In just a few more days, it’ll be November. Aside from the autumn leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, or even Thanksgiving, November is best known by writers for one thing: NaNoWriMo. But NaNoWriMo is so much more than just a monthly writing challenge. If you’re aiming to build your writing practice for the year to come, here’s how to use NaNoWriMo to help.
National Novel Writing Month started in 1999 when founder Chris Baty was told that it was impossible to write a novel in a month. Now most often abbreviated to NaNoWriMo — or even more conveniently, simply NaNo — it has grown over the course of 20 years to become a world-wide celebration of novel-writing. Every year, it attracts a range of word enthusiasts from first time writers to published authors. Over the month of November, local branches organize communal write-ins. Of course, everyone caffeinates furiously.
It’s amazingly fun, but if you’re a word-addict, then there’s no reason the excitement and noveling have to end come December. In fact, if you’re serious about shifting your writing habit into high gear, then NaNoWriMo is just the beginning. Here are three tips for using the month-long challenge to build a year-long practice that will keep you writing well into the future.
1: THE KEY TO NANOWRIMO: JUST KEEP WRITING
Let’s get one thing straight: 50,000 words in thirty days is an ambitious goal. While it is entirely doable, it’s definitely not easy. Hence the “challenge” part of writing challenge.
But one of the best things about NaNoWriMo is that it provides participants with the tools to face that challenge head on. Daily goals, progress trackers, accountability and milestones are all part of the package, not to mention prompts and inspiration. When you break it down, as they do on the NaNoWriMo website, 50,000 words over the month of November is really just 1,667 words per day.
For most of us, that’s still a ton. But, if you’re looking to sustain your writing in the long term, then at the very least it means that you’ve got a concrete goal to reach. Every day, you just have to sit down and write to your word count. And even if you don’t hit your goal every day, guess what happens when you train yourself to sit down and write every day for 30 days?
Chances are, on day 31, you’re going to find it a lot easier to sit down and write. For me, this has been the number one thing about NaNoWriMo that keeps me coming back. Though my daily writing practice may slip over the months, especially when it comes time to redraft or edit, November always gives me a chance for a reset. It’s the opportunity to just sit down and write, as much as I can, every single day. The 50,000 word skeleton draft of a new novel is just icing on the cake.
If you’re having trouble getting started, then here are some tools to get you to just write. Butt in chair and fingers on keyboard, or pen in hand.
- Write or Die – if you’re struggling to find motivation to write, this website gives you a simple choice….
- 4theWords – if you’re looking for a fun way to gameify your writing experience, they usually provide a free trial during NaNoWriMo.
- TVTropes Generator – which not only gives you the twists and character types to use, but explains and explores various tropes with examples
2: IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE, TAKE A BUDDY
Everyone knows that writing can be a very lonely profession. Still, anyone who has been writing for a while can tell you how important critique partners, writing buddies, and beta readers are. They help you keep up motivation and make your work the best it can be. While writers may work alone, no writer creates anything in a vacuum.
NaNoWriMo is the ultimate chance to meet like-minded wordsmiths, both online and IRL. The NaNoWriMo community is one of the most open and friendly writing communities I have ever had the honor of joining. Over the course of three international moves, it wouldn’t be going too far to say that NaNoWriMo has even, on occasion, saved my (non-writing) social life.
Take advantage of the write-ins run by your local liaisons. It’s the number one thing you can do to ensure you’ll have writing cheerleaders for the rest of the year. And who knows? You might even make the sort of writing friendships that last a lifetime.
3: EVEN THE ADRENALINE DOESN’T HAVE TO END IN DECEMBER
When December dawns and you’ve finalized your November word count, when you face the daunting prospect of redrafting and editing the 50,000 word monstrosity that you’ve created, when Christmas carols start haunting your every waking moment and the prospect of a year until the next NaNoWriMo stretches, bleakly, before you — take heart! There are a whole host of writing challenges to fill the NaNoWriMo-shaped hole in your soul.
For one thing, you’re definitely going to want to edit that draft. (Because of course, there’s more to writing a novel than putting 50,000 words on paper!) But even that can be a challenge rather than a slog. Check out this month-long editing challenge, which promises to bring your manuscript to a whole new level.
- The 31 day editing challenge – a editing resource for writers looking to improve their work
If you just want to keep the words flowing, though, there’s a few other challenges that continue all year long. Imagine writing 300,000 words in a year! It’s definitely doable, though how many novels you’ll get out of it rather depends…
- 750 words a day – exactly what it says on the tin
- Write Year – because November only comes but once a year
- CampNaNo – a choose your own adventure setup from the people who bring you NanoWriMo
Finally, novels don’t have to be your only outlet. If you’re a die-hard wordsmith looking to expand your range across all media and forms, it’s definitely worth your time to join these challenges. They span the range from poetry to twitterature:
- Worldbuilding challenge
- NaPoWriMo Poetry month
- Blogging challenges such as this one
Have you signed up for NaNoWriMo? How are you planning to hit those wordcounts? I’d love to hear what you’re aiming to work on this November. So let me know in the comments how you’re using NaNoWriMo. Or let’s connect on nanowrimo.org! Remember: just keep writing. And if you’d like some accountability on your writing journey, or help with your draft after it’s done, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
