I love the mindset of NaNoWriMo and its younger sibling, Camp NaNoWriMo. Its focus on clear goals–whether those goals are writing 50,000 words or a revision of 30,000 words– is so good for me.

Focus on those goals. Forget the rest.

I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo several times and “won” twice. Now and Again was my first NaNoWriMo. And when I truly started buckling down and writing Threats of Sky and Sea, it began its life as a NaNoWriMo project (with the title Apparent… let’s not talk about that).

So, as I’m working on my edits for Fall of Thrones and Thorns, and some friends wanted to put together a “cabin” for Camp NaNoWriMo, it was kind of a no-brainer for me to join in. Camp NaNo is NaNoWriMo’s slightly more sane sister (or insane, depending on your preference). I didn’t have to do 50,000 words. I could make a goal that was reasonable for me, knowing my habits and commitments.

I created that goal.

I didn’t meet it.

If I tried to validate that word count, the Camp NaNo processors would make the equivalent of slashface emojis. I fell short.

So why do I still feel like I won?

The answer’s simple: I did.

No, I didn’t write 30,000 words like I planned. But I wrote 10,000! I figured out my ending! I solved the mystery of why some scenes bothered me and I smoothed out transitions that sorely need it.

Those are small, but important things for a book.

Listen, we all have to acknowledge our wins. Accomplishing goals is great! But so is making progress. Maybe your goal for a day of writing is 1,000 words and you write 300.

Instead of beating yourself up for falling short, celebrate those 300 words! They’re 300 more than you had yesterday!

Instead of feeling like you “lost” NaNoWriMo, think differently. Because I think, if you really think about it, that you probably won.

I’m signing up for Camp NaNoWriMo again in July, and you know what?

I think I’ll win that round, too.