How I Wrote Over 100,000 Words in a Month
Yesterday was the last day of Camp NaNoWriMo, and for the first time ever, I feel like I really did something.
I was a writing machine. Every day, I’d wake up, work out, shower, and sit down to write. Then, after a few writing sprints, I’d hop on YouTube to host some live writing sprints for my online community.
It felt good and like I was finally building a writing habit that would work for me. I was focused on the goal, and was still taking weekends off (mostly). That was something that I’d never been able to do before.
And that’s when it kind of hit me. Writing is something that everyone learns to do in school, but for those of us who want to write as a career, there can be a lot of barriers.
This wasn’t the first time I had this thought. This was, however, the first time the planets aligned for me. So, I thought I would take some time to share how I was able to write so much, and also highlight the specific things that keep writers from achieving their goals.
Mental Health
It’s no secret that mental health can greatly affect personal productivity. I know in the past, my anxiety has kept me from feeling able to work. And I know that many writers deal with mental illnesses far more intense than mine.
What made me able to hit that high word count was my mental health. I’ve been working really hard for years to get a handle on my anxiety and to develop coping mechanisms that help me deal with it.
This past month was the first time that I really felt the effects of those coping mechanisms. And I’m happy to report that I think I’ve finally found a combination of day job, schedule, and fitness routine that really allows me to write.
Time Off
One of the more unhelpful bits of writing advice out there is that you just need to write. And that if you want to write, you’ll make it happen. While this is partly true, I think our society has gone from recognizing the need for a room of one’s own to not acknowledging how necessary time can be.
You need time to write, and most day jobs I’ve ever had don’t bat an eyelash at asking for overtime or at sending their employees home with too much. This makes it impossible to write. When you’re exhausted from your day job, or have too many little things you need to take care of before you step into the office again, it’s impossible to think about the book you’re working on.
I decided that the time I had off from freelance deadlines due to a global pandemic was going to be time that I used to work on my projects. I decided that since no one else was making demands of my time (except for Netflix) that I would write 4,000 words every week day.
Not only did this time off enable me to hit this goal, I got really good at it. I’m naturally a fast writer, so this was usually done in less than 2 hours a day. And there were only two days that I did not exceed this word count goal.
But the thing that made that writing speed possible was that I had time away from other concerns, which let my brain focus in on this one goal.
It was the most liberated I’ve ever felt writing, and I’m looking forward to replicating it again someday.
Emotional Distance
I’m incredibly lucky in that I don’t directly know anyone who is affected by this global pandemic. My family is happy and healthy, and everyone is safe and sound at home.
I want to acknowledge what an immense privilege this is. I know a lot of people are dealing with stress or loss because of this disease. I know a lot of people are probably freaking out about money due to lost wages.
I know that I’m probably in the minority of writers who have this luxury.
But I do know that I haven’t always had this distance, and there have been times in the past when I have been impacted emotionally by events that other writers have not. And I struggled to figure out why they were productive during that time and I wasn’t.
Turns out that you can’t write your magnum opus if you’re freaking out or panicking or crying yourself to sleep every night.
Years of Deadlines
I mostly feel very young and like I don’t know anything, but I also hurt if I sleep the wrong way. Which is to say that I’m old enough to have been writing in a professional context for years.
I’m used to deadlines. I’m used to last-minute edits. I’m used to working on multiple projects at once and trying to make headway on a novel while I work on a feature article or a blog post.
Having this experience has made it a lot easier for me to write fast and hit my word count goals. But I also know that it made me a more agile writer that can jump from one project to another, which is what I did during the course of this month.
Support
I have a great boyfriend and dog who have my back while I’m at home. I have two parents who think whatever I post on the internet is great. I have a couple of group chats going of badass women who are making their dreams come true. I have an online community of writers who cheer me on every step of the way.
When I thought I was going it alone as a writer, I know that it was almost impossible to write. But since I’ve really embraced the people who support me, it’s been a lot easier to be productive.
A Final Note
I know I’m one of those awful people who is being productive during a global pandemic. I’m not necessarily doing it for the sake of productivity. I am doing it as a form of escape though.
As long as I bury my nose in my work, I don’t have to watch the news. I don’t have to watch as armed terrorists storm their state capitals to protest stay at home orders in the name of what they believe to be freedom.
If I’m making progress on a novel, I don’t have time to fall into Twitter and see news stories about how much of life as we know it as fundamentally changed.
If I’m busy writing a short story collection, I don’t have to see the Facebook posts from people who are sharing misinformation or trying to find ways to scam their state’s unemployment office.
It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s what has kept me getting out of bed every single day. And I know it’s a privilege to be able to throw myself in my work that way. And that’s why I took advantage of it.
