What I learnt through #30kinSept!

I did it - I wrote 30,000 words from the 1st of September to the 30th. Thanks to everyone who came along for the ride - it was great to know other people were trying to do the same as me and together I reckon we have a majorly impressive total!

While writing this month, I learnt a few things and I thought I'd share.

1. I can write through adversity. Half way through the month I had a minor operation on my butt. Unfortunately the pain wasn't minor and I've spent the last two weeks unable to sit down or get up or roll over easily. As a result at least 15k of my words were written while I lay on my stomach or kneeled at the edge of my bed.
2. Some days I can't write. Whether it be because there's too much else on - operation day, work day with meeting at night - or because I'm sick or the kids are sick or I'm just plain stuffed, some days writing isn't possible. I've realised, that's okay and I shouldn't beat myself up about it. If I can't write one day, I try to make it up another day!
3. 3k+ in one day is NOT impossible if I have kid-free day writing time. I am going to aim for this at least once a week when in the throws of a wip.
4. If I set a goal, I'm more likely to achieve it. There were times during the month when I didn't think I'd achieve 30k, but I knew whatever happened, I'd achieve a lot more than I would have IF I hadn't set the goal.
5. I LOVE writing!!! Some days I'm not sure I'm good at it at all, but when I have a free moment, I always want to continue my story!
6. In the end, it's JUST A BOOK. My CP Becca J Heath told me at the RWAus conf that she'd got a band made for her hubby that said "Just a Band". She got the words from a song that says "The Beatles were just a band." She gave one of these bands to me as well to remind me that writing a book is just that. A book. It's not the be-all-and-end-all of life. Writing is just words on a page and we shouldn't make it out to be more than it is or give it too much importance. That's not saying, don't strive to achieve our dreams, but don't forget to keep them in perspective.

So that's my take on this month's writing challenge. If you participated with me, please leave your total in the comments section. I'll add them all together and see how much we wrote as a group.

And don't forget that National Novel Writing Month is November - the challenge then is to write 50k in a month. I don't think I'll try that this year but maybe next year. This year, I'll hopefully have finished my current wip mid October and be editing it ready for submission!!

:)