NaNoWriMo has been over for a while now, but the impact it has left on me remains. I went into the challenge this November with very little hope or faith in my own writing abilities, and over the course of 30 days I went from procrastination to discipline. The change was so sudden and so drastic that I can still barely wrap my head around it, even nearly mid-way through December.

NaNoWriMo always seemed like an insurmountable goal to me. 50,000 words on a single project is a lot of work, especially for someone with difficulty staying on task, as I was for a very long time when it came to my stories. A NaNoWriMo win seemed like something I would never be good enough to reach. It's possible that this mindset may have prevented me from really applying myself during all the previous months I participated. This year, though, something changed. I was midway through my first semester of college, and I had a lot on my plate. There were so many things I was forced to write that I hated. During my few minutes of scavenged free time, I pondered this and dreamed of writing something I actually enjoyed. I was sure there was no way I could carve out enough time to actually meet NaNoWriMo's standards, but I was so desperate for a creative outlet that I tried anyway. This motivation proved to be all I needed to push me to finish my word count. The time I spent on my novel each night was the sole time of day where I had total freedom over what I wanted to put onto the page. There was no pressure; no one would see the immensely ugly manuscript but myself. It became not a chore, but a safe zone. With that mindset, churning out 1,667 words a night was no big deal.

It was so easy, in fact, that after I had won I was left wondering what exactly to do with myself. I had been working on a project I didn't intend to revise afterwards, because I had been sure I couldn't complete an entire first draft so quickly. Now, though, I was stuck with nothing to fill my writing time. I realized I shouldn't waste my newfound urge to continue writing, not after it had taken me so many years to find it. I threw myself into an entirely new project almost immediately (though I lowered my daily word count goal to only 500 words) and I am still continuing my streak. I intend to keep it up as long as I possibly can and make up for all that time wasted on procrastinating.

Without NaNoWriMo, I never would have had the motivation needed to start forming good habits, especially under outside stress. After having gone through it successfully and realizing it's not actually as impossible as I thought it was, I know I can continue writing consistently through almost anything. It taught me that if you prioritize something, there is always time in the day for it. It has allowed me to take a huge first step towards becoming the published novelist I've wanted to be since I was six years old, and I'm eager to participate again as soon as possible.