For those of you who don’t know, November is National Novel Writing Month! As soon as Halloween passes, writers all over the world set off on an epic journey to write 50,000 words by the end of the month. The official website (nanowrimo.org) offers helpful tips, videos, write-ins, and pep talks from published authors. However, it takes place during one of the most stressful months of the year, as if writing a novel wasn’t difficult enough on its own. Fortunately, we have plenty of things to distract us when we get too stressed out (unfortunately, we also have plenty of things to help us procrastinate…). One of those things is Netflix binges. Hey, we can’t help it if everyone on "Jane the Virgin" totally gets the struggles of NaNoWriMo!
1. Like when your professors assign you any essays at all during November.
Sorry, but everything you type for the next month is going towards your official word count.
2. Or when you start going crazy picking out names.
You started out with one name, just as a placeholder, and by the time you realize you want to change it, you’ve typed it a million times. Also, the baby-naming websites keep congratulating you.
3. When you start daydreaming, you start thinking about if/when your book will become a bestseller.
You’re going to be the next J.K. Rowling, you can feel it.
4. Or who will be cast when your book becomes a movie.
Hey, you can dream!
5. When you start planning a Really Big Scene and you realize you’ve seen it before--in just about every novel you’ve ever read.
Have you ever written a completely original thought?!
6. When you check in on your word count and realize you’re behind schedule.
You told yourself you could always write while watching "Chopped," but unfortunately, that didn't work out.
7. When your character speaks a language you’re not familiar with.
Sometimes, you have to use Google translate and hope for the best.
8. Or your novel takes place in a country you’ve never been to.
Once again, Google to the rescue!
9. When you ask someone to proofread for you and they say you use too many adjectives. Or not enough.
Really, is there such a thing as too many adjectives? (Yes. Yes there is.)
10. OR WORSE, they don’t like it!
Psh, they just don’t get how creative you are. Wait until you’re a bestseller with a movie deal. That’ll show ‘em.
11. When your friends ask if you have an outline or if you have a plot in mind at all.
Your thoughts are all over the place right now. You’ve been through tons of outlines in the first week alone. Who needs a plot? Vampire aliens fighting robot dragons isn’t good enough for you?
12. When you tell the people you live with not to let you go on Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, or Netflix until you’ve hit your word count goal for the day.
They’re a little confused, but they do it anyway.
13. When you FORGET TO SAVE.
The horror!
14. When you realize you had a backup.
Sweet relief.
15. When your professor moves a test date so you have more time to write!
Or to do actual school stuff. Or... more writing!
16. When your friends insist you have to leave your room, eat actual food, and put on actual clothes.
What do you mean, pizza isn’t a well balanced meal?
17. When you finally come up with a plot and nobody understands it.
Look, the vampire aliens fighting against the robot dragons will make sense in the end, I swear!
18. When your friends read a scene you’ve worked really hard on and they LOVE IT.
As you knew they would.
19. Then you realize you have a lot of homework to catch up on…
Priorities!
20. That great feeling when you make it to the end of November!
Even if you didn’t make it exactly to 50,000 words, you put in a LOT of hard work, and you have no intention of stopping just because November is over. You’re going to get a movie deal one day, remember?
21. Now you finally get to relax.
22. And why shouldn’t you? You wrote a freaking NOVEL. You should be proud!
23. Now you get to reread it and take out all the parts you didn’t like but kept in for the sake of word count.
24. And get ready to do it all again next November! The world needs your novel!
