I hit 50k... now what?

I seem to have hit a bump in the road. I hit 50k on the 20th. And while I'm quite proud of myself and know I shouldn't be complaining, I can't help but have an issue. Namely, that I no longer seem to want to write. Its like "Ok, so I did 50k. I did what this entire thing is about. Can I go back to reading endless amounts of fanfiction now?"

In fact, this is kind of becoming a trend. My first NaNo I won towards the end of the month. My second NaNo, I hit 30k in 12 days and got bored because it didn't feel all that challenging. Which is why last year I didn't even bother. This time, I changed up the challenge a bit for myself by aiming to write three novellas I've had in my head, instead of on novel. (Yes, I'm being a bit of a rebel, I know.)

Except I've finished the first two and hit the 50k and I'm just done now. Poof. Motivation gone. It doesn't help that pretty much everyone I was NaNoing with has given up already. Anyone ever hit this point before? And if so, what did you do to combat this problem?

I usually don't hit the sudden drop in motivation until December ;-) but I get what you're feeling. You have set a target for yourself and you've reached it (well, sort of) plus you've been motivated by others who have ended up giving up (always a motivational problem). If I were you, if you really want to write the third novella, set a new goal for yourself. You can start with taking up Katherine's challenge to accomplish a new goal by the end of Sunday. There may be a challenge to follow that through the end of the month. That should be more than enough time for you to write your third novella.

As for why you might want to do that, think: book length accomplishment that, with editing, could be turned into a publishing query letter or self-published work. That is usually the end goal for many writers and one that by itself provides the motivation.

Alura Embrey wrote:
It doesn't help that pretty much everyone I was NaNoing with has given up already. Anyone ever hit this point before? And if so, what did you do to combat this problem?

Get a new group of people to NaNo with.
I suggest the Caribou write-ins in Glen Elyn. Some of those people are crazy.
If you can't do that, join the jabber chat. Only don't write about not wanting to write. Instead, use the major words, 'who wants a word war?'

Another idea is to be more playful with your third story idea. Do something really outrageous. Work in a squid, a NaNobot, Slam Poetry, Nappies, gold paper clips, oragami bunnies, real bunnies, anything else that people have been laughing outrageously about during this year's NaNo. There's been a lot of weird things that have tickled our funny bones. Write about some of them.

Good luck.

(Oh, and take Tim's 18K challenge and win a NaNoBot.)

First, I want to congratulate you on reaching 50,000 words. What an accomplishment! Few people attempt NaNo (compared to the number of people who say they'd like to write a book). Fewer still reach the 50,000 mark. How wonderful you have reached your word count goal.

Second, for me the word count has always been a secondary goal with my primary one being to finish my story. This year I am behind on my story so still have motivation to work on completing it. You finished two of three novellas. Great! You've taken a couple days off. Tim and Katherine have suggested some motivational goals to use if you want to press on with your writing.

You may also want to look at the word count graph Tim set up. Find a couple people close to you who still seem to be writing and challenge them to a final seven day word war challenge. Maybe the "loser" can bring twice pot luck as much to the TGIO for the winner too.

Whatever you choose to do, remember you've reached a goal few people have - you've done NaNo and won!

Dave

WRITE EARLY; WRITE OFTEN!

After you hit your 50K mark and November is over, do people still host write-ins for the editing process?

I ask this because I have not been able to go to any write-ins though I really wanted to! I was on vacation the first week of November, was home a week, and these last two weeks I am in Texas. I'd love to get together with a group during the week during December to help motivate me to fill in some plot-holes and edit things.

ashesonfire wrote:
After you hit your 50K mark and November is over, do people still host write-ins for the editing process?

Not as part of NaNoWriMo, but the Naperville region has something called the Journey. Pay attention to emails that mention it. (And it will be discussed at the TGIO.)

Also, there are forums within NaNo which people do some sharing of stories, and there is Editing Month (March) via NaNo.
Personally, I recommend http: //www.critiquecircle.com

Basically, stay involved here and signup for Journey and you'll know what's available.
(And you can start your own 'editing sessions' by stating publicly where you'll be and when and see if other people are interested in joining you. I've done that in the past, but am not sure I'll be doing that this year.)

Wait a sec Katherine - some of those people are crazy?! Whoa, whoa, whoa. We are not CRAZY. We're FUN. :)

If it helps, I'm somewhat in the same boat. I've hit 50k, but my novel doesn't have a beginning, middle, and end.

What I use to keep motivating myself is all the people that have said, "I want to read it when you're done!" I know I'll most likely not be a New York Times Best Seller or even get published, but I would be so proud of myself if I could hand my select friends a finished copy of what I've written, no matter how terrible it truly is. :)

This is my first NaNo, so I may have a different, naive perspective of things, but I still think it's great to have a "finished" product at the end!

sarastirsyou wrote:
Wait a sec Katherine - some of those people are crazy?! Whoa, whoa, whoa. We are not CRAZY. We're FUN. :)

Since I'm one of the more insane ones, I concur. CRAZY FUN.

Thank you very much for the info :D

That's an awesome perspective to have, honestly. While I'm being all wanky and complainy, I really did have a great time doing NaNo, I always do. And it's fun to have people that want to read your writing to support you.

Thanks so much for the support guys. My first year being retail management during Black Friday meant I didn't do any writing. But I'm still gonna aim for 60k. That's doable. I'll try to employ some of what you said and see what helps! ^_^

You have no idea how crazy fun they are until you move away, and regret it every November day. ;) I've been to a coffeeshop ONCE this November, which is almost unheard of.

Seriously, though, I fall into the same boat as you. I live to write but once I hit my novel's finish point, I walked away. It's an annoying habit, especially because all the energy going into writing work literature, fan fic, whatever your poison is, could be split off into another project. Even if you committed 10% to 15% of your output, you'd have a book of short stories or a novel in 6 months or so.

Some excellent ideas:
* Join the year round writing group. They are awesome. I have publishing credits thanks to them (at least that I can admit to.)
* Join up at Critique Circle and post chapter by chapter. You'll get editorial advice and you can keep improving your novel.
* Set a goal -- e.g., one short story by January 31 -- and stick to it.
* If your book lends itself to a duology or a trilogy, what are you waiting for?