It's Almost Here: Nanowrimo!

Nanowrimo is a great way to spend your November. It’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys…although I can think of a lot of things that are more fun than a barrel of monkeys. A whole lot of things…

I digress.

Let me back up.

A few months ago, I wrote a post about developing creative habits by joining or creating a 30-day challenge (or a challenge of any length). I love participating in these kinds of challenges, even if I fail to meet my goal. It jump starts my creative energy and gets my mind moving, no matter how long I participate, be it 30 days or a measly one. When I wrote that original blog post, I said that I’d be back to talk about Nanowrimo, when the time came.

Well, the time has come. In fact, Nanowrimo is right around the corner! Between November 1 and November 30, thousands of hopeful writers of all ages will work towards a common writing goal. For adults, that goal is 50,000 words in thirty days. I have participated in Nanowrimo many times over the last 12 years. I managed to meet the 50,000 word goal three times. One year, I quit after one day and just over 200 words. A waste of my time? Never. Nanowrimo gets my mind thinking, generating story ideas and characters. It gets me to put aside my inner editor and just write…because you honestly don’t have time to overthink.

50,000 words in 30 days averages out to 1,667 words per day. If your muse is buzzing and you hit your stride, you might be able to knock that out in an hour, maybe less. If not, you could be laboring over the keyboard for a lot longer. Skip a day? There’s some catching up to do. Your inner critic, that little voice that questions every word and sits around waiting for the perfect sentence? It has no place in Nanowrimo. The pace of writing shuts it out. And it’s such an amazing and freeing experience. This allows you to simply create, to simply allow the thoughts and ideas within you flow out onto the page (or screen).

Will you have a novel by the end? Will you be contacting agents and getting ready to publish? No. But it doesn’t matter. If what you’ve written is good, if you like what you read, keep going with it. Edit it. Make it something that you can send out into the world. If not, put it away and allow the feeling of accomplishment to wash over you. Think about what you achieved in 30 days, whether it’s great writing or not. You committed to creating daily (or very nearly). What if you didn’t finish? Do you cry in the corner? Of course not! You tried. You got some words down on a page. You have an idea that you could work on when you’re more motivated. The fact that you tried is worth everything. You stepped out, gave it a go. That’s the ultimate goal.

If you love to write, Nanowrimo is a great time. If you’ve always thought of writing, but never felt quite confident, quite ready to put your ideas and feelings into words, Nanowrimo is a fantastic push forward. There is a whole community of people doing the very same thing as you at the very same time. There are regional groups that actually meet and write together. There are message boards to talk with other writers, share ideas, commiserate when the going gets tough, cheer each other on when the end draws near and those last thousand words just seem like too much.

Head on over to Nanowrimo.org if you want to learn more or sign up. It’s nearly November, but there’s still time to sign yourself and your future novel up for the challenge. There’s still time to think of ideas, develop a character or two, imagine a world or scenario you’d like to explore. My daughter and I will both be participating this year, though she’ll be working through the Young Writer’s Program. That program allows children to participate in the fun by creating their own age-appropriate writing goals. It’s crazy, hectic, wordy fun. Care to join us?