NaNoWriMo

How to succeed at failure

You may have heard of a little event called National Novel Writing Month, (often shortened to NaNoWriMo). Some of you out there may have even attempted it. Well, this was my first year that I really gave it a try and I’m proud to say that it went exactly as I thought it would… I failed… hard. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m very happy with how the whole month turned out for me. My failure at writing a novel turned into one of the biggest wins I’ve had in a long time.

That may sound weird, but it’s the truth. Not only can failure be a great thing but, sometimes, it turns out to be exactly what you needed all along. Don’t tear yourself down if you also failed to meet the goal of NaNoWriMo this past November, just figure out how you can turn it into a win for the future.

I tried, everyone. I really, really tried. I planned and planned, but when it came down to it I just couldn’t keep up with the 1,666 words a day, and that’s okay. Failure happens. Let’s be real, nearly 1,700 words a day is a tall order. There should be no shame if you can’t keep up with that, especially if it is your first time. However, I know a lot of people who feel bad over not making it, or even give up before it starts because they are afraid they’ll fail. For a long time, I was one of them. This year, however, I gained a lot of confidence in myself as a writer and thought that I’d give it a go. Unfortunately, reality set in by day three and there was no way I could actually finish in time.

If you are a writer, you may recognize how hard it can be to write sometimes. After I graduated, I must’ve spent a couple years barely writing at all. That kind of stretch can really damage your confidence. However, I’m doing a lot better after getting a new, steady job nearly a year ago. My confidence has been restored, I am writing every day for work, and doing well at my job. Still, I wasn’t doing anything for myself. Nothing to push my writing outside of work. Then NaNoWriMo came along and it did something that I honestly thought it couldn’t — it got me writing. That’s right, I wrote every single day, on my own, for a month straight and it got me out of a seriously bad funk.

Now, I’ve shared four articles (including the one you’re reading) and have a few more backlogged. I’ve been my most productive in writing than I have ever been and all of that came out of failure.

I think it’s easy for writers to pull ourselves down when we don’t live up to our own standards. I’ve pulled myself down plenty of times in the past and have just recently spoken with some close friends about their own obstacles they’re currently facing. The truth is, we’re going to fail. It’s part of the job, but we can turn that failure into a success if we just look at what we can accomplish.

How many of you out there failed this month? Well, do yourself a favor and turn that failure on its head. Sit down, (no, really, sit down), and take a moment to think of everything you did wrong. Every bump in the road and hitch in your plan. Make a list of everything that you felt you did wrong, and make a plan for the future. I can’t tell you how many colleagues I’ve met who keep doing the same thing over and over again because they think that, “this is my process.” I hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you failed before then doing the same exact thing probably won’t help you.

Remember that lofty goals are the enemy of writing, (not to say that NaNoWriMo is a lofty goal, tons of people complete it every year) but backing them up with realistic, doable milestones can be exactly what you’re missing. NaNoWriMo may have kicked my writing into gear, but without actual goals, I know I’ll fall back out of it. That’s why I’ve redefined my goals into ones that I know I can accomplish, something that I’ll be writing about in the future.

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