Happy National Novel Writing Month – NaNoWriMo!

Happy National Writing Month! Who’s doing it this year? Filled with more than a little jealousy, I wish all you #nanowrimo writers good luck and an easy flow of words for the next thirty days!

What is National Novel Writing Month - NaNoWriMo?

For those who don’t know about this brilliant competition, writers’ charity and motivational program, NaNoWriMo encourages writers to complete a novel of 50,000 words in the calendar month of November. That means writing 1,666 words every day for 30 days.

It’s a huge marathon but, for a new author, an excellent way to establish a writing routine. To produce a substantial chunk of writing every day will get you used to putting down words on command. (Well, almost!)

For a seasoned writer, it helps you to produce a manuscript quickly with the help of your friends online and IRL (check out the Write-ins).

Something I didn’t realize when I took part in my first NaNoWriMo, is that you can make all sorts of preparations for the writing month. You can plot, establish you characters, and you can even start your manuscript before the 1st of November. As long as the only words you count are the ones written between 1-30 of the month, you are not breaking any rules.

My NaNoWriMo Experience

Tired but happy….

I did my first NaNoWriMo in 2011 and failed miserably… then a few years later I tried again. This time, the competition gave a huge boost to my confidence as a writer. It proved that I CAN write a novel in a month. After NaNoWriMo I began writing every morning, and now do that five days per week. My productivity has more than tripled since. So, even if you can’t do it one year, don’t give up! Go here to see a post I wrote about my NaNoWriMo experience.

Happy Writing!

This year I can’t take part in NaNoWriMo because of personal reasons (my dad’s funeral is next week), but I wish you all who are, happy writing! Let me know in the comments if you are one of the intrepid NaNoWriMo writers this year. And what are you plans? Wake at the crack of dawn and write before the kids wake up? Or in the middle of the night? Or are you planning to use the many writing prompts provided by the NaNoWriMo team on Twitter?

Let me know!

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