We’re at the halfway mark, ladies and gents (and everyone else)! Today is day 15 of the 30-day writing challenge that is NaNoWriMo. I’ve just finished my novel writing for the day—2,884 words today, a new record!—and am sitting pretty at just under the recommended 25k total word count at 24,108.

Some things I’ve learned so far from this year’s NaNoWriMo experience:

1. Writing is both easier and harder than it seems. Some days, especially when I’m exhausted or unwell, just thinking about writing feels tiresome. But then, once I’m at my keyboard and in my groove, it feels good to get something done—even if it’s utter garbage and will all have to be rewritten later—and then I wonder why I was putting it off in the first place.

2. I’ve come farther than I thought from the writer I was last time I NaNo’d. I remember the struggle clearly when I completed my first NaNo novel nine years ago. It was very, very real. And yet, back then I was just in high school. Now, I’m an adult with a job and rent to pay and medical issues to deal with and stuff. But now, I’ve also got several years of professional writing under my belt, including a day job that’s helped train me to write regularly, even when I’m uninspired. And I can crank out 1,700 words—the recommended daily goal for NaNo—in just 30 minutes on a decent day. All in all, I think I deserve a self-served pat on the back.

3. I am 100% a planner. No pantsing for me, thanks. I went an extra mile with NaNo this year and started from scratch—no outline, no notes, no research, just a blank doc on the morning of November 1st. I won’t make the same mistake twice. While writing mostly on the fly has been fun at times, and certainly a learning experience, I am now absolutely confident that I vastly prefer making a detailed outline and doing some thorough research before pen hits paper (or finger hits keyboard). It’s just what I do.

4. I don’t have to drop my regular responsibilities to make time for writing. In fact, that would probably defeat the point of the thing if I did. The whole idea is to prove that there is time for writing in your daily routine, if only you know where to look for it. I just didn’t know how much I could actually get done in so short a time if I really put my mind to it. It’s a good feeling.

5. Writing a story really is like riding a bike. Maybe it’s been awhile, and maybe you’re a little rusty, a little wobbly on the first few laps. Sometimes a warm-up is necessary to get the creative juices pumping. But you don’t forget. It’s a part of you; it’s in your blood. It’ll come back to you with practice and patience, no matter how long it’s been.

6. NaNoWriMo isn’t as crazy as it sounds. At least, it hasn’t been so far. If you’re diligent in keeping up a regular writing routine, chipping away at that word count every day, eventually you’ll get there—without going crazy when the deadline starts to loom nearer and nearer. You don’t even have to write every day; I’ve been skipping weekends, and even took some extra time off last week while I was traveling, and I’m still pretty confident I’ll be able to hit that 50,000 mark by the end of the month as long as I stick to my own personal writing regimen. I don’t write the exact same number of words every day—some days, like today, I’ll take advantage of a good mood to write a little bit extra so that when I have an off day, I can slack a little. But I know my goals, and I know my limits, and as long as I can stay balanced between the two, I should be able to wear my NaNo winner badge proudly come December.

That’s all for now, folks. As you can imagine, my finger-joints are a little bit creaky and my eyes a little bit watery from all the typing today. (I had to write a draft at work today, too, on top of NaNo and this post!) To my fellow NaNoWriMo participants, good luck, and don’t give up! And to all my readers: thanks for coming. See you on the other side of November. 🙂