November is National Novel Writer’s Month. It’s when writers commit to writing everyday for an entire month for a total of 50,000 words. It takes place in November, which is the busiest time of the year. If you can write in November, you can write anytime, right?
I’m probably not going to do it again this year, but I wanted to talk about the setback and frustrations to motivate those thinking of taking on this daunting task. It’s a great way for would-be writers to write, and it’s also a great motivator for those already committed to writing, who might be suffering setbacks.
So for those of you who haven’t started writing but really want to, I challenge you to take on the NaNoWriMo. If you don’t think you can, don’t worry about word count. Just worry about getting words on the page. Even if it’s 100 words a day, or 5 minutes a day, it’s a daily word count and you’re getting somewhere.
My first NaNoWriMo experience was the best writing experience I’ve had yet, and I still can’t think of anything that compares. Every time I’ve tried it since, I have failed pretty significantly. I was in the middle of Final Mend and wasn’t getting anywhere with it. I unofficially took on the challenge of writing NaNoWriMo and mostly wrote first thing in the morning before my brain tackled the day’s activities. The words came out. Yes, it was a crappy draft and I had to go back and edit (much much later), but I finished my story and every moment when I wasn’t writing was an idea. The news sparked my brain to use certain events (i.e. flash floods), my daily life and emotions all sparked my creativity. It was like my mind was open and accepting of every idea in ways I could turn it to fit where I was stuck in my story. I wrote in the dark as a passenger with my husband driving as we went to an early morning doctor’s appointment. I wrote whenever I had an opportunity.
I haven’t always had that kind of success story and I’m not sure I ever will again. I’ve had another romantic suspense in my head since the beginning of time and tried to finish it during NaNo many a year, but so far it just wallows on my hard drive, unfinished. I started it during NaNo one year, and then it was just a great big puzzle piece I haven’t pieced together.
Some books are better left wallowing.
I loved every moment of my experience with finishing Final Mend during NaNoWriMo. And come to think of it, I am ready to start my newest Solace Ranch novella. NaNoWriMo might be the perfect opportunity.