Hello Writer Bees!
I wish I could say NaNoWriMo started off with a bang this year, full of optimism and inspiration and sunshine. But, I’ll be real with you. Think I tried to tackle too much this first week. I was stressing about everything I wanted to do for my WIP. I was stressing about new work responsibilities at the office. I have this bad habit of putting too much pressure on myself. It gets me in trouble sometimes. Towards the end of the week, I felt completely overwhelmed. Almost cried in a cubicle. Not a great start.
Notes to self: Slow down, Lady. You got a whole month. It’s not a race. Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Trying to keep this in mind, for NaNoWriMo and for my mental health.
On the brightside, it hasn’t all been awful. Editing has begun. Which is daunting yet exciting. Lots of rearranging and deleting of sentences. A little bit of tweaking of small details for my characters. Some ironing out of my narrator’s backstory. I’m easing into editing, working on the small stuff first before handling the big stuff. That’s the plan for now, anyway.
Sorry for such a quick, sad post, my friends. Don’t worry about me, though. I’m using the weekend to rebound and recuperate and write my heart out. There’s nowhere to go but up, right?
How’s your NaNoWriMo journey going? What have you learned about writing during this crazy writing challenge? Talk to me in the comments. As always, I love to hear from you writer bees.
Stay safe and stay creative.
Write with Heart,
Lady Jabberwocky
Lady Jabberwocky 
I too was running full speed ahead until imposter’s syndrome kicked open the door and began to yell at me. I feel you on the pressure part. I’m happy to see you aren’t giving up, but instead taking it easy. Too many people have this all or nothing idea and it is so bad for the mental health. Hoping to break 10k words today after getting plenty of rest yesterday.
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Sorry to hear that, Ro. Writing can be a hard sometimes, but push through and keep writing. Once you defeat imposter’s syndrome and all those other writer challenges, in the end, you’ll have an awesome finished piece. Something to be proud of.
And yes, I struggle with that all-or-nothing mentality and you’re absolutely right, that pressure is not great for my mental health. But I’m working on it as best I can, and you should too. Slowly but surely, we will achieve our goals. Don’t give up!
Thank you for your thoughtful words. Good luck in your writing endeavors and happy NaNoWriMo! ❤
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Stay strong and keep being inspired but not pressured
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Thanks so much! 🙂
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Sorry your Nano experience hasn’t been great so far, but it’s good to see you’ve given yourself some good advice and are taking a break. Also, you have picked out some positives to focus on – they may seem like small steps, but they all add up. I’m trying to get one scene or chapter done each day and hoping I have the basics of the whole story down by the end of the month. This week has taught me that I can be disciplined enough to write every day, and having a plan has been invaluable for that. Hope things improve for you in the coming weeks.
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Thank you for your kind words. Your NaNoWriMo plan sounds great. Keep up the good work! 😀
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The beauty of NaNoWriMo is to write ahead, like a daydream gone wild. If it feels like it isn’t coming together, don’t be hard on yourself. You may find new inspiration tomorrow. Daydreams work in mysterious ways.
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Hang in there! Make sure you take care of yourself. Written words will always wait patiently for you. If you need to take a break from them, they won’t mind. -Susan
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Thanks for writing this, at times I have felt like the only one who was struggling at Nano. As this is my first attempt, I’m learning quite a bit both good and bad.
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You aren’t alone! Writer struggles are real! There’s an entire community of writers and creatives going through the same ups and downs. Don’t forget that. That’s why I feel it’s important for me to share my honest writing experience on this blog, both the good and the bad.
Best of luck on your first NaNoWriMo attempt! Have fun and keep writing! 🙂
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Victoria, you got this!! No worries 😀 It’s not a race. Go at your own pace and do everything in your own time. There is no rush. We write because it’s fun, not to stress ourselves out. I believe you and even one word is a step in the right direction ❤ ❤ ❤
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Thank you, Jai! You are the sweetest! ❤ Although sometimes, writing does feel both fun AND stressful at the same time, lol. But, keeping in mind that even one word is progress. Thanks again for the kind thoughts and support. Happy NaNoWriMo! ❤
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Yeah, Nano is hard! I’m doing a Ninny myself (a mini Nano), not 50k words, but a short story plus a novella edit. The first week was okay. I’m looking forward to the next three.:-)
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Yes, it is hard! I’m looking forward to the rest of November too. Hopefully, the next couple weeks will be better. Best of luck in all your creative work, Priscilla! 🙂
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NaNoWriMo is like running a marathon. If you want to finish with a certain time you have to figure out how fast you need to run each mile. Every mile slower than that target means the next one has to be faster, until the last mile is ahead and you realize that you need to run it in under a minute.
1666 words each day can be tough. and if you don’t hit that target, you need to make it up the next day, and if that doesn’t happen it can feel daunting and stressful. I didn’t get to 50K last year, but I just sent the novella that I did finish (It took an extra six months) to my editor.
This year, I have fallen short each day, so I know that 50k is probably out of reach. If I get another novella out of it, then I consider that a success. There are some great classic novellas out there.
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Thank you for your inspiring and kind words. I really do appreciate it. ❤
Don't worry about falling short of your daily goal. Any amount of words is just one step closer to a finished story. Progress is progress! Keep writing! And good luck with the novella you sent to your editor. That's awesome! 😀
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Oh I’m sorry you got all stressed out, I hope you’ll be able to take some time for yourself and breath a bit?
I’m editing too this NaNoWriMo and was wondering what is your process? It’s my first edit and I feel like I’m just kind of correcting typos and changing some sentences and repetition but nothing “constructive” so far so I feel like a fraud 😬… Would you have any tips? 🤗
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Honestly, It’s my first time editing a longer work of fiction. I’ve edited short stories and articles before, but this time, it’s a whole different beast. Right now, my “strategy” is to fix the small stuff first (minor tweaking of sentences and scenes)and work my way up to editing the story as a whole (examining the entire plot itself). After that, I’d probably go back in to do some little touch ups and then, fingers crossed, I’d have a finished story. That’s the hope anyway.
Editing can be tough for any writer. Honing in on the flaws of your work is not easy. Don’t forget to be kind to yourself. Editing may seem like a bloodbath, but smoothing out the rough edges will result in an awesome piece of fiction. Keep that in mind.
And thank you very much for your question. Maybe after NaNoWriMo is finished, I will post some editing tips on this blog. I think it would be helpful to a lot of writers. Thanks for the idea and best of luck with your editing! ❤ 🙂
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Thank you for your answer! I’ll keep all that in mind 😊 Can’t wait to read that blog post!
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I developed my editing process with poetry, and trying to edit my short fiction, I’m able to bring across some general principles. But I’m working it out as I go along. But one thing that has really helped me, when I’ve had feedback on other pieces in the past, I’ve collected that advice. Because those are the things that I generally need to address in my writing. But the biggest thing I’ve learned is to trust my gut. Often I have a vague inkling about something being wrong, and I’ve learned to draw that out and give it a voice. I’m still learning, so tips from others are always welcome!
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It’s ok, ladyjabberwocky! What’s important is to keep the love for your stories alive and to prioritize your health. Better days will come! I hope this next week is going better for you 🙂
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