Although I didn't finish NaNoWriMo, this is what I have learned.

For every author it is different in how they construct their pros. I have come to an understanding that as a writer, you find your own particular path by the way you process information. In other words you approach writing as if your attempting to learn something new.

Some writers are “Pansters” (writers that sit down with out a plot and just write.) and other are “Plotters” (writers that are architects and have to have an outline.). For me I am some were in between. I like specific plot points to be met, this way I can insure that the pace of the novel is intact and for characters to stay fresh, I try to leave them alone and let them live their own lives until I put obstacles in their way and let them figure out how to get out of them.

NaNo dogmatic mentality helps when you have writers block. So in the future when I do get stuck and can not figure out what to write. I will pull out the tool called freeform writing. Just stack words together and see what happens. If it ever goes astray, there will always be revisions to cut them out.You can learn a lot about your characters if you do this.

Next time when I do Nano, I will not create a very complicated project. The more complexity a project has for me, the harder it is to write. This year I decided to create a plot that has seven, yes seven different plot lines that actually would cross reference each other through out the novel. The approach that I took was to try to write each plot strand as a self contained story. I had a few ideas for some of the plot strands but became lost when those strands where completed. That is why I couldn’t finish this year combined with time restraints. We all have our own excuses.

NaNo has helped me find more confidence in myself to become an author. NaNo broke down the barriers for me that the first draft were I had to be perfect before you could move on. Growing up in an age of non computers I had limited resources. I had to make every page count. So it has taken me some time to brake old habits and start creating with a new found freedom. It is a luxury to be able to go back and change things without the worrier of running out of paper.

NaNo teaches you how to manage your time well. One of the tools that has help me is to set up speed writing sprints. With each sprint I try to be the best word count from the last. For me, I like to use thirty minute time blocks. Time zooms by more quickly when you do this. I found that if I just try and sit there and type out the story my mind stalls. I need the time boom switch to push me to crank out the words.

Although I did not finish this year. I couldn't be more happier with the things I have learned if I had finished. There are more tools that I can use to help write. There can be a middle ground for plotting your work and be wilily nellie when it come to crafting pros. The most important is what I learned about myself in this process to become an author.