Some of you may have heard of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It's an event where writers challenge themselves to write 50,000 words in the month of November. I've participated in it the last five years, although, I've only met the word goal twice (last year and the year before).
Here's the link to the NaNoWriMo website. NaNoWriMo also hosts events like Camp NaNoWriMo that takes place in July.
It's quite the experience. I enjoy the motivation that comes with trying to write such a large number of words before a deadline.
Now, I know what you're thinking. This is June, not November. Well that's exactly the point.
While it's not connected to NaNoWriMo, myself and some of my friends (also writers) have decided to make June another month during which to write 50,000 words.
This means a word count of at the very least about 1,667 words per day in order to get the word count by the end of the month. It's generally easier to manage the word count in June, since it's not during the school year. This usually means either finishing earlier or longer novels. Because we usually work on only one novel during this month and focus all 50,000 words on that particular work.
Writing 50,000 words in one month definitely takes both practice and commitment. You have to pace yourself and make enough time for all of that writing. Let me tell you, it's not easy. But I feel like it's well worth the effort. You're left with a huge sense of accomplishment by the end of the month, even if you didn't make all 50,000 words. You still buckled down, gave it your best shot and did quite a lot of writing.
I will offer a few bits of advice for getting through all 50,000 words, though. Even if you're a "pantser" (if you're unfamiliar with that, it means that you do almost zero planning for your novel), you definitely need to do at least a little bit of plotting. I'm a "pantser" myself, and plotting at least a few chapters ahead as I go tends to get me through the novel. I also find that it improves the quality of the story, as well. So even the tiniest little bit of plotting gives you a win-win situation.
Another tip is to get to know your characters well before you start your novel. If you already know at least the main characters, then it will make writing them so much easier. Plus it'll make any reactions they have more realistic. Also, any character development that takes place will be so much more believable if you already knew them well when you first started writing them.
These tips, of course, apply to NaNoWriMo, as well as any other month during which you decide to brave writing 50,000 words.
Happy writing!