Nearly NaNoWriMo Time Again

Did you know that Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Wool by Hugh Howey, and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, were all begun for one of the annual NaNoWriMo challenges? Anyone who says that NaNo is just a bit of silliness for wannabe writers might want to ponder that a while, and anyone who is finding their writing stuck or slow going right now might want to consider taking up that challenge this year. You can take it as seriously or not seriously as you like. It’s only thirty days, so the world won’t end if you don’t make your word count or if you absolutely hate what you wrote, but if you’re having trouble getting nice chunks of words down towards your WIP, this little challenge should get you going. I see that there is also a twenty percent discount to purchase Scrivener for this year’s players, so if you’ve been thinking about getting that, here’s your chance.

You can write anything you want to. It doesn’t have to be a brand new book. You can continue to write something you’ve already started, as long as you only add the newly typed sections for each day to your official word count. Only you know what you’ve typed, because NaNoWriMo don’t save your work when you go to add your daily count on the site, so it’s not possible for anyone to ever read it unless you publish it, so typos and gremlins mean absolutely nothing. In fact, the last thing you want to be doing is looking back every day over what you wrote the day before. Just zoom straight on through to the end before editing anything. Another fine lesson to learn for those of us who over edit as we write. NaNoWriMo cured me of that.

The whole premise of the NaNo is to write fifty thousand words of a novel in thirty days, which works out to roughly one thousand, six hundred and sixty seven words written per day. This is your rough draft, so it doesn’t matter if there are plot holes in there. You write around them, and then fix them later if you decide to publish the book. If you win the challenge, you get the badge for this year, and also whatever swag they have going as prizes, which can come in really handy too – like getting free CreateSpace copies if you publish your NaNo novel.

If you’re competing this year, remember to stock your freezers now with food that can just be defrosted for some November meals, and get lists done of chores that your family and friends can do to help you out for that time too. The site launches on the fifth of October. Zoom over to the NaNoWriMo site to sign up, and then create your NaNo novel project by going to My Novels under the NaNoWriMo tab from that date.

NaNoWriMo

Author: jorobinson176

South African writer.

26 thoughts on “Nearly NaNoWriMo Time Again”

    1. We’re all amateurs. 🙂 It should be fun, and it doesn’t matter whether you finish or not – the majority don’t come close, so kudos for giving it a shot. I signed up last year and then forgot, so not even one day in there. 😀

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      1. I usually start with best intentions – and then I find something incredibly important to do first … Like building an advent calendar for my goth cousin (that is something that I COULD start THIS month, so that I only have to give it a finishing touch in November … yeah, right …)

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    1. You’re going to nail it Christine! I really thought I would this year – I want to have a go at a funny book, and the NaNo is the best place to dive right in without overthinking and messing things up, but I want to let books two and three in my Shadow People series loose before January next year, and I’m struggling to get them done because some invisible troll keeps pulling the rug from under my feet. 😀 Have you got a plan for this year’s story, or are you totally pantsing it?

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    1. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 I’m not entering this year, but I will be cheering all you brave souls on from the sidelines as loudly as possible. Keep us posted on how you’re getting on. Have you got an outline or are you flying in the dark? 🙂

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      1. I am developing an outline but I tend to keep to important plot points only. That way, I can allow the characters to go charging off as long as I hit those plot points. Makes life much more interesting.

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    1. That’s awesome Tess! When I did mine I really wasn’t up to banging out two thousand new words a day so it knocked my socks off too – ate pancakes just about every day for the month & put on a kilogram too. 🙂

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      1. I cancelled everything on my calendar for the month. Every word was a slow drip. Sometimes it took all day. That’s why I was brain dead for months afterwards. Everyday I tried to do a few extra words for those days when I might bleed less words. It was worth the experience, but I’m not sure I could do it again. 🙂

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  11. I know a lot of authors love it, but I have enough pressure in my life without adding to it! 😊 I applaud those authors who make a go of it…

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    1. I reckon you have to be in the mindset too Ali – I couldn’t do it this year what with all the happenings and actually enjoy it. No point in adding to things – you’re spot on! I hope next year that things will be calmer so I can though – it really is a blast if that’s the only pressure you have at the time. 🙂

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  12. Hey all..I’m a newbie to writing but after doing a blog for a year, told from my dog’s POV, I had so many people telling me I should try my hand at writing a book. I’m in recovery & have decided I want to write a memoir. I would be so happy to hear from anyone & everyone that can offer an almost 46 yr. old “1st timer” some truly good writer’s advice. Thanks, C

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