When The Finish Line Isn’t The End: Writer’s Edition.
NaNoWriMo 2020 is near an end. For many writers that means goals reached, drafts complete, and a pat on the back for a hard-earned win. For many more still, the end of NaNoWriMo arrives with a less than hoped for word count, aborted plans, and even (believe me, I’ve been there) no writing at all. But, for every writer who dreams of pouring their stories onto the page, I say that NaNoWriMo should never be measured in terms like “success” or “failure.” Instead, regardless of where your goals landed, I’d argue the question we should all ask ourselves is “where do I go from here?” and I’m here to give you some potential answers and wee bit of advice no matter how far you traveled on your NaNo journey.
Travel Plan 1: Revision (aka The Return Trip)
Diving back into a completed draft can be overwhelming, but it needs to happen. The good news is that it doesn’t need to happen urgently. I’d even argue that it shouldn’t. Give both yourself and your story an opportunity to rest. You’ve both earned it!
When you’re ready to do the work all over again, you’ll know.
Travel Plan 2: More Writing (aka Keep On Truckin’)
If your writing went well, but you ran out of time; if you got sidetracked, disheartened, or just told yourself “It’s too much!”, then this one is for you. One thing that I love about NaNoWriMo is how much it encourages everyone and anyone, from published authors to those who’ve never written a story, to take something magical out of their soul and commit it to the page. One thing I don’t love about it is that arbitrary timeline. Not everyone can just spill their soul in 50k or more words in 30 days or less. If you didn’t reach your goal, please don’t give up.
This work is hard. Your voice is important. Keep going. No timelines.
Travel Plan 3: The Shiny New Idea (aka The Undiscovered Country)
Sometimes we owe it to both ourselves and our story to recognize that something (even if we can’t identify it) just isn’t working. That’s okay! If you stalled out, don’t let yourself get stuck! It’s possible that the story you chose to tell just isn’t ready to be told yet. That’s not a fault, and you must understand that nothing is broken. Your story likely just needs a little more time in the oven. While it’s in there, find yourself a shiny new idea and start something fresh! A change of scenery might be just what you need to get your groove back.
You never know what you’ll find!
That’s just three potential travel plans to keep your writer’s journey moving once November is a memory… and, really, this was all just a long and David-filled way of urging you all to not stop. Don’t give up on yourself or the stories that live within you. Don’t fall for the lie that you need to reach some sort of imaginary finish line by some arbitrary date - and I don’t mean NaNoWriMo, I mean life! - your creativity doesn’t have a use-by date. For many, NaNo provides a bit of push to engage with that creativity, and I love it for that. If you felt that push if even for one day then celebrate yourself. You’ve started something that’s way bigger than one month out of the year.
You’ve started. Now… don’t stop.
David Fey is an editor and writer with a passion for all things strange and unusual. Find out more about him here.
