NaNoWri what?? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It happens in November every year and it consists of a month where participants take a “just write” approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1 and the goal is to write 50,000 words, or a 175 page novel by midnight, November 30.
Whoa! 50,000 words in 30 days. That is impossible!!
Hang on before you stop reading this while your shake your head in doubt.
It doesn’t have to be perfect!
We are not talking editing, spelling, or even the best writing that needs to occur. It is a chance to just simply write without worrying about perfection or finding all the best synonyms for the word, “nice”. And sometimes, some of us just need a deadline, even one that won’t get us fired if we don’t meet it.
Why would anyone participate in creating most likely crap work?
The end result is not supposed to be a manuscript that you send off to publishers or agents. It is simply an exercise to push your creativity to the max – no holding back.
NaNoWriMo has a few other reasons in case you do no like mine:
“To actively participate in one of our era’s most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.”
Many people ask questions like: Can I just type in the same word 50,000 times? Ummm, sure but is that really a valuable use of your time just to get a badge (no monetary prize). The only satisfaction you can get out of that is, well, maybe, greatly improved typing skills….
I decided to join up for the first time on NaNoWriMo! It is a little scary thinking about that 50,000 word mark. But, there is a lot of support for this on the website and in the forums. Get others to hep motivate you. I have no idea how this will turn out. Will I make it? Only one way to know – just do it!
The point is not to just have a 175-page manuscript filled with gibberish. The point is to get the fire under your butt burning. It is a beginning of what could someday be a novel. Or, it may be an end to your writing career out of sheer exhaustion. Either way, it should be fun above all else.
What happens if you don’t make it?
Well, nothing really – there is no NaNoWriMo police and you won’t get banned from the site. Even if you only get halfway there, it is a start!
To throw in a apropos, and overused, quote here:
Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. ~Lao Tzu
For more information, just go to the rundown on NaNoMoWri! Good luck!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Julie, have a blast with NaNoWriMo. I haven’t tried it yet. I’m focused on the launch of my next book, but that’s happening in the next two weeks, so maybe…I should talk to the wife.
I did do a 3 Day Novel – it was 100 pages (about 25,000 words) and it almost killed me…but boy was it fun. I also wrote a journal of my experience that almost doubled the word count, so 50,000 in a month is completely doable.
1. Plan
2. Write, write, write.
Wow I think I convinced myself to do it. My daughter has some great story ideas I want to novelize with her.
RevTrev recently posted..How do we grow up in Christ
You should do it – even if you don’t make 50,0000, sometimes it really is just about getting the words in your head out of your mind.
I absolutely love NaNo, I’ve been doing it for years. It’s great and the pressure actually isn’t as bad as you think – I thrive on it. I do hope this year will be the year I end up with something mostly usable rather then hitting 50K and having to scrap a lot of what I’ve written! Good luck!
Emma recently posted..Returning to Blogging- Question and Writing News
Wow, Emma that’s great – I hope you can create a usable piece a work this year! Good luck and thanks for the comment!
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