NaNo 2021 - Wrapping Up

NaNoWriMo ended November 30th.  I meant to update during the month, but I got into the flow of writing.  I managed to get Lost in Translation out during this time as well, with a post every weekend.  How did I feel afterwards?

First, at the end, I had a complete story, the first in a while.  Typically, I either have a serial, thus no planned ending, or I have a story that has reached the word count but not an end.  Not this year; the story, On Thin IC, wrapped up around 50 000 words.  It needs editing, of course, and there may be more details added in to break up the dialogue, but it is a complete story.  With days to go, I also got a start on a second story, The Courier, letting me get a start on a story idea I've been playing with for a while.

Next, I didn't feel drained.  I had completed a marathon with creative energy to spare.  I credit writing Lost in Translation weekly (or close to it) for allowing me to get words out and be able to recharge again for the next day.  Daily word counts were fairly steady; I didn't have any days over 5000 words, but I could sustain over 1667 words per day for multiple days in a row.  This came in handy when I fell behind in the early days.  The first Saturday of Noivember, I was a clinic to get me to get my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, and that left me out of sorts for the rest of the afternoon.  Perseverance is something I picked up during NaNo, so getting back up to speed and ahead wasn't a problem.

Helping was not having to commute.  Taking the bus is exhausting in Ottawa.  The system is unreliable; buses do not shot up when scheduled and can go missing completely, and this isn't taking into account the lemon of an LRT Ottawa has.  Working from home means the commute is fast with the only traffic being Jewel wanting her morning treats.  With zero mental energy being used by the commute and having the commute time available to relax after work before diving into writing, getting into the writing flow wasn't a problem.

Did I have an idea of what I was doing?  About the same as previous years, meaning I had characters, a general plot, and a direction with no planned ending.  This time, though, I could see when the story wanted to wrap up.  What helped was an antagonist who wasn't willing to be shoved aside early in the narrative.  Too bad I wasn't expecting him; he could have used a name.  But without this nameless blood mage, I wouldn't have had a more personal ending.  The characters are available for a sequel if I want, but their first story is done.

NaNo 2021 was fun, and getting my sixteenth win felt great.  Give it a try!

Jewel is waiting.