November 1 kicks off National Novel Writer’s Month (NaNoWriMo).
If you are a writer in need of a kick in the pants – or an aspiring writer looking for accountability to get the ball rolling – November is the month for you!
If you are not familiar with it – November is National Novel Writer’s Month (NaNoWriMo). This is an annual challenge to persuade writers and would-be writers to get words down.
The goal is simple. You have the 30 days of November to write 50,000 words. Which comes out to 1,666.67 words a day.
Once upon a time, 50,000 words was a novella. Nowadays, however, 50,000 words is a short novel (yes, I know “novella” literally means short novel. Trust me – there’s still a difference when it comes to the publishing world).
It might seem like a lot of words. But truth be told, it’s not so bad.
Over the years, I have used NaNoWriMo as an impetus to get more writing done. Several times, I chose to work in a genre that was not my normal. The first such project – in 2006 – was a humorous memoir about my recovery experience following getting hit by a car crossing a street. It’s called The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Trip to the Post Office. I have edited and published it since its original creation.
For the last 3 years, I’ve used NaNoWriMo as an opportunity to complete ongoing work. This has been a great motivator to get more writing in so that I can finish some books.
The best thing about NaNoWriMo is that it offers you multiple options to write with and in a community. And that can be super empowering.
Are you considering writing for NaNoWriMo this year?
Reasons to do it
There are numerous reasons to give NaNoWriMo a try. These include, but are not limited to:
- You’re always wanted to try to write a story.
- There’s a story in your head, and you wish to get it out.
- The idea of trying to write 50,000 words excites you.
- You love a challenge
- This intrigues you, and you think it might be fun
- This is the push you’ve been looking for
- You’re competitive, and think getting 50,000 words written in 30 days would be awesome
- Just because
I have no doubt there are a lot of other reasons to do it. But I know these are popular.
Reasons not to do it
There are only a few reasons not to try this. They’re pretty straight-forward:
- You are not a writer
- You have zero interest in being a writer
- 50,000 words in 30 days? Are you mad?
- No thank you
That’s fine. This is not for everyone.
Advice from my NaNoWriMo experiences
I have written for NaNoWriMo 8 or 9 times, before this year. Because writing is my jam, and in my blood, I have completed my NaNoWriMo projects 6 times. Of those 6, I’ve self-published 4 titles.
There have, as such, been 2 or 3 times I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo without finishing. At least 2 times, there were ideas almost fully formed – but the end result was unfinished. In both instances, I never went back to them.
There have been many years, since 2006, that I did NOT participate. But that was due to various choices, other happenings, and whatever.
Still, I have ideas and advice, based on my experiences, that I’d like to share with you.
The only way to start is to start
As obvious as that might be – it is still a challenge in-and-of-itself.
Some people need to have the right set-up, their desk just-so, music and tea and other things in place before they can write word one. And in working on that – they procrastinate, delay, and make excuses. And no writing happens.
On November 1 – just start. Get down into it, and make the words happen. Take your laptop or tablet or sit at your desktop and go for it.
You don’t need a plan to begin
Yes, it IS a good idea to have a general sense of what you desire to write. Know a genre, have at least a rough idea of the story you want to tell.
It’s totally acceptable to outline your story prior to writing for NaNoWriMo. This year, for example, I’m working on the 5th and final novel of my Void Incursion sci-fi/sci-fantasy series. Unlike books 1-4 – I’ve outlined Check and Mate.
Truth be told, I began to write it a couple of weeks ago. HOWEVER – I will not count that towards my NaNoWriMo 50,000. I won’t cheat – my NaNoWriMo word count won’t begin until 11/1.
If all you have is a title or a random plot idea – start there. If you think something will come to you when you sit down to write – go from there. There’s no wrong way to do this.
When in doubt – keep writing
You will probably hit a point where it feels like you are stuck. The words are mangled, the ideas are garbage, and it feels like a slog.
Keep writing. If you need to take a break – take one. But don’t worry if it feels like it’s garbage – just keep writing. That’s the best solution.
It’s okay to quit NaNoWriMo
You might get part-way into NaNoWriMo and hit a wall. You freeze up, the story ends way before 50,000 words, life gets in the way, etc.
Don’t be ashamed if you can’t do it. Maybe this isn’t your year. Perhaps that story idea needs more development. And there is nothing you can do when an unexpected life happening eats away all your writing time.
Did you desire to try? Were you working to do it? Did you realize it’s just not for you? Okay. That’s fine.
Writing 50,000 words can be incredibly hard in general. Doing so in 30 days, for some, is impossible.
It is okay to try and quit or try and fail. This is a unique challenge. I’ve both succeeded and failed at it. But I always feel good for making the attempt.
Done is better than perfect
Keep writing. Don’t go back and change anything during the 30 days. Just strive for the goal.
It’s easy for some people to seek to attain perfection in their writing. They edit over and over, go back, redo, rework, and take multiple steps back and too few forward.
The goal of NaNoWriMo is 50,000 words in 30 days. Get your work done – it needn’t be perfect.
You can always go back and edit it in December.
You can work on multiple projects
All writing you do during November can count towards your NaNoWriMo word count.
I write blogs 6 days a week. They tend to be at least 1000 words each. That’s writing I am doing. I could count that towards my 50,000.
However, I won’t. But that’s my choice. You can do multiple projects and count all of them towards the 50,000. That’s okay.
There is no wrong way to do NaNoWriMo – save one – cheat
How do you cheat? Take already written stuff and count it towards your NaNoWriMo 50,000. Count alterations to an existing story/blog/whatever towards it.
Don’t cheat. It’s not worth it.
There are no prizes for winning NaNoWriMo. Just the icons, stickers, and certificate they share. But more than that – the satisfaction that comes from reaching the goal.
Even working on the goal and not reaching it can be satisfying, too.
I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year. Are you?
For me, NaNoWriMo is part of my personal accountability to get the writing I need to get done, done.
This is one of the few places where I will disagree with Yoda. TRY. This is not a “do or do not” experience. It’s 30 days, 50,000 words. And if you feel inspired to give it a try – even if you don’t believe you can succeed or get it done – go for it.
You never know where this might take you.
Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey, for joining me, and for inspiring me and my craft.
This is the one-hundred and thirty-third article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
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