NaNoWriMo

Many folks are naturally creative and love to find outlets for that creativity. I love to write, as evidenced by this blog, and I also really enjoy reading, as evidenced by the 24 boxes of books I have in my house, not counting what I have on my 3 floor to ceiling bookshelves. My husband seems to thing I have a problem but really, my only problem is that I need more bookshelves. I read almost every night. Reading and life give me ideas all the time. I write about interesting concepts, I write stories, I write about adventures, and more. Hell, I write this blog!

Where am I going with this point? What is NaNoWriMo? Besides being a pretty crazy acronym, NaNoWriMo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides tools, structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds — on and off the page. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and traditionally was held in November. It has expanded so much that you can now participate in it any time you want. This is not a paid sponsorship. This is something I try to participate in every year. Sometimes it is a cookbook, sometimes it is for my Book of Shadows, and sometimes it is writing for a story I have in my head.

National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Why 50,000? This is because the average published novel generally has about 50,00 words. People have amazing writing ideas all the time but hardly ever put them down on paper. They procrastinate or just aren’t sure how or where to start. Maybe you’ve always wanted to write a novel, but could never find the time. Or you’ve tried writing novels but just can’t manage to finish them. Perhaps you’ve even completed one before, but were frustrated by how long it took you. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel.

Writing a novel alone can be difficult, even for seasoned writers. NaNoWriMo’s official website helps you track your progress, set milestones, connect with other writers in a vast community, and participate in events that are designed to make sure you finish your novel. NaNoWriMo tracks words for writers like Fitbit tracks steps. All with that end goal of 50,000.

It’s hosted authors drafting novels like Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder. Once a writer (or soon-to-be writer!) signs up on the site, they can participate in o a variety of ways. Write on your own timeline, set independent writing goals and work at your own pace with the exquisite pressure of an ambitious deadline and enthusiastic community egging you on. Set an official challenge goal during NaNoWriMo in November or Camp NaNoWriMo in April or July. If you reach your word-count goal, you can access a special winner page with sponsor offers and more. Not only that, you have the joy of finally having finished writing that novel you always wanted!

It forces you to simply sit down, turn off your inner editor, and work. The practice of writing so much so fast can really improve your craft (even if it doesn’t always feel that way). NaNoWriMo turns a solitary struggle into a collective event; not only will you enjoy the camaraderie of fellow participants, but you’ll also learn from this knowledgeable writing community!

This doesn’t have to just be for adults either. Writing is an important part of our daily lives. It is, however, a difficult skill to learn and master. Whether students are writing by hand or on the computer, many assignments and exams require students to write short answers or longer essays as a way of assessing what they have learned. As children get older, they will be expected to show more sophisticated writing skills, and to complete more sophisticated tasks through their writing. In addition, many colleges and universities require students to write essays as part of their admissions application.

Many people find writing to be therapeutic, and a helpful way to express feelings that cannot be expressed so easily by speaking. Encouraging your child to develop strong writing skills at a young age, and to become a better writer as they get older, can have a lifelong positive impact on their writing, and may make writing an easier and more enjoyable process in the future. Every writer should set a unique word-count goal for themselves, taking into account writing experience, schedule, and enthusiasm.

Totaling at 50,000 is quite a lot of words to put out. Writing enough words to create an entire novel is a lot, however there are many enjoyable short stories that are 20,000 to 30,000 words long as well. I encourage new writers and educators to adjust word-count goals throughout the process. If it is becoming difficult to meet that daily goal, lessen the amount of words. There are days that it is incredibly difficult to write and others when I knock out 3,000 words without effort. Every person is different!

The NaNoWriMo formula to determine your word count goal is pretty simple. Write at a normal pace for the same amount of time you plan on writing every day.When time is up, check your word count for that session.Multiply that word count by how many days you’re going to write in November. So, if you’re going to write at home every day, that might be 30 days. If you’re only writing in a classroom for several weeks, that might be just 10-15 days.Your test session’s word count x Number of writing days = Your word-count goal! This could be anywhere from 500 words all the way up 50,000 words.

A young child can’t be expected to write an entire in depth novel and an unpracticed adult cannot be expected to magically have well thought out incredibly in depth ideas. Some of your writing can even include the planning process or it could be just an outline to start. Once you have a 400 word outline, add more information from there. Add details and characters and fill in the story as you go. This is actually how I write. I have the story in my brain and I write out a one sentence at a time outline working my way through the next two chapters or so. This way I have the next movement of the scene at the bottom of the page I am writing on to inspire where I my current writing will head.

Starting after midnight on November 1, writers begin drafting a new novel (or a fresh rewrite of an old one) and attempt to finish by the end of the month. Planning and outlining beforehand are allowed and even encouraged, but continuing a current work-in-progress is not officially sanctioned by NaNoWriMo — though plenty of writers bend the rules to suit their needs. The challenge ends at 11:59 pm on November 30. Anyone who completes it is considered a winner.Winners are given digital banners and certificates to display if they choose — and winners’ T-shirts are available for purchase. But most importantly, you’ll have a brand-new draft of a novel, and the satisfaction of knowing that you rose to the challenge.

I’ve always participated unofficially just using a word document until last year. Now I want to keep holding myself accountable and putting my ideas on paper. The first draft doesn’t have to be good. It just needs to be written! It is hard to edit nothing. I plan to participate again this year and wanted to invite the community to join me! If you have a story you would love to put to paper, it doesn’t have to be 50,000 words, then come join me this November for a creative time participating in NaNoWriMo! My username is Lady Witch Yumiko if you want to find me and encourage me. I will be happy to encourage you all back!