The countdown has begun! Are you ready for action? Ready to make a commitment to finally writing that novel of yours? Are you ready to finally make that story in your head a reality? November kicks off National Novel Writing Month and it is the perfect opportunity for new and old writers alike to stop thinking about their novels and put their ideas on paper.
Some of you may be asking, “What is this NaNoWriMo?” Well, it’s a crazy little idea that turns dreams into reality. I know it sounds too good to be true but it is true. NaNoWriMo is a mad dash, a sprint to finish your novel. You have thirty days to write as much of your novel as humanly possible. The goal is 50,000 words and… Waitwaitwait! Wait! That number might seem outrageous and impossible, but it is not. Trust me. I’ve been in your shoes before.
So here is the deal, I was a young dreamer once. I thought to myself “Oh if only I had the time to write out my novel, but alas I am overwhelmed with life!” One of my friends told me of NaNoWriMo and I thought it was too crazy to be real. I believed that I would never write anything close to 50,000 words in a month! The first two novels I had attempted on my own took ages to write! Besides, at the time I was dealing with a pretty big writing slump, a social life, and a job. I did it anyways, heck it’s only a month. It’s free. It’s inspiring. Who knows maybe I would like it. So, on November 1st of 2012 I sat down to write my very first WriMo project.
That first WriMo novel was what I needed to kick start a new writing project. One that took me another few months to complete. When the dust settled sometime around January, I held in my hands a small part of me, a story only I could tell. It took almost everything I had to write it, and I was proud of what I had created. I’ve been back almost every year since.
That first year was a struggle. As time went on I found that the key to success was consistency. Every day I set aside one hour, a single TV show, to write my story. Some days I would blow right past the recommended word count (1,666 words per day.) Other days I hardly registered more than a few hundred words. I stuck to it though. Each day I would write for an hour (sometimes more) and dutifully log in my word count, watching the little tracking bar go up and up and up. I was very motivated by that little bar! Even if I didn’t hit my daily total, every little bit was progress. I inched my way forward, one day at a time. The closer that little bar got to the top, the more determined I became to see this thing through. I did it. I accomplished the impossible and you can too.
The thing I love most about NaNoWriMo is not the challenge (and it is a challenge). It’s the fact that we are all in this together. Regardless of if you are a new writer working on your very first novel or if you are an old hat at this, NaNoWriMo is the same for everyone. We all have the same goal. We all have the same constraints. We are all up against the same clock, and she doesn’t care if we write in ten minute sprints, or an unrestrained flood of thought. She doesn’t care if this is our first novel or our fifteenth. She doesn’t care if you can type 300 words a minute or 30. At the end of November all that matters is that you cross that finish line, 50,000 words in tow. You can do that! But first you need to give yourself the chance! Sign up today and clear out a portion of your calendar. Grab your snacks and your comfy writing slippers and get your fingers and thinking caps ready! It’s time to finally stop thinking about your book! It’s time to write!