NaNoWriMo: Write with Abandon! (Hannah)

Now that the Relationships Beyond Romance series is over, I can finally talk about an event that has become an annual tradition for me: NaNoWriMo!  If you know other writers, you might be familiar with "NaNo."  If not, let me introduce you!

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It started when twenty-one twenty-something year olds decided to try writing a novel in a month.  Seventeen years later, it is an international nonprofit that encourages people young and old, from all walks of life, to try writing a novel.  And not just try, either.

NaNoWriMo officially takes place during the month of November.  It follows two main rules.  1) In order to complete the challenge, you must write 50,000 words during the month of November, and 2) you must write a draft of a novel - no revising, no editing, no poetry, no short stories, etc.  The important element is 50,000 words.  In one month.  Not an easy task!  But don't be daunted - it is completely doable, and well worth it.

50,000 words sounds like a lot, but it only comes out to 1,667 words per day.  Most people can type around 1,000 words in an hour, so even if you work slowly, its only two hours in a day.  However, I won't lie to you - NaNoWriMo is hard.  This is a good thing.  Difficulty pushes us to grow and improve, and step outside of our comfort zones.  That is what happened to me.

My First Attempt

In 2012, I attempted my very first NaNoWriMo.  As a young teenager, I should have participated in the Young Writers Program, which is designed for students and allows you to set your own goal.  But it was my first year, and I didn't even know the Young Writers Program existed.  I did some preparation beforehand, and on the first day, I sat down at my computer to write the first words of my very first novel.

I failed.  As you can see, I barely broke 15,000 words - painfully short of my 50,000 word goal.  Despite my disappointment, I had nevertheless discovered a nugget of gold: my passion for writing.  My first foray into the world of novel writing awakened my love of novel-writing, but it had also shown me how far I had to go and what I needed to do to become the writer I wanted to be.  The next year, I spent October preparing my story: character profiles, setting descriptions, and some plot notes were right there with me for the first day of NaNo.  But more importantly, I had two intangible elements that would keep me going: the sting of defeat from the year before, and the knowledge that I loved writing. No matter what, I was determined to make 50,000.

My Second Attempt

Throughout November, my story meandered, my progress fluctuated depending on my mood, schedule, and inspiration.  Nevertheless, just hours before midnight on November 30th, I validated my word count and officially completed NaNoWriMo: I had hit 50,000 words.

I am now a five-year NaNo veteran, and it has changed me.  I am fully convinced that even if you think your story is no good, no one will ever read it, or you are not meant to be a writer, if you think there is any possibility you would like to write a story, try.  It can't hurt, right?  You might discover - like I did - that writing is something you would like to do all year long.

The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it forces you to write with abandon.  You don't have time to agonize over word choices, contemplate your plot, edit endlessly, or worse, daydream.  Writing this quickly means you have to write whatever comes to mind.  This is often called "pantsing," or writing by the seat of your pants.  Explore new ideas!  Try new things!  See where your writing takes you.

Another benefit of having to write quickly over a long period of time is you get so caught up in the story that ideas flow like water from a broken dam.  Words pour out and sweep you along.  You know how you get so drawn into a good book that you can barely put you down and it thrills you with possibility and mystery?  Writing is like that, only it isn't someone else's story.  It's yours.  There is no feeling like being caught in your own story, and that is an experience I would recommend to anyone.

NaNo isn't just a challenge, though.  At the website, there are forums for questions, advice, procrastination, fun, and more.  There is a way to track your word count day-by-day, see how much you need to write per day to finish on time, and see a handy chart of your progress (you can see mine above).  They have a store with neat merchandise, and they have a message system so that you get pep talks and news every week.  The whole site is set up to build community and encourage participants.  You should check it out!

But Wait - There's More!

If November is a bad time for you - it is for most people, including me - there is another option.  Camp NaNoWriMo is there for you!  Camp is less rigid than the normal NaNo, and there are three great benefits:

1) It takes place during April and July, usually much less hectic months than November.
2) You get to set your own word count goal and work on any project - revision, editing, short stories, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, or anything else you can imagine.
3) You are placed into a "cabin," which is a 12-person (or fewer) mini-chatroom where you can track each other's progress and easily talk to each other.  You can choose to join a public cabin sorted by project or genre, or you can create your own private cabin and invite only your friends.  Last year, two of my friends and I had a private cabin and it was a blast.  It would be fantastic to have other blog readers join us, but I will talk more about that as Camp approaches.

If you feel like November NaNo is not for you, I would encourage you to try the more laid-back and community-focused Camp NaNo.

Why are you telling me about an event in November?  That's more than a month away!

Right... But even though NaNo officially takes place during November, many people - including me - like time to plan out what they are going to write beforehand.  Also, there are plenty of resources available throughout October for any aspiring novelist.  If you are interested in some of these, check out these links:

Note, offsite links may contain a couple of minor curse words.  It is the Internet, after all.  Nevertheless, I thought these and other links were valuable enough to post anyway.

• NaNoWriMo Prep Forum
• 30 Days of Worldbuilding
• Inspirational NaNoWriMo Stories
• How NaNoWriMo Works
• Official NaNo Prep Resources
• Outlining for NaNoWriMo - Or Any Other Month
• 6 Tasks to Check Off Your "To Do Before NaNoWriMo" List
• 7 Ways to Use NaNo to Make You a Better Writer All Year Long
• 7 Ways to Keep Writing During NaNoWriMo
• How to Win NaNo Using Doable Daily and Weekly Goals

I will be expanding this list as I find prep resources over the next few weeks until November.  Also, don't forget to check out my NaNo Prep series throughout October, and the NaNo Tips series in November!  I will be adding links as the posts go up.

NaNo Prep: Character Resources
NaNo Prep: Setting Resources
NaNo Prep: Plot Resources


NaNo Tips: Give Your Story a Chance
NaNo Tips: What Helps You Focus?
NaNo Tips: My NaNo Journey


Have you ever wanted to write a story but didn't know how to start, felt inadequate, or felt too busy?  Is NaNoWriMo a challenge you would like to attempt?  Does Camp seem like a better time to dip into the writing world?  Would you be interested in being part of a cabin with other blog members and readers?  Let us know what you think!

~ Hannah

Attributions
All images were taken from the NaNoWriMo website.