Off the NaNo Clock

I’m going to credit NaNoWriMo with one thing - it gave me the nudge to actually tackle writing something of novel length. Okay, two things - it also got me back into the groove of writing at all. Admittedly, that groove tends to be rather irregular and littered with months-long spans of neglect, but it’s better than the years-long droughts I had previously endured.

The downside to NaNoWriMo is that I now have a collection of half-written novels (I always reach the 50,000 word count goal, a number that unfortunately never coincides with the end of the story). Six of them, to be precise. Only one out of seven started is actually done, and it’s just the first book of what is either a three or four book series...so, in a sense, it's also incomplete.

So why do they remain abandoned? After putting in so much work, why not finish them? Surely it's easier than starting a new novel from scratch?

For several of the novels, I’d gone into NaNo with a nugget of plot in mind, but no idea how the story would end. Even after getting to know the characters and the story through a couple hundred pages, I usually only had a vague notion of how it might end. No story had been railroaded into a dead end plot-wise, but when combined with the burnout following the binge of writing that is November I just lacked the energy to figure it out. My one finished novel, in contrast, I knew exactly how it was going to end and what most of the major remaining plot landmarks along the way were, and I’m sure that was a key difference.

The second issue is that aforementioned burnout. Much as I love the sense of accomplishment in getting my 1667 words (give or take) down each night, it’s a difficult grind. Television shows go un-watched, chores and family are slightly neglected, and I start to slack off on my running. By the time I’ve recovered, that head of steam has long since vanished.

And my third and probably greatest problem...well, I’m highly motivated by a fear of failure (missing deadlines, in particular). When I sign up to do NaNo, there is absolutely no way I won’t finish it. After I reach the word count goal, however, I no longer have that outside accountability pushing me. Yeah, I could tell myself that I have until the end of December or January to finish the first draft, but it’s just not the same. I can’t convince myself to work under such regular daily or weekly word goals, even if lessened to a more realistic number, when I’m off the NaNo clock.

How to crack that nut of realistic personal accountability? Hmmm...