It’s almost November as I release this episode, and, therefore, it is almost National Novel Writing Month, often called NaNoWriMo for short. If you’re new to writing, you might not be familiar with this yearly challenge or you might have heard a little bit about it from your writing friends. Here’s how it works.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of writers challenge themselves to write a novel from scratch in the month of November. To count, the novel must be at least 50,000 words long. They may have done prewriting on their novel, things like character development, plotting, or research, but they may not have started the draft until November 1st. Despite the “National” in the name, this is an international challenge. Writers around the world participate.
The challenge has grown from a few friends daring each other to accomplish this feat to a massive worldwide community. You can sign up for free on the website, join groups of writers in your area, and chat with writers around the world, supporting each other along the way.
If you verify your words before the end of November, you can get a digital badge and certificate, but the real prize is a completed draft.
As we’re sitting here a mere few days away from NaNoWriMo, you might be considering whether or not to participate. That’s a call only you can make, but here are some thoughts to help you come to a decision.
Do you write novels?
Technically, this is a novel writing challenge, but that hasn’t stopped many writers of other kinds of projects from participating in what’s called the “NaNo Rebels” section of the forum. They write nonfiction, poetry, short stories, and more, and still benefit from the challenge. If breaking the official rules in this way is something that would bother you too much to enjoy the process, then you might want to sit it out, but if you relish the idea of being a rebel, there is a special place just for you to participate.
Do you have an idea?
There are writers who win NaNo despite starting without a single clue what they are going to write. But those writers are rare. It’s much more common to at least have an idea before starting. If you’re feeling adventurous, go for it even without an idea. See what comes. But if you know you’d be lost without one, do a little brainstorming in these last few days of October.
Do you want to prewrite or have time to prewrite?
As discussed in the prewriting episode, not every writer plots out their stories. If you love to write by the seat of your pants, by all means dive in. If you think you’ll need a plot, you’re probably right. Spend the time now to outline a bit.
How much revision are you comfortable with?
Fifty thousand words in one month is a lot. You don’t have time for revision. You just have to write and revise later. While some experienced career authors produce drafts that don’t need extensive revision in a short period of time, that is a skill they have learned over probably many years. And there are many career authors who don’t even want to touch that speed. Newer writers will end up with a draft that needs a lot of work.
If you’re thinking, Why bother then?, I understand the sentiment, but sometimes, especially when you’re new to writing you need to just push through the first draft process. NaNoWriMo is good for that. You can revise bad writing, but you can’t revise a blank page. If you just need to get the story out and fix it later, NaNo is a decent strategy. On the other hand, if lots of revision scares you, it might not be the right choice.
Do you have time for this commitment?
Fifty thousand words is a lot, and it will take some planning to make that happen. Many writers spend 1-2 hours a day on their novels. This doesn’t sound like a lot when it’s one day, but when it’s thirty days in a row… that time adds up. And if you live in the United States, you have Thanksgiving happening to take up time as well. It’s not something you can just squeeze in wherever. Put it on the calendar. I have a handy free mini-course, Finding Your Writing Time, to help you plan for writing of any kind, NaNo or otherwise. It’s only about 45 minutes of watch time, easy to squeeze into the next couple of days.
If you find you don’t have time for NaNo… well, that can be disappointing, but you might consider modifying the challenge to work with your schedule or simply focusing on your own writing goals, whatever they may be. It might feel more glamorous to participate in a big group and celebrate that win, but whatever you accomplish in November is a win and deserving of just as much celebration. Find ways to cheer yourself and others along and treat yourself when you meet a goal.
How will you feel if you don’t make it?
The vast majority of writers don’t win NaNo. And that’s okay. If you’ve made any progress, you’ve won in my book. But consider whether not hitting that goal will be demotivating for you. If you can take the attitude of “All words are a win” and use the momentum of NaNo to write more words than you otherwise would have, great. If falling behind on your benchmarks will make you want to quit altogether, then NaNo might not be the right choice.
Everyone’s different.
To NaNo or not to NaNo? Only you can answer that question, and there’s no right answer. Every writer has a unique combination of circumstances, strengths, and needs. Winning NaNo isn’t a guarantee of writing prowess or stamina, and not hitting those 50,000 words isn’t a mark of laziness or a lack of discipline. I’ve written nine books and counting and devoted a good chunk or my professional life to writing productivity and time management, and I have never won NaNoWriMo. I’ve stopped participating in a modified way. It just doesn’t work for me. If it works for you, rock on! But if it doesn’t, you have plenty of company.
Whether you NaNo or not, let’s make November a fantastic writing month, no matter how many words get on the page. Every word is a win.
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