I hit 50,000 words yesterday, a whole two days before deadline. And for me, it is an accomplishment. I started writing a novel several years ago, and have set it down several times. I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time as a do-or-die—finish a draft of the novel, or forget about it.

So I went for it. I did not write every day, but I did write consistently. The novel is not finished. There are probably 10 more chapters to go. My notes for the second draft are extensive. There are many fixes I’ll need to make—time inconsistencies, point of view and tense departures, plot developments that need foreshadowing, and pacing—my biggest challenge.

The end is in sight. I see a path to the end of the novel, and I’ve already got the scaffolding for the fixes. I’m all kinds of insecure about it. But also hopeful.

In addition to the formal NaNoWriMo, I was participating (trying to) in a 300-word story NaWriMo challenge. That kind of writing is so dear to me. With the novel, I’ve got a detailed outline that I update after each chapter and where I’ve made my story-fix notes; a character list; and a time-line with details that won’t necessarily make it into the story.

I write flash mostly from prompts: word prompts are my favorite, picture prompts next. Sometimes an open-ended suggested direction is helpful. But a prompt that says “Write a story about X leaving Y and encountering Z” is way too specific for me most times.

Once in a while I have an idea when I sit down to write flash, but most of the time I haven’t a clue. It’s an exploration, an adventure. I may write myself into a hole and back out again, and find the beginning of the story somewhere in the middle. Or, occasionally, the story explodes in about the second sentence, blooming into something I know I want to keep. Often, I write myself off a cliff and know there are no survivors—not a single sentence or phrase or image.

Writing every day for 30 days is a worthy aspiration. NaNoWriMo is like a detox cleanse, boot camp, sweat lodge, a period of fasting, training for a marathon—in short: a time set aside for a disciplined, rigorous attack on your goals.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to write every day when I signed up for NaNoWriMo—there are other areas of my life that require my attention. I’m sure a 30-day stretch with no misses is hard for many writers. Writing consistently, though—that’s crucial. Writing has to be part of your normal routine. If it is, then those times when you must take a break—for whatever reason—your good writing habits stay with you, and it will be easier to get back on course when you can. If you’ve never been on course… well… it gets easier and easier not to write. That’s where I was with the novel. The 30 days of focus on it has given me the determination to finish.

Thanks for hanging out with me, and for all the encouragement so many people have given me over the years. I hope to make 2024 my best year yet!