Everyone has a different NaNoWriMo experience. We’ve asked some wonderful NaNoWriMo writers to share theirs, and what they’ve learned. Today, Jennifer Wilson, author of
Kindred Spirits: Tower of London, tells us why she’s still glad she participated in NaNoWriMo… even if she didn’t win:
A friend first challenged me to try NaNoWriMo in 2009, and I’ve managed to win twice since—in 2009 and 2013. After a lot of editing, the novel I wrote in 2013 was published by Crooked Cat Publishing as Kindred Spirits: Tower of London in October 2015—an absolute dream come true. Given this recent success, I was really motivated to go for NaNoWriMo this year.
I’m definitely a planner, and I started reading and researching my new cast of characters back in the summer, aiming to draft a follow-up to my 2013 effort. Sadly, as my notes started mounting up, so did the to-do list at my day job. As November 1 crept up, in truth, I began to worry.
1. Winning is great, but with NaNoWriMo, it really is the starting part that counts. 2. Any words written are better than no words written. 3. Just keep going! At the end of the day, the people who pay your bills do need to take priority, but any word is valuable to a work-in-progress.
I’m just delighted with the almost 49k of words I squeaked out, and now the fun of editing begins!! <3
