Reflecting on NaNoWriMo 2020

Now that we’re about a month past the finish date, it’s time to start reflecting on NaNoWriMo. I think I’ve gained enough perspective on the work I accomplished to make it worthwhile.

Reflection is a very important part of my writing process because it enables me to see areas where I did well (repeat those things!) and areas where I didn’t do so great (maybe skip those steps next time). My favorite way to reflect on my writing is by journaling (of course it is, I’m a writer and I love to write). I especially love to write about writing!

It turns out that, overall, I was quite pleased with my National Novel Writing Month progress. I completed the required word count, and then some, and when I read back my draft it wasn’t publishable, but it wasn’t too bad either! In short, I can work with what I created. And that, in my mind, is success!

As I began reflecting on NaNoWriMo, focusing on my drafting process, I answered a few specific questions for myself. These are detailed below in case anyone wants to join me!

Journal about your writing process

For those of you who wish to reflect on this year’s NaNoWriMo with me, I’ve put together a few prompts to help you identify key points you could consider addressing to get the most out of your reflection. I recommend you do this even if you didn’t finish the 50K words! In fact, if you didn’t make it, you would benefit from evaluating your reasons for that and making some changes.

• What was your favorite thing about NaNoWriMo 2020?
• What was your biggest struggle during the month?
• What was your trick for getting your butt in the chair to work on the thing each day?
• If you weren’t able to succeed most days, what was it that kept you away from your story?
• What books did you read and what TV shows did you watch while you were drafting in November?

Let me know in the comments how you’re feeling about things!