NaNoWriMo conveniently sent me a list of questions to answer now that NaNo is over, and as they make for an excellent recap, I’m just going to “stick to the script” if you will.
I did it. I won NaNoWriMo!
I wrote 50,035 words, and I did it in the span of 30 days. And honestly, it doesn’t feel real yet. Even though I’ve scrolled through all of that text — all the good and the bad, the parts I love and hate. Even though I know that quite a few hours of my November were spent writing, I’m still in awe. Me? The procrastinator? The “I don’t write fiction” girl? The one who used to say “I don’t have time to write”? The same person who frantically wrote 15K just this weekend because I wanted to win? Yep. That girl. Somewhere, somehow, and quite possibly by magic, I did it.
Throughout the month of October, I’ll be posting a few blogs about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which is in November. As I had such a positive experience last year, I’ll be talking about why I recommend it and how to survive it. #WhyNaNo
Now that I’ve talked about why you should do NaNoWriMo and how to survive it, what are my personal plans for NaNoWriMo this November?
Before I answer that, let’s take a moment to examine what’s led up to now in the past year.
Throughout the month of October, I’ll be posting a few blogs about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which is in November. As I had such a positive experience last year, I’ll be talking about why I recommend it and how to survive it. #WhyNaNo
The main way to survive NaNoWriMo is to just keep writing. NaNoWriMo’s point is to produce a first draft, not a brilliant masterpiece. Sit down and write, every day, and fifty thousand words or not, you’ll be somewhere you weren’t a month before. Aside “just keep writing,” here are six tips for staying on track.
Throughout the month of October, I’ll be posting a few blogs about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which is in November. As I had such a positive experience last year, I’ll be talking about why I recommend it and how to survive it. #WhyNaNo
This question propelled me into NaNo last year. In college, I said that I would write a book before I turned 25. As that birthday approached, I realized I had done nothing to try to obtain that goal. NaNo seemed like as good a way as any to write a novel.
And honestly, it’s just 30 days. That’s what I told myself. If this goes horribly wrong and I hate it, what have I lost? A few evenings and weekends in one month? I figured that was a small price to pay to see if I could accomplish something I’d always wanted to try.
If you read my post on starting July Camp NaNoWriMo, it exudes energy, ambition, and confidence. Maybe it’s because I completed April Camp NaNoWriMo, or because I was successful with writing almost every day over the first part of the summer. I was on fire, y’all.
And then, well, the fire died.
After participating in NaNoWriMo in November, I wasn’t sure if I would also gather ’round for their “camp” sessions, which are less structured, and can have any target word count. I thought I should save up that kind of marathon energy for a once-a-year event.
By the time April rolled around, though, I knew a deadline was all that was going to motivate me to knock out some crucial scenes for the novel I started in November. I figured, why not just a little campfire story? Surely I can work time for that into my schedule. (And maybe sneak in a few chocolates and marshmallows while “camping out” with @NaNoWordSprints, my favorite writing prompt buddies!) So I set a small goal of 10,000 words, which I handily achieved.
By the numbers, I didn’t “win” NaNoWriMo. I didn’t clinch the prize of having a draft filled with 50,000 words, and I certainly do not have a document that is in any way ready for publishing. But, I feel like I won. I attempted something that I would have typically considered impossible, and just the fact that I was able to get somewhere with it … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2013: I feel like a winner!
If you’ve ever competed in a sport, you probably know that your body can surprise you sometimes, especially when you push it to the limit and a prize is in sight. Writing sprints are no different from a physical sprint. It’s just for your brain. You tell your brain, “Hey, guess what? We’re gonna go FULL POWER NONSTOP and see what happens!” At first, your … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2013: Sprints can surprise you
I don’t often get motivated enough to write in my spare time like I dream of doing in my head. In order to put an end to that, I’ve finally decided (after many years of saying “next year”) to dive into NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month. This is also how I intend to honor a promise I made to myself in college as an … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2013: I’m doing it!
Booked & Ready 