November is National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. This is the second week of NaNoWriMo, and I am fighting hard to stay motivated. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words of a new or existing novel by months end. To reach this goal the writer has to write on average 1666 words a day. Thats a lot of words!
The first week I found to be REALLY easy. Each day I was looking forward to writing, and I didn’t fall behind once. In fact most of the week I was ahead of schedule. But then I had one day where I just didn’t have time to write. I was busy from sun up to sun down and before I knew it day was over and I was 1666 words behind. I havent caught up since.
I have written every day, and I have been writing a lot, but I simply am not making my word count. Currently I have 12,888 words. That means I am behind by 3,772 words. Its killing me!
On the upside my story is going VERY well. Although a few of my friends dont like that I have redefined what it is to be a Zombie. I have a feeling I am going to have a lot of people feel that way, but since I am making it all up as I go along I figure I will stay with it.
Also known as NaNoWriMo is in November. I will be participating this year, and am really excited to see what I can create by months end.
Curtosy of the NaNoWriMo website.
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.
In 2009, we had over 165,000 participants. More than 30,000 of them crossed the 50K finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.
So, to recap:
What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month’s time.
Who: You! We can’t do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let’s write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.
Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era’s most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.
When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.
Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!
