Non-Fiction | Writing | NaNoWriMo
6 Lessons Learned From Winning NaNoWriMo 2022
The last one is the most important.
Well, I won NaNoWriMo. I actually finished a draft. Here are 6 things I learned about myself, my writing, and the epic story I’ve been brewing since childhood.
1. My Writing Needs Work
This might be a no-brainer. Anyone who thought they were great writers, or at least a technically solid writer, will change their mind once they try to write their first novel. I have no trouble admitting my writing isn’t perfect. It’s even a little boring. I certainly wouldn’t buy my book in its current state. Maybe a little more reading in my genre will help boost my skills.
2. I Have a Lot To Learn
My novel lives in the Sci-fi genre. I have a degree in History, not Physics or Computer Science. I struggle with talking about computers and data-driven technology period, let alone what technology would look like in a hundred or more years from now. The setting is a future human settlement in a place where people don’t naturally live. The means to live comfortably in this place requires some technology that doesn’t exist yet. My lack of ability to describe this technology is a huge problem when I’m trying to immerse my readers in a new environment.
3. So Many Plot Holes
The story I’m working on is a plot I’ve explored mentally since I was about 16 years old or so. Elements of the story have changed drastically since then — I’m 38 this year — but I’ve never physically outlined or written the entire story out in one go. NaNoWriMo 2022 was the first time I succeeded in getting more than a chapter or a series of disconnected scenes committed to paper. For the most part, this story has lived solely in my head, fanaticizing how scenes might play out. I have finally learned the lesson that nothing is a substitute for physical writing. Typing the words give the story a reality and a structure that helps the brain fully understand what needs to happen and when. The connections between plot events are no longer apparent to me now, and I’m going to have to work hard to establish connections so the plot makes sense to everyone outside my head, and keep my readers interested.
4. Details, Details
The characters and settings living in my head are interesting and vibrant people independent from me. The characters I described on the page during NaNoWriMo are boring and flat. I don’t even know these people. In my quest to “show not tell”, I’ve shied away from my juvenile desire to write a paragraph of description for each character as they’re introduced. I’ve instead tried to introduce the characters through dialogue and action, an endeavor I’m proud of. However, this is where I’ve noticed my writing abilities… need work. I also found it incredibly hard to describe some of my imaginary settings in an immersive way.
5. I Might Just Have a Trilogy on My Hands…
One of the most surprising lessons I learned from NaNoWriMo is that 50,000 words didn’t finish my novel. I didn’t get to the end. In fact, according to the plot in my head, I only reached the middle of the story. I used the 50,000 words to basically introduce the world and characters, create the driving action for my main character and set up the subplot, and escape from captivity. There’s still a whole journey to be had, and then a resolution plot arc. I know I can easily write three novels now, which really changes the structure of the novel when I rewrite my rough draft. Mind blown.
6. And Most Importantly….
I proved to myself that YES, I can actually write 50,000 words of novel within a 30-day period! To be fair, I experienced a couple weeks in November where I didn’t get much if any writing done due to illness and family events, so more than half of my draft was actually written within the last week of NaNoWriMo. Even more impressive… right?
Did you learn anything about yourself from NaNoWriMo, or just getting your first draft of a novel completed (no matter when)?
Thanks for reading! If you liked this, follow Meghan E. Gattignolo on Medium and subscribe. Meghan is the creator of two Medium publications: Fascinate Me Fiction and Passages Through Writing. She also writes for The Customs House Museum & Cultural Center. Find her on X and Instagram as Meggiebeth_Writes.