Writing: The Craft Versus The Profession

Guess who wrote 75,089 words in 30 days? Was it Morgan? Yes it was!

I was chatting with Keith DeCandido, a writer friend of mine, about how excited I was about my word count, but how I knew it needed ridiculous amounts of work to be readable and he told me this:

“NaNo isn’t about craft, it’s about professionalism.”

And he’s right.

NaNoWriMo is all about turning this dream, this hobby, into a daily chore. It’s all about BIC – butt in chair. You’ve got to put in the time if you want to see your writing turn into a polished gem (or a fun romp).

This November, I managed to turn up my pace.

I prioritized my writing over almost everything else.

I squeezed out an average of 2,500 words every day before bedtime. The story’s not done, but it’s close. Plus, now I know how fast I can write when I stay focused.

I still can’t sprint, I can’t crank out dozens of pages a day, but I can marathon at a faster pace than I thought.