That being said, here are the things I learned this month.
First, I learned that spending time in the world before writing the novel is very important, especially when writing fantasy. I spent months planning and plotting and scribbling about the longest novel I've actually finished, and that was before November even started. On the other hand, I only spent a little time outlining a plot, doing one or two character sketches, and outlining a little bit in the magic of the world.
What's the difference between the two?
In the first instance, I spent so much time just thinking about the work - whether there are dragons and faeries, a little bit about what happened before the novel started, what sort of climate the world was in, even something along the lines of "what would this character's favorite pop song be in this world" - that, once November started, I already had a concept of my parameters. If I needed a plot twist, then I knew where to draw the plot twist from. Sure, some things might be inconsistent, but there was something to draw from.
In this instance, with only vague outlines of the existence of some beings, there was not a lot to draw from when I hit writer's block. Sure, shifting perspectives sometimes helped, but I didn't establish the history of the world to spend time building up some events and plot twists. If you make room for historical references, there are more things you can do with it.
Second, I learned that progress is progress, no matter how awful. Even though there are a lot of inconsistencies in this novel, there are a lot of okay elements, too. I had a journalism professor who often said, "write a beast, and then you can groom it." What she meant was what Chris Baty always says: turn off your inner editor and let yourself be awful the first time around. Rough drafts are rough for a reason. Now I have things to work with.
Third, I learned that thinking about writing does not boost your word count. Announcing to your boyfriend, your roommate, and your friend who wants to hang out that you can't spend time with them because you need to write.... does not mean you will actually write. (It makes you a little bit of a terrible person if you don't write, though. You should definitely write.)
Fourth, I learned that word sprints are your friend. Setting a timer for 20-25 minutes absolves you from looking at your phone during the designated time frame, and can help focus on things that involve novels and word counts and NOT looking at your phone and trying to find plot twist generators. If something is truly urgent, someone will call you, and if you don't focus on your novel, then the generators won't help at all.
Fifth, I learned that getting ahead doesn't mean you will stay ahead, and that getting behind doesn't mean you will stay behind. That's pretty self-explanatory.
And, finally, I leave you with a J.K. Rowling quote (found on goodreads) that pretty well sums up the difficulty I had in this NaNoWriMo season, because I did not do what she advised:
"Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave in to endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days. The funny thing is that, although writing has been my actual job for several years now, I still seem to have to fight for time in which to do it. Some people do not seem to grasp that I still have to sit down in peace and write the books, apparently believing that they pop up like mushrooms without my connivance. I must therefore guard the time allotted to writing as a Hungarian Horntail guards its firstborn egg."
