November has come to a close, marking the end of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). For many writers, including myself, it’s been a whirlwind of creativity, late nights (or early mornings, if you're into that), and (hopefully) progress. Over the course of 30 days, I wrote approximately 20,100 words. This is almost more progress on my book than I’ve made in the past eight years of intermittently working on it. To put that into perspective, I started NaNoWriMo with 22,100 words already written. In just one month, I nearly doubled my word count.
While the official goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words, I knew from the beginning that this wasn't a realistic goal for me. Between work, life, WebSummit, and my own writing pace, I aimed instead for steady, meaningful progress. And I am absolutely thrilled with the results.
Now, my manuscript stands at roughly 140 pages. It’s far from finished—there are still hundreds of pages left to write—but I can finally see a clear path forward.
One of the most valuable insights I gained this month is the power of focus and consistency. For years, I’ve struggled to find a balance between actual writing and all the ancillary tasks that surround book creation (or which we think might surround it - like reading a lot of good books). Those tasks often became excuses to delay putting words on the page.
This November, I learned that I am capable of sustained effort when I commit to it. That might sound simple, but after years of doubting my ability to push through the grind of writing, it feels revolutionary. I’ve realized that the act of writing itself—sitting down and putting words on paper—has a momentum all its own. Once you start, it’s easier to keep going.
I also got a reminder of "you manage what you measure". I counted my daily words and tracked (in a Notion doc) how many words I wrote each day and what my current word count was. I celebrated the little wins. I forced myself to write a little each day, which I achieved 24/30 days - rather impressive if you count WebSummit in Lisbon with four or so very busy days.
NaNoWriMo has also served as a powerful reminder: you shouldn’t put off your goals and dreams indefinitely, no matter how daunting they may seem. Writing a book is a massive undertaking, one that can feel overwhelming at times. But this past month has shown me that it’s possible to make meaningful progress in small, manageable chunks. If I can write 20,000 words in a month, what else might I achieve if I continue to approach my goals with the same determination?
So here’s my advice to anyone reading this: whatever dream you’ve been putting off—whether it’s writing a book, launching a business, or learning a new skill—don’t wait for the perfect moment. There will never be one. Start today, this week, this month. You might surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.
As I move into December, I’m carrying this momentum with me. My manuscript is far from complete, but it’s no longer just an idea or a dream. It’s a growing, tangible work-in-progress. I’ll be continuing to write, revise, and shape it into something I’m proud of, and I hope to share more updates as I go.
I'm also working on launching a website for the book (series) - as soon as I can come up with a tentative name for it.
My next goal is to hit roughly 200 pages (I write "roughly" because I'm just using the approximation of 300 words = 1 page, so the actual page count will naturally vary). I don't think I'll be able to do it by the end of this year, not with everything else going on, other projects that have been on the back burner a bit for the past few weeks (Did someone say 'Master's Degree'?), but maybe by the end of January.