It’s OK

One problem I have with NaNo is the self-flagellation when NaNoers don’t reach that magical 1667 word count. Because that is what happens when you set a goal and don’t reach it. This is one reason why more people don’t continue NaNo-level output throughout the year.

Yet one of the best parts about NaNo is the community. Everyone is working towards a similar goal, and I have yet to see one unsympathetic to the frustration and depression we all seem to feel at some point. NaNoers make the best cheerleaders. But that community tends to dissipate once the first of December rolls around.

So what happens then?

Set a realistic, sustainable goal for yourself. One you know you can reach, and reach consistently. When you’re looking at the long haul, be realistic. Don’t stretch.

Want to write 2000 words a day, but average 500? Make that 500 your goal post. And if that feels too much like a cop out, make it 550 or 600. The point is to have a goal you can meet. Once you do, you’re free to keep writing. Anything after that is bonus. And maybe you will reach that 2000. If you don’t, you still made your goal.

But let’s face it: there are times when the writing leaves. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m sorry. You will learn, and it will suck.

A few years ago, after I started consistently finishing my stories, I came to recognize a period of burnout after every draft completion. Before I realized that was happening, I would get so, so frustrated at how the words jumbled, and stuck, and clogged, and refused to flow. After that realization, I started planning for those burnout times. I reduced a lot of stress that had only served to block me more.

I’ve heard of writers who attended intensive workshops or graduate programs who then could not write for months, even years after. Because of burnout.

At a ReaderCon panel last summer, I listened to authors who are parents say they didn’t write, often for years, after the birth of a child.

Although I’ve published a short story and occasionally write pieces of flash for a podcast, I think of myself as a novel-writer. Yet this novel that I’m writing now is the first novel-length rough draft I have written in over three years, since my dad died unexpectedly.

My point is, life happens. It’s ok not to put as many words as you’d hoped on the page. It’s ok if you’ve stopped writing altogether. (It won’t be permanent if you don’t want it to be.) Lower your goal. Go learn something new, have new experiences; you’ll write about them later.

So take a breath. It’s ok.