What Is NaNoWriMo & How Do You Take Part?
Every year on the first of November, if you listen very carefully, you’ll hear the frantic tapping of keys. It echoes around the globe. Writers from all stages of the writing journey unite for one month and share a single goal – to write a 50,000-word manuscript in thirty days!
What an adventure.
What a challenge!
It is called NaNoWriMo.
What is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month.
It started back in 1999 in the States and has grown into a vast community. It’s a non-profit organisation, with the sole aim of helping you to tell your story. The challenge is to write 1,700 words a day, every day for a month. A big part of NaNoWriMo is about recording your progress. It's about attending/reading online ‘pep talks’ to help your motivation. At its heart, though, NaNoWriMo is all about the ethos of fun! It promotes writing fast and editing later.
The NaNoWriMo website updates every time a community member completes a novel. It is currently showing 367,913 novels completed! How incredible is that?
There are a few rules:
Only words you write in November count.
One author writes the words.
You must write fiction.
Should You Take Part In NaNoWriMo?
Writing a novel in a month might not be for everyone. But, there are lots of benefits to taking part and saying ‘yes’ to the challenge!
First, it gets you writing! Writing is tacit knowledge, so the more you write, the better you’ll get!
Second, it builds excellent writing habits. If you can write each day for a month, you can do it for six weeks, two months or half a year!
Third, it helps you get that first draft out of your head and down on paper. Often that first draft is the hardest. Sometimes called the ‘trash draft’ or ‘zero drafts’, it can be a battle against your inner editor to get it out on the page. Writing at pace and with specific targets, forces ignoring that internal editor. It helps us to power through.
Top Tips for A Successful NaNoWriMo
1. Plan your story.
If you fail to plan, then plan to fail! We like free-writing and seeing where the page takes us. But when you are ‘in the zone’ for thirty days, you will run out of material. You’ll struggle to get past the 10,000-word mark. You might even find yourself repeating ideas or running out of steam. Outline your story, and plan out your timeline, and it will help you structure your writing.
2. Plan your writing routine.
Writing around 1,700 words a day is no easy feat. You need to schedule your writing time; otherwise, it won’t happen! Make a plan for every day in November. When will you write, where will you write, and for how long?
3. Ask friends to help keep you accountable.
Tell your friends or partner what you are doing and ask them to check in on your targets. It will help you work towards your goals when someone is checking in on you.
4. Track your progress!
It is so important you track the progress of your work. You could do this in a Word document, on a calendar, or even in some fun and creative ways. Think post-it notes or rewards? When you track progress towards your goals, it helps you see how far you’ve come. It helps motivate you to move forward.
Is It Possible To Write A Novel In a Month?
Some fantastic books have been born during NaNoWriMo. The most famous is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It became a film with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson! You can check out some more great NaNoWriMo novels in this article, too.
There is a lot of power in setting a writing goal, making a plan, and committing to the process. It is possible for you to complete NaNoWriMo! But even if you don’t reach the full 50,000 words, anywhere near that total would be impressive, don’t you think?
We want to help you reach your 50,000-word total. So we’ve set up various courses and workshops to give you the best possible chance of achieving your goals. Whether it’s targets and book outlines for your novel writing challenge or understanding how to set up a routine and record your progress – we can help.
We’d love to know if you will be joining NaNoWriMo - Send us a message now!
Write Your Novel With Us
Everyone has a book in them. Will this be the year you finally write yours?
We can help.
Our ‘how to write your first novel’ course is the perfect introductory course for those looking to learn how to start writing fiction. Make it the year you finally write your novel!
