It has been nearly a week since I decided to participate in NaNo for the first time since becoming a writer. I have to say it is a lot more enjoyable then I thought it would be. Like most writers I am not a very social person and I often feel anxious in social situations.

On the first day when I decided to sign up. I also signed up to the discord server (typically a platform for gamers to communicate online with each other) for the Brisbane NaNoWriMo community. I was instantly welcomed and encouraged to attend the kick-off party on Saturday the 26^th October. In the lead up to the event I participated in multiple conversations, supporting writers from all over not just from Brisbane. They were incredibly friendly and enjoyable to talk to. We didn’t always talk about writing either, we quite often discussed real world issues and how the person may be able to overcome them.

It was no wonder that I felt comfortable with everyone by the end of the kick-off party (once the introductions were over and the ice was broken). The party was really just a chance for us to all meet up and discuss NaNoWriMo, how it worked and all the general queries one might have about it. It might not be overly necessary to attend as a seasoned participant of the event but for a newbie like me it was nice to go to the event and have my questions answered.

After the event I continued to have discussions online with the other writers and started learning more about them now that I had met some of them. With NaNo set to start in less than a week now most of our conversation ended up being about writing or NaNoWriMo. Especially as more writers joined the server.

Two nights ago, I participated in what they call a word-sprint. This is a short 15 minute stint of writing where you write as much as you can. NO EDITING. I can tell you that I have never had that kind of productivity in my life before. I’m talking 400-500 words in each 15 minute sprint. I did 3 of them that night and managed to write roughly 1500 words. In an HOUR. To give context it took me about 6 hours (procrastination and research included) that day to write 1500 words. I ended up writing a total of 3000 words that day instead of my goal of 2000.

I did the same thing again last night. But when I was ready for a sprint, there wasn’t anyone else ready for one at that time. So I set up a timer and did a solo sprint. Not as productive but I still wrote upwards of 300 words in each of my solo sprints. I then participated in a single group sprint last night as well and achieved a word count above 500 for a 20 minute sprint.

So far, I am really happy with my decision to join the BrisNaNo community Discord. It has done so much for my productivity already and NaNoWriMo hasn’t even started yet. I can’t wait to see what happens when we are all actually focused on writing the 50,000 words. I intend to absorb the full NaNo experience while participating this year. I want to be able to enjoy the entire experience. Also because Kieren (my fiancé) wouldn’t like it if I spent so much time writing alone in one month, he’s happy with me to become a writing machine in November if I also socialise and not become a total hermit, which I would totally do. So I decided to combine writing and socialisation have the ultimate NaNoWriMo experience.

Anyways, that’s enough from me for now. I will check back towards the end of next week to describe more about my first NaNoWriMo experience.