NaBloPoMo Wrap-up - Lessons I Learned

 "There's so much about the process of writing that is mysterious to me, but this one thing I've found to be true: writing begets writing." ~Dorianne Laux

Yesterday was the last blog post of the NaBloPoMo November challenge that I committed to. NaBloPoMo runs all year, but I thought I'd try it for a month and see if I can manage to write a blog post every day. I'm very excited to say that, despite all the other stuff going on in my life, I was able to meet and successfully finish the challenge.

Here's what I learned from doing it:

1) I can commit to a project and successfully carry it out.

At the day job, this is something that I don't even think about. Projects come left and right, and there's never a question of finishing them or issue with doing it successfully. However, it's always harder to do so in personal life. The first time I knew I could commit to a major project and actually accomplish it was when I got my black belt after five years of practicing karate. I'd started a couple of times before coming to this karate school (which ended up being the place where I met my husband) but would usually quit after a few months because life got too busy or exhaustion set in that was too much. The day I finally got my black belt was the day I knew I could do anything I put my mind to and that previous excuses were just that - excuses. This is the attitude I now take into everything I do, especially my writing.

2) "There's so much about the process of writing that is mysterious to me, but this one thing I've found to be true: writing begets writing." ~Dorianne Laux

I have to repeat this quote because I fell in love with it when I read it a few days ago. The truth of these words is undeniable and irrefutable. The more you write, the more writing you want to do. The more you produce, the more you want to produce. This was one of the lessons I learned when doing the NaBloPoMo challenge (even though theoretically I knew it, of course). I now have a harder time NOT writing for a day then ever before.

 So all in all, I would say great lessons came out of doing NaBloPoMo and I'm grateful for the chance to learn them.

With the holidays fast approaching and a few other things going on, I won't be able to commit for NaBloPoMo in December, but there will still be 2-4 posts a week. I also need to concentrate more on my two WIPs and put more time into writing there. I'm ready for the next challenge!