It’s almost November, and if you follow writers on social media, you’ve probably come across at least some mention of the National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo, as it’s known, challenges writers to reach a stretch goal of a 50,000-word novel by the end of November. You can find more info on it here.
But the truth is, NaNoWriMo isn’t really about writing a book in a month; unless you’re writing middle grade, or maybe younger YA, 50k words isn’t enough for a full-length novel. But it is enough for a rough first draft, or to lay down a solid foundation for something you can develop on your own time, later, when the month is up.
What NaNo does is challenge you to make writing your absolute priority for an entire month, even if you need to wake up earlier or sleep later to do so, or DVR your favorite TV shows for a while. This complete focus on writing can be the push many people need, in several different ways.
You don’t even need to do the official NaNo challenge; make up your own if you prefer. For example, I have a Facebook group of writer friends who get together every November to cheer each other on and to exchange beta reads and critiques once the month is up. Most of our group don’t sign up on the NaNo website, relying instead on each other for companionship and support.
The NaNo concept works for me, for a very simple reason: it gives me a deadline to focus on. I’m always setting myself personal goals, like ‘finish this revision by September!’. But self-imposed deadlines are easy to push back. There’s always a good reason to delay things a little. However, if I use an ‘outside’ deadline like the one NaNo suggests, it gives me that extra incentive to get things done.
So, what should you do if you are planning on participating in NaNoWriMo, either officially or unofficially?
For a start, determine your goals. You can use NaNo as a push to:
- Start something new and build writing momentum, so that after the month is up you can continue, or revise, or rewrite what you started.
- Finish something old; dust off that stalled WIP and see it through to the end!
- Revise and rewrite something you had written previously.
- Set yourself other writing goals, such as draft three picture books, or do a writing prompt every day. It doesn’t have to be about one single book; NaNo can simply be an excuse to focus on all things writing-related for a solid month.
Once you’ve decided what you’re using the month for, the next step is to plan out your roadmap. Are you focusing on picture books? Brainstorm ideas beforehand and make a list of the most likely ones. Aiming at finishing a stalled WIP? Get it out and read through what you’ve got, familiarizing yourself once again with the rhythm and voice of the story. Starting something new? Do some prep work, so you know the basics about your characters and world before starting. Some NaNo writers outline everything before going in, but not everyone works that way. Do as much as feels right to you, to save yourself time in figuring things out when November rolls around and the blank page is waiting.
Carve out your writing time. Decide when the best time of day is for you. You might normally only be able to snatch small portions of time here and there, and that’s fine but, for this one month, perhaps try and find a routine that works. If you need to talk to partners and children, do it: you may find they’re excited to be part of the challenge in this one small way.
What happens when you get to the end of November? One thing is for sure: you’ll still have a lot of work ahead, whether in finishing the story you started, or polishing up that first draft you powered through. So now it’s time to take a moment and look back at what you’ve achieved. Maybe you didn’t hit your 50,000 words, or finish your rewrites. But hopefully you got a good solid chunk of work done, and perhaps pushed past that writer’s block or slow patch. Celebrate it!
And remember: NaNoWriMo is set in November for one reason, and one reason only: leftover Halloween loot*. So, now you have words and you have chocolate, and really, what else does a writer need?
*Disclaimer! This is probably not true. Or maybe it is, who knows? It’s a valid enough reason…
**Please consume your Halloween treats in moderation.
Juliana Spink Mills 