The Simple Reason I’m Terrified to Break My Writing Streak

For a lot of writers, November means writing. The weather is cruddy, the computer is cozy, and many of us started with the now defunct NaNoWriMo — a challenge to write 50,000 words (or, about 200 pages) in the month of November.

For me? I’ve been using November to fast-draft the bulk of most of my manuscripts since 2013. Now, not all of the manuscripts are finished, and only a few are polished, but it helps me write.

For the curious, my previous projects are:

• YA Second-world fantasy (a religious tattoo artist learns her over-achieving big sister success might prove deadly) POLISHED
• YA Second-world fantasy sequel (overthrowing the theocracy. filled with place-holder names) DRAFTED
• MG Contemporary fantasy (a school play and friendship story, in a world where writing changes reality) POLISHED
• Adult historical fantasy (Robin Hood never made it back, so his half-sis Scarlet conspires with Maid Marian to save the family lands. Adventure? Romance? need to decide before I edit) DRAFTED
• 50k worth of short stories, including this published one
• Adult Space fantasy (fairytale Baba Yaga in space, pirates are stealing the space manta rays from the octopus aliens. A human waitress longs to return to the stars. Together, they fight crime) POLISHED
• Adult Suburban fantasy (After her grandmother’s death, a woman finally has the opportunity to rebuild her life, found family, hearth magic) UNFINISHED
• Adult Space fantasy sequel (floating casino, missing family, red panda detectives) UNFINISHED
• Adult Urban fantasy (vampire/mage/werewolf making their own family and stopping a deadly conspiracy) DRAFTED

I know, the math doesn’t check out. That’s because two out of my three polished manuscripts took 2 Novembers to get right, because the endings weren’t working. For both, I effectively threw out the last third, salvaged what I could, and added a fresh 50k to finish them both out. Since traditionally published adult fantasy novels are between 80 and 120k words in today’s market, two Novembers worth of words are often needed to finish the manuscript, anyhow.

It doesn’t work for all writers, but I apparently am not good at endings, and often need to try more than once. I’ve acknowledged it’s often part of my process, and part of why I’m probably never going to be drafting multiple books a year.

Momentum-Driven Writing

I am a momentum-driven writer.

If I write too slowly, my story veers off track because I lose track of where I was going. The first time I wrote my original space fantasy, I slowed down after November and the story veered off course. I don’t mind a story shifting as a write it, but it turned into a story about tax fraud and field trips, and that wasn’t the story I wanted. So, the next November, I backed up and took a second run to get an ending that felt right for the story.

If I aim for too many words a day, I burn out. While I have successfully completed the 50k challenge 11 times, and I know what I need to do to ‘win’, it completely burns me out. So why keep doing it? Getting the words down gives my story a strong starting place and pushes me to turn my ideas into pages. Even though I slow down after the initial push, that original momentum is why any of my manuscripts even exist.

Watching my word-count tick up shows me I’m making trackable progress. By the end of the first week, I have a streak going, and there’s little Morgan hates more than breaking a streak.

Caveat: As with all writing advice, target word-counts do not work for all authors, and might work for a writer some days and not work on other days. Do what works for you.

Beware the Groove!

The problem with knowing that I am a momentum-driven writer, is knowing what happens if my momentum is broken. Once I start making excuses, I can make them forever.

• I used to lift heavy weights — deadlifting more than my body weight.
• I used to blog here weekly — for nearly 10 years.
• I used to be a dancer, and then a fencer…

While some people can miss a day or year, and get back to it when they’re ready, once I lose a groove, all too often, I never find it again. For example: my rare and sporadic posts here, since late 2023.

Maybe writing is my current ADHD hyperfixation, but I feel like I have more stories to tell.

Getting Ready to Write

Different authors prepare to start a new manuscript different ways. While some authors make it up as they go, writing by the seat of their pants (pantsers), and other plan every last detail (planners), most of us are somewhere in between.

I’ve been a self-identified ‘plantser’ since I started this whole writing journey, and when I’ve tried to veer off course, it hasn’t gone well.

Typically, I write a high-level outline (encounters soldier, travels to city, etc), then ignore it unless I get stuck. I often follow the beat sheets to try and get my pacing right for a 3-act story. Knowing where I’m going and the vague notion of the shape of the scenes helps me figure it out.

I’ve tried planning. Part of the issue with my unfinished suburban fantasy is that I planned my scenes with more detail than normal, and my scenes ended up being written to spec, but the emotional arc wasn’t there.

I’ve learned that if I plan too heavily, my scenes won’t flow together.

I’ve tried pantsing. Part of the issue with my never-ending revisions on my urban fantasy is that I went in without knowing what the big conflict at the end would be. I wasn’t even sure if I was writing an urban fantasy or a paranormal romance. I made it up as I went along. While I don’t hate the story, and adore the characters and the world, I hated every bit of that process.

I’ve learned that if I’m pantsing a story, it probably means that the story and the world hasn’t percolated enough in my head, and I’m not ready to write it.

I’m not saying I’ll never be a pantser or a planner, but so far, those techniques have not worked for me. I’m going back to my plantser lifestyle with a huge sigh of relief.

My Biggest Fear as a Writer

Going into November this year, I’m still in the middle of revisions for my Urban fantasy, but I’ve been slogging through it since June and am barely a third of the way in. The ending is still fuzzy, and I’m trying to figure working things out. I hate putting it down, but it’s not going to get me the volume of words I’m aiming for. But beyond that, I’m pretty sure it needs more time to percolate before I can do it justice.

I’m planning to finish writing my second Space Fantasy this November for several reasons:

1. I already have an outline
2. It probably needs about 50k new words
3. I’m switching out one POV character, to someone else who’s in a lot of the original character’s scenes, so converting those scenes should help me add words fast
4. I figured out a better motivation for another POV character, so I should be able to flesh out her chapters better
5. I hate leaving stories unfinished
6. I wanna know how it ends!
7. But…

The biggest reason of all? I’m terrified that if I skip the 50k challenge this year, that I’ll never pick it back up again.

I’ve seen my track record once I lose momentum on anything. And the only person I’m really accountable to for my writing? Is me. It does not look good.

Let me know if you are participating in a writing challenge this month, or what projects you are working on. It’s fine if you’re not working on a project, your worth is not determined by your productivity.