As you can see from the title, I indeed did complete NaNoWriMo this year and won. I’m no where near finished with the first draft of First to Fight though, I still have about another 30k to write. Which honestly isn’t really that much, if I’m thinking about it!

What I Learned This Year from Participating in NaNoWriMo

I learned a few things this year and I’m hoping I can remember them for next year! So I wanted to share those things with all of you, in hopes that it might help you as well.

1. Start that first day with a big number: Make sure you write as much as I possibly can that first day. I started my NaNo month off with a bang and wrote 10k that first day. That helped me so much. Gave me that boost seeing that huge number every time I looked at my total.
2. Don’t try to write during the day if you know you’re more creative at night: Know what time of day you’re more creative. I learned I’m a huge night time writer, I’m more creative at night. So I learned to really use that to my advantage and get everything else completed during the day that I needed to get done. That way I was free to just sit down and write when night came.
3. Sprints! Sprints! Let me say it again…Sprints! Sprints are a total live saver for me. Writing for 25 minutes and then taking a break for 5 or even 10 minutes is an amazing way to get the words down. Best thing is during NaNo there are tons of people sprinting on Youtube and Twitch. Writing with other people is also a huge advantage!
4. YOU CAN DO THIS! I’ve won NaNoWriMo now several times and every year I’m not sure if I can actually win. I need and want to remind myself that I can sit down and get those words in. Because guess what I’ve done it now several times so I can do it again!
5. Prizes and Taking the Pressure out of it: The whole point of NaNoWriMo is to get people to write. It doesn’t really matter if I win as long as I sat down and wrote the words. Yes I love my prizes and I love that I won. But in the end, I was honestly happy just to get the words in and write the story.

So there you have it, the top 5 things I learned this year participating and winning NaNo! I know a bunch of you are still writing away and getting those words in for the last couple days of the month. Remember you can do this!!! I’m here cheering you all on.

Now I just have to keep going and finish this first draft! I better get to it.