was also just getting serious about writing and, before then, would only write a tiny bit when I could. It wouldn't have been sustainable for me to write 50k in a month without a lot of training. 

So when you're preparing to start a project of any kind, but especially a NaNo project, be realistic with yourself about what you can accomplish in the amount of time that you have. Some people can hit 100+k in a month and that is awesome!! But you are not less-than if you can't/don't want to. You are not less-than if you decide to do less than 50k. You are awesome because you are honoring yourself by both balancing where you're at in the moment and working hard on something you love. Go you!!!!

If this is something you want to do long-term, you do yourself no favors attempting feats that you're not ready for. 

Be patient. If hitting 100+k in a month is a future goal of yours, perhaps train to reach that word count in a sustainable manner. You don't have to do it right away. 

~Your goals dictate success~

Sometimes you might not want a high word count, for whatever reason.

Maybe you're writing short fiction and need to keep your work tight.

Maybe you're editing and have to cut words.

Maybe you're wanting to focus more on your health than your writing and so you've decided you're going to go with a smaller goal.

Whatever your goals are, remember that you get to decide what you'll accept as success. No one else can, contrary to popular opinion. Training your mind to decide what you'll be proud of is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Once you stop worrying about what others are doing/what they think is successful or cool, you'll find that you're pretty awesome and that you're capable of some amazing stuff!

But this does take practice. Every time you find yourself slipping into the "woe is me, I'm not as good as everyone else" mindset, you have to remind yourself of your goals and reevaluate. Have you made progress towards your goals? If not, why? If so, awesome! Will what someone else is doing help you reach your goals better? If so, maybe give it a shot! If not, feel free to chuck that baggage out the window!

~Your life matters more than the word count~

I nearly lost a NaNo because of poor health. I was very sick and I barely reached 50k. And honestly, I was okay with not winning if that's what it took to take care of myself.

The same applies to you. Your life is more important than hitting the word count. Your story isn't going to mean much if you're not here to finish it. 

If overachieving NaNo (or even reaching 50k) will negatively affect your health and well-being, then don't do it.

You're the only you we've got. Please take care of yourself.

~So should you overachieve the NaNo goal?~

The short answer is maybe.

If it's a goal of yours and/or it's something you can do sustainably, then yes. Go for it! You should strive to go beyond the 50k.

But if that's not something you want to do or if you know you'd burn yourself out, then no. It's probably not something that you should do.

Either way, know that you are awesome simply because you honored yourself by going for your goals in life. Don't look to the left or the right, where someone else is walking. That is not your path. Your path--your journey--is right ahead of you. Follow it.

I hope that gave you some encouragement as we draw closer to NaNoWriMo! 

Also, just to note, I haven't been able to film the Q&A video yet. I've been struggling with my health for the past few weeks and I haven't had the energy or brain power to film it yet. But I do plan on getting that done soon and have it posted!

Onto y'all! Are you participating in NaNo this year? Either way, what are your plans for November? What made you decide to go with those plans? Why are they important to you? Let me know down below!