Holy bologna! You’ve made it through half of the month, which is an amazing feat all it’s own, so you should definitely go celebrate right now. Don’t worry about this post – it’ll be here waiting for you. Go get that reward because you earned the hell out of it.
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Okay – now you’re back! It was a short break but it’s time to get back to work, though not necessarily with your writing. Instead, I want you to take a break with some scrap paper and a writing utensil of your choice. It’s time to do some number crunching!
I know, I know. “Alixx, I am a words person, not a numbers person, that’s why I’m doing Nanowrimo and not some maths contest.” I get it.
But you gotta look at the numbers in order to be successful in anything you venture out to do in your life. Whether it is exercising, cooking, money management, or traveling, there’s going to be some aspect of it that deals with numbers in order to accomplish the task. The same is true about writing, and especially about Nanowrimo!
So here’s what you need to write down on your paper, most of which should be on your Nanowrimo Profile stats page.
1 – Average words per day
2 – Current total words
3 – Your target word count goal
The math I’m going to have you do is pretty simple math, but I want you to have a full blank piece of paper because you may need to do a few different equations to figure out how to move forward into the second half of the month. You want to ensure your success – not hope for it. These numbers are going to be vital to making a finish-line plan.
So, first, you need to subtract your current total from your target word count. The difference is how many words you need to get written by 11:59 PM on November 30th in order to win the challenge. Now here’s the tricky part: You need to divide the number of words you need to write by the end of the month by 15 (because that’s how many days you have left to participate). This shows you how many words per day you need to write in order to achieve your goal. Now let’s talk about what that number means.
Is the number bigger than your daily average? Don’t worry! This is where you can really evaluate what’s different about the days when you’ve gotten a lot written versus the days where you’ve gotten less accomplished. How can you simulate that environment or get back into the mindset you had on those days so that you can reach for a higher daily count? Getting intimidated by this number is a natural feeling, but use that anxiety and fear to your advantage. Run towards the finish line at full speed because you already made it through the trenches – getting started is the hardest part. Now is the time for adventure. Explore everything throughout your story on the page/on the screen. You’ll get to your personal word-count goal in no time!
Is the number smaller than your daily average? Fantastic! This means you are ahead of schedule and doing fabulously. You could potentially slow down a bit as you are heading into the final weeks of Nanowrimo, which is good for your mental and physical health, but don’t lose touch with your story. It’s when we are winning and confident that we can most easily be stricken down. Remain focused, remain dedicated and continue to explore the story that you’re telling by working on those finer details that can take your manuscript to the next level.
Is the number pretty close to the same as your current daily average? Perfect! Amazing! This means you have been able to keep a schedule, keep a plan, and push yourself to meet daily goals when you maybe weren’t totally invested in the activity. We’re not going to love this process every minute of every day for the rest of our lives. Some days are harder to get something done than others, no matter how passionate we are about something. Nanowrimo is definitely no exception! Since you’ve done so well so far, the main focus as we head into the second half of the month is going to be making sure that you are staying aware of where your progress is at and making sure that you don’t let outside influences affect your ability to stay on schedule. In many major countries, holidays are approaching at the tail-end of the month, so be prepared for those disruptions! Carve out time for yourself even when it’s hard to do so. You have managed to do that so far, after all.
Another thing that you should do at this mid-way point is re-assess your milestone goals (daily and weekly). You may want to consider adding more rewards for reaching milestones in the second half of the month. No matter what the last couple of weeks look like for you in regard to school, holidays, and other calendar events, it’s going to be harder to keep up towards the end of the month. At the end of the day, your stamina is getting stronger but you can get worn down. Self-care impacts your work output and quality, which is the reason milestone rewards are such a big part of your success this month. Do not underestimate the value that it has in your plan.
Honestly, keep going. You’ve got this.
You 100% are going to win this challenge.
❤
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