Didn’t Win NaNoWriMo? Here Are 3 Reasons to Celebrate

Everyone has a different NaNoWriMo experience. We’ve asked some wonderful NaNoWriMo writers to share theirs, and what they’ve learned. Today, Jennifer Wilson, author of Kindred Spirits: Tower of London, tells us why she’s still glad she participated in NaNoWriMo… even if she didn’t win:

A friend first challenged me to try NaNoWriMo in 2009, and I’ve managed to win twice since—in 2009 and 2013. After a lot of editing, the novel I wrote in 2013 was published by Crooked Cat Publishing as Kindred Spirits: Tower of London in October 2015—an absolute dream come true. Given this recent success, I was really motivated to go for NaNoWriMo this year. 

I’m definitely a planner, and I started reading and researching my new cast of characters back in the summer, aiming to draft a follow-up to my 2013 effort. Sadly, as my notes started mounting up, so did the to-do list at my day job. As November 1 crept up, in truth, I began to worry.