I’ve decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. If you haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo, it’s a yearly challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days during the month of November. To put that in perspective, it’s almost 1,700 words per day for 30 days. When I’m focused and just freewriting without worrying too much about style and grammar, this would take me a little over an hour. But… to accomplish this, I need to already know exactly the scene I want to write and pretty much type consistently for that hour. If I’m sitting down to an empty page and trying to write that many words, it could be 2, 3, 4 hours.
Part of the allure of NaNoWriMo is knowing that you’re part of a community of people writing all over the world. During the month, there are in person activities in areas where there are more people and various online events for those who don’t have access to an in-person community. Many other writing federations or groups do something for their members who are participating.
It also just forces that awful first draft out of a writer because it is all about word count. What challenges many writers is the need for perfection, even in the first draft, and it can stifle the ability to get any words on paper. Similar to Deadlines for Writers, it works on the premise that a deadline helps focus attention and provides accountability. You can create your own profile on the NaNoWriMo site and track your progress.
I first heard about NaNoWriMo back in my Library Board days when the Library created a calendar of activities for those participating in NaNoWriMo. I was intrigued by and wanted to participate but never felt like I’d find the time to commit to it. I never did it but always wanted to.
This year, with the changes in my life, I decided that this was the time to do it. (It doesn’t hurt that I’ve also been feeling a need for some accountability and deadline pressure to write my novel. Check out this post about the difficulty I’m having dedicating time to writing as well as other things.)
I wanted to look at the site early because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this on my own or try to get others to do it with me which would mean taking on an additional role of coordinator in addition to writing close to 2,000 words per day. On one hand, it would help with accountability and motivation to have a group, on the other, when I am responsible for things other than just me, it tends to take over what the experience was supposed to be for me.
I’ve decided to go it alone this year and see how it goes. If I decide to do it again next year, I might look at seeing if others in the area are interested in doing it with me. I will try to keep you updated on my progress (if I have enough words left in me after my daily writing goal!) and let you know what the experience is like.
Next week, I’m going to start doing the 6 week NaNo Prep Course so that I set myself up for success. The first week’s lesson is on planning your story which I’ve been working on through my Wicked Good Fiction Bootcamp and reading Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. I know that I’ll need to have a pretty good plan before November 1st on where the story is going and the scenes that need to be written so I look forward to seeing what additional tools and resources they have to offer.
Have you tried NaNoWriMo? Is it something you’d ever do?
Leave a Reply