NaNoWriMo 2014 - I'm a Winner!

Just a quick update for anyone who's been tracking my NaNoWriMo progress via the blog: 

*drum roll*

 I'm a winner!

I actually 'won' NaNoWriMo this year with a few days to spare - which is a total first for me! 

I had a lot of fun with my project this year, and I plan to keep working on it as it's a total mess right now and the draft is nowhere near completed even at 50k. The story is nothing like the story I started with. At first it was light and fluffy, then it turned into something supernatural before becoming a plain old murder mystery. None of those stuck. Right now it's an issue laden YA contemp. Let's see where it goes from here!

Also, contgrats to all my 'writing buddies' who won and took part in NaNoWriMo this year. I know lots of you won this year too!

Here's my takeaway from NaNoWriMo.

Pro's:

I like that NaNoWriMo gets me writing.

I like the daily word count - having a daily goal really keeps me on track.

I like the discipline of it all. To win NaNoWriMo you have to write every day (at least I do).

I've found that when the chips are down and I fall 5k words behind - that I can catch up if I put my mind to it!

It's a lot of fun!

Con's:

I don't write fast enough for NaNoWriMo. I mean, I know I won, but the words I write during NaNo are never very high quality. And I'm not just saying that - I like to edit as I go and that's not really possible with NaNoWriMo - not if you want to stay on track.

I still think NaNoWriMo is worth it, though; just getting all those words down and brainstorming new ideas is worth something. So, I guess I'll be back next year!

Did you take part in NaNoWriMo this year? 

If so, how did it go for you?