In a nutshell, NaNoWriMo—or National Novel Writing Month—is an event held in November where one attempts to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. It may seem daunting (and it is), but it’s also a great opportunity for us writers.
Why NOT to Participate in NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is no easy feat. It's hard, it's stressful, and life gets in the way.
Our family tries as hard as possible to keep our schedule for November clear so we have time to write, but stuff comes up. It's the beginning of October and our calendar's slowly getting full. My little brother and dad both have black belt tests, our local bookstore has an event that lasts all day, we have a birthday party to go to, there's Thanksgiving to take care of, and so on.
Pretty soon, we're squeezing in fifteen minutes of scribbling barely legible sentences between lunch and the next thing.
4 Reasons NaNoWriMo Is Great for Writers
But if you prepare for it and work hard at making it a priority, NaNoWriMo can be extremely rewarding. Here are four reasons why.
1. You practice discipline
If you’re going to complete a fifty-thousand word novel in a month, you don’t have time for writer’s block and boredom. You have to sit down, take a deep breath, and write something, even if it’s total crap.
The point of NaNoWriMo isn’t to be the next Shakespeare or Harper Lee. The point is to write. You have to get those words on the page. Then come December 1, it’s up to you to polish what you’ve written.
2. You practice speed
50,000 divided by thirty comes to about 1,666, which is how many words you need to write daily to complete your goal. Difficult? Absolutely. But impossible? No. You’d be surprised how much you can accomplish in an hour when you really focus and let those fingers fly.
And thirty days of practice isn’t going to vanish when the clock chimes twelve on December first. I find that each year I participate in NaNoWriMo, I get a little bit faster, and you will, too.
3. You make new friends
Some of my best blogging friends have come from NaNoWriMo, and we keep in touch to this day. It’s hard to go into something like this alone, especially if it’s your first year.
When you sign up, if you sign up, poke around the forums for people who are attempting this for the first time. Strike up a conversation, ask the experts for advice. They’re more than happy to help a newbie out.
4. You end up with a story
Whether you reach your goal or not, you’ll have at least tried, and you’ll end up with something new to work on, or at the very least an experience you’ll always have. There’s no downside to signing up, because even “failing” has its perks.
This is my eighth year participating, and every time I get a little better, make new friends, have a new story. Are they the greatest stories? Maybe not. But do they have the potential to be? Of course. Every story can shine with some hard work and much-needed editing.
Get Ready for NaNoWriMo
Joe here. One of the best ways to succeed at NaNoWriMo is to get prepared before November starts. We want to help you make the most of that month of crazy writing! That's why we're excited to host a NaNoWriMo giveaway to jump-start your preparations.
We can't give you a fully-formed plot and well-developed characters—that’s on you. But we CAN give you some NaNoWriMo survival essentials to get you through the month.
We've put together a fantastic NaNoWriMo Survival Kit to keep you alert and writing for thirty days. Enter the giveaway now! Or, get all the details below.
How to Enter the Giveaway
Want to enter the giveaway? Here’s how to maximize your chances of winning:
- Click here to go to the giveaway page.
- At the bottom of the page, answer the (easy!) question, which is really just there to make sure you’re a human. (You are a human, right?)
- Then, enter your email address to enter.
- Check your email and click the link in the confirmation email to confirm your entry.
- After you enter, share the contest page with your friends. For each friend who enters, you get 3 more chances to win.
You have eight days to get as many entries as you can. The giveaway will officially close on Tuesday, October 11, at 11:59 PDT.
Then, we’ll choose the winners on Wednesday, October 12, and notify them by email. If you’re ready to enter, click here.
Want to know what you could win?
Over $90 in Prizes
To celebrate our fifth anniversary, we’re giving away prizes to three lucky winners.
Three winners will receive our NaNoWriMo Survival Kit:
- Coffee, tea, and chocolate to keep you awake, alert, and writing for thirty days,
- Story cubes to give you fresh ideas with a roll of the dice when your inspiration starts to fade,
- An egg timer to keep you focused and on track for established periods of writing time,
- A stress ball to help you blow off steam when deadlines are rushing towards you,
- Pens to record your brilliant story ideas, and
- An exclusive The Write Practice journal to hold your notes and brainstorming.
With all these essential supplies, you'll be sure to start off NaNoWriMo on the right foot.
Are you up to the challenge of NaNoWriMo? Let us know in the comments so we can support and encourage you all the way to November 30!
PRACTICE
Write for fifteen minutes about someone participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time. What are his hopes for the month? What challenges will he have to face? What are his fears?
Once your time is up, post your practice in the comments. Be sure to leave a comment for your fellow writers, as well. Have fun!
Where does one go to participate in this writing challenge?
http://nanowrimo.org/dashboard All of the information is on there. 🙂
Here is the link to the website. http://nanowrimo.org/
Practice writing- sorry I copied and paste so the spacing is off-I have never posted a practice writing before)
Come November the chill wind will once again play the music
of the falling leaves, Life will not support this music, in fact, one will
almost curse this music as weapons of the season are employed to eradicate the
notes as they have fallen in scattered colors of brown and red and
yellows. A season of endings and
beginnings, preparing and fighting the thoughts of what lay ahead as one tries
to make sense of seasons. The creative
thoughts compete in my mind against the reality thoughts. Today I have read about the NANOWNMO
challenge. Arguments cross over the
halves of my brain-on the one hand it would be fun (I use the word lightly) to
see what I can do but on the other hand I don’t even find time to complete 15
minutes a day writing as is
suggested-even with the prompts. Would this challenge kick-start my desire to
write or would I once again be reminded of my past attempts. Just because I
love to write does not mean I can be a writer. Having a love and having a drive
is two different things. Will my talent
go the way of the leaves in the realm of writers?
Well look at it this way. You have to pursue something in life, right? So why not pursue writing, if it’s what you love? We writers worry about if we have “what it takes”… but that’s baloney. What it “takes” is wanting to BE a writer, wanting to WRITE (enjoying the process), and STUBBORNNESS. Clearly, you are already a writer. But whether you are ready to throw your hat in the ring with the rest, is something only you can decide. 🙂
Karen, anyone who can express herself as you have done, “Arguments cross over the halves of my brain” is a writer. If you don’t find time for the 15 minute practice, then that is a big decision. You can make time, if there is something else you can and will give up. That is a personal choice, and you must choose what is best for you. Good luck!
You ARE a writer, Karen. There’s not a doubt in my mind. Look at this practice, for example. You managed to find fifteen minutes to write this, and it’s wonderful. Deciding whether or not to do NaNoWriMo is a big decision, so it’s ultimately up to you. But don’t ever think you’re not a writer. If you write, you’re a writer. Simple as that.
I did NaNoWriMo way back in 2004 and again in 2006… I think – it literally changed my life and made me take my writing seriously. It’s an AWESOME time, a way to validate, get creative and work under pressure. While no one evaluates your work but yourself, there is a lot going on with the other writers than can keep you focused to finish. That project has become my magnus opus, so to speak, and since then I’ve been working on a series of interlinked novels – the first of which is nearly ready. Yeah, life does get in the way sometimes, but I’ve also written a lot, learned A LOT and it all started with NaNoWriMo!
I won’t be doing it this year since I have more ideas than I have time to develop and really need to FINISH at least one of my projects.
What NaNoWriMo needs now is a ‘Finish Your Novel Month’! 😀
I’m glad you’ve had such a great experience with it. 🙂 I fell in love with it right away when my parents told me about it. I couldn’t believe that there was such a thing as an event dedicated to simply WRITING for an entire month!
Ha ha, agreed! I know they sort of made December an unofficial editing month, but with the holidays I’ve never really had the time to do much with it. Plus, I edit better if I put my novel away for longer. I just pulled out my 2013 NaNoWriMo novel for revisions a month ago, and am glad for it!
Oh, that changed. March used to be the editing month as I recall, but I haven’t done this in a while. I did make my kids (also home schooled) do NaNo a while back. They loved it as well.
Good luck and have fun! 😀
Commit to 60 hours editing/re-writing with me! I need to finish my novel as well.
Thanks for the reminder about feedback and evaluation. I want to give that away but you remind me,in th end, it’s on me to do my own evaluation. I am sure you will finish a project very soon.
Do you think it’s worth dropping my work on my current novel – I’m knee deep in revisions – to start another novel during NaNoWriMo month? I’ve never done this challenge but think I need to wait until next year. Thanks for your help.
I’m doing NaNo for the first time year, but I just wanted to point out, aside from all the obvious reasons for taking up this challenge, there’s also the fact that it’s not a permanent commitment. It’s only 30 days! Temporary. So you have to weigh the benefits of setting aside your current work for 30 days, to meet other writers, hone your skills, have fun, etc., against the possibility that once you set it aside, you may have lost your momentum when it’s time to get back to it. Only you can assess these pros and cons adequately. It seems a shame to wait another whole year, but it’s nice to know that’s an option, isn’t it! I wish you the best.
Thanks, Silly, for your thoughts. You bet, I’ll be weighing.
Silly put it best. You have to decide if it’s worth losing the momentum for the possibility of everything listed in the post. OR, if you want to compromise, you could use NaNoWriMo as an opportunity to do revisions. I know plenty of people who edit rather than write in November, and still get a chance to be a part of the excitement. Good luck!
Thanks for this, Magic. I like the compromise idea, using NaNoWriMo for my revisions. I’ll look into it.
Great post! I’m in awe that you’ve done NaNo 6 times. Wow! Do other people in your family do it too? Good luck this year 🙂
Thanks, Dana! 🙂 Yes, our whole family participates every year. We all love it. Well, the dog is never too thrilled about it. She’s under the impression that we should be paying attention to her 24/7.
A writer trying out NaNoWriMo would naturally feel as if he
would fall behind on his goals. He would set off with the idea of writing a
novel (50,000 words is a lot, after all) with absolutely no idea if he could do
it. Would he make it, what would get in the way? What will he write about?
There’s a lot that goes into writing a novel, after all.
All the same, the writer feels as if he were starting a
great journey. The initial excitement would be what drove him each day, but as
time wore on the journey would grow more difficult. The effort that it would
take each day would take its toll on his family, his friends, his hobbies,
consuming his life until it was all he could think about. The words on the page
would become simply that: meaningless words. When that happened he knew it was
time to step back, do something else, read his work with fresh eyes, and press
on with fervor.
At the end of the month, the writer would look back at his
work. He might be satisfied with what he had written and pursue it further. It
may be utter crap, but at least he accomplished something during his time this
month.
Loved this! 🙂 NaNoWriMo is definitely a journey. You couldn’t have described it better.
I love NaNoWriMo so much! Magic Violinist, I am curious: does your whole family take part? Because if they do, that’s awesome. I’m trying to get my mom to do it with me this year and I’m really hoping she does because that would be so much fun.
Yes, our family does it. 🙂 I hope your mom gets into it! It’s great having someone by your side to push you or simply write alongside you. Writing doesn’t have to be a solitary activity. Good luck!
YES! This will be my second year with NaNoWriMo. I discovered it last year when discussed here The Writing Practice. I’m in the throes of a writing course , begin ing a new blog, and making an international move. It’s my birthday month!!! Of course I take the challenge.
I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic about it! 🙂 Wow, this is a big month for you. (Happy birthday!)
I’m doing NaNoWriMo for the first time. I have an outline for a novel, and have been stuck in endless plot quandaries. I’m hoping writing it during NaNo will help me power through to the end. I’m one of those people who performs better under pressure, so this is an experiment. I may need to do NaNo every year, to finish a project. Good luck to all here who join. I encourage everyone to at least take a look.
Oh, if you write well under pressure, NaNoWriMo is perfect for you. 🙂 Outlining your novel is always a good thing to do, too! I used to be a self-proclaimed pantser (I am now a plantser), so I’ve resisted outlining for several years. I decided to try it last year and now there’s no going back.
So rather than using NaNoWriMo to jump start a novel, I think my plan is to use it to raise my productivity and finish the first book in a 3 parter I’m currently working on (due to me being a bum and just life+college beating me in my oh-so precious feels).
That’s fantastic! I know many of my friends from NaNoWriMo use the month of November to finish up projects rather than starting new ones. Seeing as how many unfinished novels I have already, this wouldn’t be a bad idea. Maybe next year!
NA NO WRI MO…only two weeks left and I’m finally going do it! Finally going to have something to show forthe last 10 years of big talk and no action! Finally going to get my novel out of my head and onto the paper! Yeah, but can I really write a 50,000 word
novel in just 30 days and do I dare tell anyone what I’m doing? I mean, what if I fail? I do have a life and a family and a job, so am I just fooling myself into believing I can start this and actually finish? No, it’s doable. After all, your best writing has always been
done under pressure with a deadline! NA NO WRI MO…only two weeks left and you’re
finally going to do it!
NA NO WRI MO…only two weeks left and I’m finally going do it! Finally going to have something to show for the last 10 years of big talk and no action! Finally going to get my novel out of my head and onto the paper! Yeah, but can I really write a 50,000 word
novel in just 30 days and do I dare tell anyone what I’m doing? I mean, what if I fail? I do have a life and a family and a job, so am I just fooling myself into believing I can start this and actually finish? No, it’s doable. After all, your best writing has always been done under pressure with a deadline! NA NO WRI MO…only two weeks left and you’re finally going to do it!
Yay! Good for you for taking the challenge! Ha ha, as much as I hate writing under a deadline, I can’t deny that it’s good for me. Good luck!
I’ve gotta say, I love NaNoWriMo. First heard about it in fifth grade, first attempted it in eighth grade. I got to 21,000 words that year before I lost steam- partially because we were doing it with my LA class and I didn’t really get on with that group very well. Since then, I’ve attempted it every year, though I’ve not gotten past 5,000 words since. I could make excuses for that but real problem is that I lost my dedication to writing. This year, I’ve graduated high school and renewed that dedication, and I WILL be hitting 50,000 words.So ready or not, NaNoWriMo, here I come! (If I can stand the two weeks wait ’till I can start writing, because dear god, is this waiting hard!)
Wow, I applaud your perseverance. It’d be easy to just give up after having tried and “failed” so many times.
YES, the waiting! That’s probably the worst part for me. I try my best to resist the urge and cheat by writing just a sentence or two down, because I know how quickly that can snowball. It’s a good thing I have a great memory.
Cool! I come to The Write Practice pretty much every day for my Creative Writing class! This may sound crazy, but I think this blog goes along with my teacher’s lesson plan. We were talking about NaNoWriMo and we are going to do it!!! Yikes, 50,000 words! I hope I can do it!
That’s awesome! 🙂 It always helps to attempt it with a group, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. Good luck!
I have wanted to participate in NaNoWriMo for about six years now (it would be seven but I first discovered it in mid November). Every year I have wanted to take part and every year it has been an impossible idea. This year, I really want to take the plunge. Your post has been incredibly encouraging. I love that your whole family gets involved. I think one of my main concerns besides it being the beginning of a very busy work month (I work in radio and we have concerts every weekend in November) right now is simply that my laptop keyboard has trouble with S’s and F’s. I hope this wont be a big hindrance. It sure is annoying just blogging.
Anyway, thanks for the enthusiastic post! You are an encourager!!!!!
So glad I could help! 🙂 I get being hesitant because you’re busy, I really do. The best think to do is focus on making time for what you love and fight for it. Best of luck to you!
I’m so excited to participate in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year! I’m ready to go take advantage of the Halloween candy sales in preperation. Without any further ado, my practice:
My heart was beating faster and faster as I watched the clock I kept by my bed strike 12:01 am. NaNoWriMo had begun! My fingers raced over my keybord egerly spilling out the carefuly planed plot line I had worked on all of last month. I sipped my coffee I had prepared minutes before. Eventualy my fingers slowed, my eye lids became heavy, I fell asleep on my first day of NaNoWriMo.
I know it’s been a long time since you wrote this but I wanted to say it’s very well-written. Your style is really smooth and easy to follow. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
After careful examination of all excuses not to do it I have come up with….none.
Sign me up, Freddie.
Keep the kettle on the boil, the tea cup on standby, hit me with some raw carrots for fuel from time to time and it is ready. set. go.
First timer!
50,000 seem overwhelming to think of, broken up in chunks though it is a mere couple of hours writing per day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon.
Keep the kettle on the boil, the cup of tea on standby.
Hold the biscuits.
She’ll be right, as they say here in Australia.
Yep, I’ll do it.
I am planning to attempt Nano this year. I get nervous just thinking about how many words I’ll have to write to accomplish my goals each day.
I did NaNo one year and won. I thought it was a great experience and it’s translated well to my “real” writing life. I’m doing it again this year since I took a few off and it would be good to recapture that energy. Just a word to all the finishers this year: set aside time for an edit as well once you have some distance.
This is my first year taking on NaNoWriMo, and i figure even if I don’t make 50,000 words, I’ll still end up closer to a first draft than I am today!
That’s a great attitude. Best of luck as you move forward with the challenge.
My practice:
The feeling of someone shaking her shoulders was peeping into her subconscious. After a failed attempt to brush off those offensive hands from her person, she mumbled something under her breath, which very much sounded like, “Don’t disturb me right now. I’ve to finish this bloody story in time” !
But instead of leaving her alone, the shaking became more persistent and she cautiously cracked open an eye. It met with the mirthful sparkling blue eyes of her husband, Andrew.
“Sweetheart, I would have gladly left you to your writing, only if you weren’t sleeping face down on your computer keyboard at 3 a.m! “, his teasing voice brought her sleepy mind to reality and she tried to sit up straight quickly.
“Arrrrgggg ! My neck! “, she cried out in pain clutching the back of her neck which was hurting because of her sleeping in a very uncomfortable position on a hard surface. But her neck was not the only part of her body which was hurting. Her head felt like it had suddenly acquired some kilotons of heavy weight, the point between her two eyebrows was throbbing like crazy and her eyelids were screaming in protest as she fought to keep them open.
The soft massage on her shoulders made her a bit relaxed. She sighed, “What are you doing at this hour, Andrew? You’re supposed to be asleep.”
“Well, I was, after finishing the heavy workload in office I couldn’t but sleep like a log. But I woke up a few minutes ago and seeing light from your study at this time I became worried. I intended to drag you away from your computer and force you to get some sleep. But I found you already sleeping!”
“Oh Andrew! Last thing I know I was typing like a madwoman and next thing, I wake up looking into your eyes! I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep. I have so much writing to do and the deadline is approaching faster than a cyclone! I can’t afford sleeping nowwwwwww..”, her last word was dragged by a long yawn.
“No more writing now. Go straight to bed and get at least five hours of sleep. I’ll save the writing and shut down your computer.”
“What! No! I must complete this chapter now! I am not going to…. Hey! Unhand me this moment! You can’t force me to stop wri… Whoa! “, she gasped in shock. She was standing face to face with a…. creature… which looked like a zombie. Before shouting in fear she realised that she was actually standing in front of a….. mirror!
She was speechless for a moment.
Andrew laughed softly at her expression, “See what I mean?”
She nodded and wordlessly followed him to their bedroom.
“You must hate me, right? I am actually feeling like a zombie! I have been behaving like a lunatic for last few days, I suppose….. What made me think that I could finish a novel in a month! I shouldn’t have ever entered into this NaNoWriMo thing.”
“Lolita, look at me honey”, Andrew cupped her tear stained face, “You are overly fatigued and are not thinking straight. Get a few hours of sleep. Take a day off, if you need to. Just relax that day and keep your mind diverted. Then start from the next day again. But never think to stop your race before reaching the finishing line.”
“You sure? “, Lolita mumbled.
“Yes. I’m sure you can do it. I have full faith on you. And even if you can’t finish it on time by any chance, still you’ll sure gain something from this experience which will help you next year.”
“You want me to join next year too! Aren’t you thinking of divorcing me for doing it once this year?!”
“Ha ha ha, very funny” he said sarcastically, ” Now off to sleep.”
She didn’t need more encouragement. She drifted off to sleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
But before sleep took over her completely, she heard her husband saying softly, ” I love you Loli, my crazy, stubborn, talented zombie.”
Nice! A scene which may be a reality in many households during November!
Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. Andrew, the dream-lover.
Meanwhile, the drunken old lady muse is tapping me on the shoulder and warning me not to get carried away with imagining those two by dawn’s early light … and to focus on my characters’ sunset strategies instead … because she reminds me I’m some jerk and can’t write that kinda scene.
Oh Loli & Andrew are adorable, aren’t they? But they are actually both inside my head. Lola, the frustrated me and Andrew, the rational me.
So stop listening to your drunken lady if she tells you that you can’t write. Instead listen to your own inner Andrew!
Don’t wary. There are so many of us in this situation together and we are struggling to find a way to stay positive. All the best!
I’m going to miss it this year and am looking forward to next year. My excuses – I’m having a full knee replacement on October 13th and will be focused on recovery – oh, and preparing to host my family for Thanksgiving. I felt a bit overwhelmed before I heard about NaNoWriMo. I have seriously considered it, but think that focusing on post op rehab does seem to take priority this time. Good luck to all of you!
This will be my first time participating. I am not doing a novel, but a memoir. I have an outline in place and two chapters written. I will be using Write or Die to keep me focused on hitting my daily writing goal of 1667 words. I think that is totally doable. Wishing everyone luck!
I already have an unfinished story, it was only like 4 chapters and I’m stuck and left it there abandoned for months. Can I join nanowrimo with it? Thought I can continue writing if I join 🙂
Having never participated in NaNoWriMo (and having no desire to do so), I don’t see why not. Everyone is talking about writing a book in a month, but they are all starting a month early and also talking about finishing the book (editing, proofreading, etc.) in the following months. NaNoWriMo is more like NaNoWriYea (National Novel Writing Year).
I am committing to 60 hours of editing/re-writing for Nano this year. I am trying to finish a novel I created during NaNo 2 years ago. I know I have something with it. It’s very different from anything I’ve written or thought I would write. Me writing Fantasy! You don’t know how weird that is. Realism is my middle name usually. Other than Harry Potter, I don’t read Fantasy!
I pantsed it, but wish I hadn’t. It made the re-writing twice as hard. But, then, if I hadn’t pantsed it would the story be as unique and rich? I guess we’ll never know. I can’t believe how accurate my on-the-fly research turned out either.
Carving out time to edit is harder because you can’t do it a bit here and a bit there. I need blocks of time. Time scheduling in November is going to tricky, but I’m doing it.
You got this.
Thanks for sharing this. I sense you are ready to move forward. Best of luck in your endeavors. Also getting out of your comfort zone is to be commended. Happy writing days.
Oh, how I despise the rewriting process. Good luck!
This sounds like a good idea for beginning writers, Joe. I’m not going to enter because I’m already in the middle of a novel, which, incidentally, keeps me busy for circa twelve hours per day. I love the process and become so lost in the story that time passes with unbelievable rapidity, even though I’m allergic to coffee, tea, and chocolate!
I wish everyone who participates all the best, and it will be fun to know that there are so many other writers banging away on keys and waaving campfire tales that can be enjoyed for generations.
Shalom Aleichem,
Jesse.
http://www.jesseleighbrackstone.com
Exactly why I won’t be participating. I’m already working on a novel and already have a goal of 2,000 words per day.
Bruce, How many hours do you “go at it” to produce 2000 words? When I was writing weekly sermons, a typical sermon was 2500 words and took the better part of a 10-5 day to get an almost finished product. But I has a week between each 2500 word outburst. So this will be new for me. When I look at this as 30 sermons to write, one a day, that seems crazy. But it also seems doable. Best of luck with your novel.
That sounds like a reasonable clip for me for the kind of work I write, even if mine is supposed to be very much fiction. Really is not slow at all. But I know of plenty writers who are way faster than me. Who don’t agonize over the words and don’t revise 4x …
And probably why I can’t do this thing (in addition, it sounds like Mork from Ork’s greeting: Na-Noo, Na-Noo, folks … my comment upthread is actually true; and unlike Mork, happened dozens of miles from Boulder)
NaNoWriMo is not only for beginning writers. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve been a professional writer for 30+ years and still find the event inspiring and transformative. I’ve connected with some others who have turned into true friends. Best wishes with your novel.
Morning Corrie Ann!
I didn’t mean to imply that this exercise would be useful to beginning authors only. Like you, I am a professional author, and I cannot imagine having a span of thirty days that I could commit to the undertaking. When I’m not touring (my husband and I also give benefit concerts worldwide), I’m deeply involved in time-sensitive writing projects of my own, which is what I attempted to convey in less detail above.
I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone.
Love,
Jesse.
http://www.jesseleighbrackstone.com
No offense taken Jesse.
How cool that you give benefit concerts – that’s awesome.
Good article. Thank you.
This is a bit personal. I think that in 2015 my brother-in-law had been snowed in big-time. This was in the Rocky Mountain west. I think it came out of a NaNOWriMo; and it may have been his actual first because he has trouble—kinda dyslexia with a soupçon of ADD or something—writing. Isn’t 50K words, roughly 210 pages in average print (not the eye-straining New York Times-size print) for a paper book? Anyway, this is a published book. Published in the beginning of spring of 2016. Weighing in at about 175. Not just an e-book – such as is my dream, but an actual trade paperback … as in, published and made out of paper (I, myself, should BE so ambitious!)
At first, when told about this, I was wondering if my niece (his step-daughter) had finally written her fantasy novel and/or romance novel, one of many projects she’d spoken about for over 20 years. No, it is non-fiction; although the title was misleading (or maybe I was not wanting to hear it wasn’t her work). And not one word of its production, came from her. [I recognize all too well the writing style of that book, heavily edited or not! The niece’s purple-prosed, lush sensuousness of her (fictional, mostly) writing was absent; but her stepdad’s wry wit, self-insertion, otherworldly grasp of logic and ponderous understanding of the historical underpinnings shone through]
Anyway, I am holding it in my hot little hands, having gobbled up the first half of the (short) book. EVERYTHING dealing with the age-old battle of the sexes, is de facto research for “Serviced.”, doncha know? Because “Serviced.” isn’t about some middle-aged customer service honcho … only … EXCEPT there is too much written, filmed and produced on the topic of that age-old battle; and I have to extremely soon call it quits on the research, and do my actual writing.
At first, I was confused when I was told I would be receiving this book as a gift. It had been sent to me, sparing no expense in the postage department; so it’s not like I waited a fortnight for it to have arrived via Media Mail.
(This practice took too long to do. As ever, this blog/blogger gives me the hardest-to-do assignments.)
I’m going to write a novel I originally had wanted to write during #CampNaNoWriMo. But then the research bug hit 😀
BTW, how long does it usually take for the email to arrive in which is the link to confirm your entry? It’s been almost an hour since I entered the giveaway, but I didn’t get the confirmation mail. I’ve already checked my spam folder.
I only discovered NaNoWriMo last year and wondered where it was all my life. I always needed that little push to drive me over the cliff of writer’s block. Hope I’ll manage to complete my work this year.
I don’t know the last time I did anything every day for an entire month. So that task alone is challenge one for me. I have the beginning of a story I would like to finish, but I am afraid it is going to mean starting from the very beginning, because how I wrote even three months ago, isn’t how I hope to write going forward.
I suppose every month has its challenges but with holiday travel and family commitments, taking on this task is going to require support and understanding from those closest to me. I need to start those conversations very soon.
Obviously, I fear failing at this. I haven’t had much feedback so far on work I have submitted (except from those who read my blog – foundationalhope.com), so I am a bit wary of the time it will take to write, to encourage others in this forum, and to wait for feedback that may not appear, if history is my judge. All that being said, I think I have just about decided to give it a go.
As Thomas Carlyle (long since dead) has written, “Talk that does not end in any kind of action is better suppressed altogether.” So enough talk, it’s time for action – I think! (Big smile here).
Where did my post from this morning go?
15 MIN ASSIGNMENT: So, I signed up to do NaNoWriMo this year. What? Yea, I know, crazy. But hey, what better way to get into the daily writing habit, right? It begins November 1 and I cannot wait to sit at my desk every day and ponder the meaning of life. I mean, what better way to come up with a story idea. There is one drawback to this decision – I’m going to go insane. I’ve heard that writers who force words onto the page in furious fits of inspiration burst brain cells. Seriously! It’s a scary idea but one I feel is worth it. You see, I’ve wanted to write a damn novel for 30+ years and yet I’ve only got remnants of stories long lost to the deep abyss in my brain. I can’t seem to conjure up the courage, motivation or inclination to sit my ass down and put 50K of words on the page. But now’s the time. I’m making it public that I, Jane Writer, is going to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
Oh shit – did I really put that in writing? Can I take it back? No! It’s time to get the voices out of my head and onto the blank page. Yikes – blank pages. They are my nemesis. How do I deal with a blank page every day? I’ll have to devise a plan to always put at least one sentence at the top of the last page for the day. Yes, that will alleviate some of that blank page anxiety. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I’m not sure I get blank page anxiety. I suppose it is something I will find out on November 1. It will be here before I know it.
Should I think about a story idea beforehand or simply see what shows up on day one?
Something to think about Jane. I’m better when I write off the cuff. I also detest editing, so there is no fear of me stalling out early on because I have to get every sentence write, I mean right, and make sure everything is in order. Who cares, I’ll just get it all on the page. I can do this. Piece of cake. (Jane, don’t think about the other times you’ve started NaNoWriMo and failed miserably.) One year I made it to day three. That’s was a joke. Another year I made all the way to day 22 – what happened? I don’t recall, but that’s isn’t happening this year. No way, no how. This chick is writing her ass off (oh, maybe
I can do this will on the exercise bike – not a bad idea) until all the story is out, the page is lit up with words and all brains cells are deflated. Twenty six day to go time – but who’s counting?
Forced writing? No, your brain cells don’t burst. The physical lethargy sets in, and nothing in the brain bursts. A mental freeing—yet not unencumbered with the mental fatigue of its having been spent—is my best estimate based on my own experience.
I read your statement above to say you claim you are going to will yourself to do this on the exercise bike? Setting aside a little (of course, smaller!) time to do exercise all by itself (no reading and little TV, either) is better. The act of writing (especially if by longhand, natch!) is physical too …
[Disclaimer: My “muse” already has a pickled brain; “she” flogs me on the regular … and I don’t drink alcohol or smoke anything.]
FYI Tina – this is a work of fiction. None of it is about me or my experience with NaNoWriMo. :o) The exercise was to write about SOMEONE participating in NaNoWriMo.
That’s cool: my “muse” and I were getting a bit worried about you. Great characterization and great on your fictional character! Hope she learns to chill (but just a little) 😉
Hi what happens to the novels that are written. If I write a novel, does someone else gets the copyright?