NaNoWriMo is a writing challenge in which you must write 50,000 words in 30 days. It's a well-meaning scheme, and a good premise for a challenge. The novels are not hosted online, but you update your daily word count as you write, aiming to write an average of 1,667 words a day to stay on target. This isn't always easy when you have a job.
So I decided to go for it, with a Prohibition-era gangster story called 'An Empire from Humble Means'.
It was a slow start, but I managed to pick things up as the month went on. Unfortunately, my ideas began to run flat by the final weekend of November, with 34,000 words and a return to my procrastinating habits. That's why I posted those film reviews.
Trying it has made me see the main issue with the challenge; It favours quantity over quality. I feel that a lot of the content in my story will be seen as padding. To be fair, it's a first draft, and there are 'Revision Months' in January and February to tidy it up.
The other problem I have found is that I've got a rather laconic writing style which is more suited to short stories and novellas rather than a full-length novel. In fact, there are a couple of places in the story where I could end it. Perhaps it would work as a serial.
Am I disappointed that I didn't reach the goal? A little. But I'm still glad that I went for it, and I will revisit what I've written at some point. Right now, I want to go back to writing short stories. As for trying again, I probably won't do so immediately. But I will give it another go later down the line.
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