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Well I promised I'd give an update so here I am to admit defeat. I failed Nano this year. I did not make it to 50,000 words. I did not get even close. I got past halfway if that means anything to anybody...although I suspect it does not. My total word count at the end of November 30 was 26, 751. I come fully prepared to over explain why I didn't quite make to my goal. Get ready.
I stopped writing in week three.
Yeap. For the last nine days of November I was utterly useless when it comes to adding any new words to my manuscript because my husband and I decided to risk a trip to see his mother for Thanksgiving. She lives in North Carolina, so we had the great idea to first drive down to South Carolina so we could briefly enjoy Charleston before we got down to the business of Thanksgiving face-stuffing. What this meant for me is that all my routines went out the window because suddenly there was a whole city to explore and I really wanted to explore it. Unlike my husband, I can work remotely (the joys of being a copywriter) so I didn't take time off. This meant that I worked by day and was dying to join him in Charleston exploration by late afternoon to night. To commit to my daily word targets would have been to utterly miss the trip I was already half missing in a city that had been on my list to experience forever. And so no writing got done and I failed Nano.
What I lost in words I gained in food. An ode to Southern Cooking.
Everything is richer in the south. I knew Charleston would be a foodie trip and I can certainly say that in that respect, I wasn't disappointed. I ate all my feelings and they were delicious. I ate how disappointed I was at not accomplishing my writing goals and I ate how disappointed I was that I couldn't explore the city I was in because I had to work during the best parts of the day. I also ate because the food was delicious and it was plentiful. I don't remember having a single bad meal and seeing as food was the only thing I could really enjoy in the city after I officially clocked out, I can't stress enough just how grateful I am that Charleston had so much goodness to offer.
"If you can't write something interesting, then do something interesting"
This is how I'm choosing to see the back end of Nano. I didn't write much but I lived plenty , and those slices of life are going to deepen my well so when I do sit to write again- it will be a richer experience. Things that were highlighted for me on this trip were how much I enjoy talking to my husband. It's amazing how you can forget something so profound, but you can. We drove from New Jersey to South Carolina (including a stop in Washington DC), to North Carolina and back to New Jersey. Now you may or may not believe this- but we spoke THE ENTIRE TIME. I don't even remember us listening to music. We just talked and talked and it was lovely. In a silly way it reminded me why we're married, because sharing space is so easy.
Spending time with James' family, I also had the experience of seeing and feeling how much closer I am to them now. Being married is strange in that you're not just marrying a person but their entire family too. For most of us, that family consists of complete strangers that you have to get to know and vice versa. Naturally, even with the loveliest and most welcoming of families, it's a process. I had the quiet pleasure this Thanksgiving of observing how much closer those spaces between us seemed. I reveled in the insider-ness I felt. It was almost surprising to realize that I know the family dynamics now, I know so many of the stories. I recognized in them too a calmer and less concerned, even nonchalant approach to me. I'm boring now, I'm old news. I'm family. This single takeaway was the extreme highlight to my trip. That and the dramatically beautiful Carolina skies.
Finally- The end of NaNoWriMo doesn't mean the end of my book
That would be silly. I still fully intend to complete the manuscript I started, the writing of which I've been enjoying very much, I'm just going to now do so on a revised timeline. I love Nano for the daily writing habit it instills and that's the part I intend to keep. I am now weary of setting big goals, especially in the holiday month of December that we've just entered, but I will say that writing will remain a priority. I will update you all on how it's going when it makes sense (when I've made significant progress worth bragging about).
If you were writing along, I hope your Nano experience was more successful than mine, please feel free to tell me so. In other news, I'm officially back to weekly posts which I have missed and I look forward to seeing you next Thursday.
Take care,
Noni
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