Now that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has officially ended and my life has transitioned back to a state of normalcy (as normal as it’s going to get with the stress of finals looming), I’ve had some time to reflect on my experiences as a first ever participant.

I have a couple disclaimers before I begin. (If you’d like to read how I ever decided to join NaNoWriMo in the first place, please click here.)

1. I edit. A lot. I could not completely divorce myself from my “Banger” ways. This past month was as “Swooper” as it gets for me. Before I began a new day, I read over my previous day’s words and revised and edited them. Whenever I finished a chapter, I spent a few days just revising and editing it. Though this put my overall word count in jeopardy, it renewed my confidence that I was headed in the right direction.

2. I also currently teach five days a week (for the first time ever in my teaching career), and it’s difficult find uninterrupted blocks of time to write while teaching, grading, and lesson planning, among my other responsibilities.

Prior to NaNoWriMo, my wife and I constructed a schedule for me to follow during the month of November that included at least three hours of writing per day, 24 writing hours per week. I wrote this on an index card and taped it to my computer as a daily reminder.

So was I able to adhere to this schedule?

Ehh… Kinda. There were days that I was unable to write due to work obligations and a peer evaluation (I’m acclimating to a new college), but my NaNoWriMo schedule forced me into a pretty regular routine, and I was a more productive writer this past month. Prior to NaNoWriMo, my best months featured about 5,000 words, or one short story.

In fact, I’m so pleased with my results that I’ve decided to create new writing schedules–new index cards–for myself whenever my schedule changes to keep up my routine. During winter break, for instance, I will follow a new routine, and during the Spring semester, I will follow another new schedule. My goal is to finish a first draft of my novel by this summer.

What did I learn?

To call yourself a writer, you have to write. NaNoWriMo encourages this through daily emails and forums and meet-ups. It essentially creates and promotes a culture of writing that is easy to adopt for the entire month. The trick is to let this momentum carry you into the rest of the year. For those of us in education, December and January should be good writing months.

Would I do it again?

Yes! Though I did not “win” by writing 50,000 words for the month, I bested my own personal record, and I’m that much closer to finishing the first draft of my novel. What more can you ask for?

Photo credit: Wired.com