How One Month Changed My Writing Forever

Two yeas ago, I took a huge challenge upon myself: I tried NaNoWriMo. Every year in November, writers throughout the world celebrate National Novel Writing Month, a month-long writing project with a goal of covering 50 thousand words in 30 days. Not just random 5o thousand words, but a meaningful novel. And I did it.

It was the proudest moment of my life. Of course I later realized that writing was the easiest part of a novel. Two years on and I’m still editing my novel. And I’m still not happy. I don’t even know if I’d ever get to that point where I’m happy with my writing. The more I think of the plot, the more dull it seems. I can’t think of the countless times I’ve criticised books as not racy enough; and then when I read my book, I feel myself nodding away. It’s the biggest humiliation I’ve ever faced.

But NaNoWriMo was one of the greatest challenges of my life. And I’m happy I did it. Every time I think about my novel, I feel the urge to make it better, to work on it; to edit; to rewrite, and to — one day — publish a novel I’m proud of. And I believe I can, I believe I will.

But NaNoWriMo changed my life in a way nothing else had. It got me writing more words in one day than I’d have ever managed before. I wrote an average of 1600 words a day, and I surprised myself that I’d managed it. Before that November, I took about an hour or two to just come up with 200 to 300 words — 200 to 300 decent words, mind you — but after that November, I managed to come up with 200 to 300 decent words in one hour and about another 1000 words I could morph into decent words. In other words, I was writing, and editing — just like before. But the only difference was I was writing before editing, and therefore, I wrote more. And edited more too.

One month of vigorous writing changed everything forever. That one month helped me write so much that I had something to work on later. Because I love editing. I love to correct a piece of writing — mine or others’. There’s something about editing and correcting. It makes me feel good, makes me feel bigger. As if I know something worthwhile, and I impart my knowledge to the writer. It boosts the ego. And with more words than ever on my page, the editor in me was having a pay day. With songs in my ear and grammar on my side, I began editing.

I still am.