The following article is by Writers in the Grove member, Carolyn Bradley.

What have I learned about writing from participating in my first NaNoWriMo?

It is more fun to have written than it is to write. Writing is hard. Writing takes discipline.

I have learned that I don’t have any.

And so I am grateful to Writers in the Grove and NaNoWriMo for shoving me off the stump I’ve been roosting on for years and getting my butt moving in the right direction. It helps to be held accountable – someone is expecting some words to be written.

I have learned that I am a planner not a pantser. I probably already knew this but my husband confirmed it. So I know it will be hard to write until the dishwasher is loaded and the bed is made and I’ve learned that an outline is a huge help to me.

I have learned that I am not a very good writer. This surprised me. I am in awe of the wordsmiths in this writers group who write with such amazing clarity – sometimes in fifteen minutes or less. That is not me. But some of them have been writing for a long time, thousands of words, and I am just a beginner. So I have learned that I will have to write many more words in order to improve my craft.

I have learned that I can turn off my editor for long periods of time. This is probably the most important takeaway from this experience for me, since this is what has kept me from writing for so long. For that, I am the most grateful.

I have learned that I have a lot to learn. And more importantly, I know now what I do not know and how to learn it.

And one final thing – please excuse the absence of contractions. It’s a NaNoWriMo thing. If you’ve done NaNoWriMo, I’m sure you’ll understand.