Can you believe it? October has come and gone and we have entered the month of the turkey. But alas. November is not only for gathering with loved ones and partaking in the delicious, celebratory fowl. It has also been dubbed "National Novel Writing Month," or simply known as NANOWRIMO. Before you hesitate and exclaim with extreme fervor "How is it possible to write and entire novel in one month?", let me do some explaining...
NANOWRIMO was born 17 years ago as the brainchild of a group of 21 aspiring novelists with the will to write their own novels came together and put their minds to work. After years of tweaking and deliberation, they hatched a system that has had new and experienced writers from around the world partaking in a journey filled with creativity, determination, and a slight case of carpal tunnel.
So how does it work? Well the process is incredibly simple and you don't have to be a published author to join. You might not have written a word since your high school British Literature teacher made you analyze Beowulf and Grendel's tumultuous relationship...in the dreaded five paragraph format (insert Hollywood damsel scream here).
Your first step is to go onto the official NANOWRIMO website at nanowrimo.org and join via their application process. After that, the rules are pretty simple: accomplish writing 50,000 words in 30 days. If that intimidates you, that's completely normal. However, it's a lot less anxiety inducing if we break it down. Think about it in terms of a word count per day: if you attempt to write at least 1700 words a day, you are golden! Yes, that is still a large amount of content, but once you get in the groove of writing your novel, you might even surpass that word count.
What's that? You're unsure of what to write? YOU ARE NOT ALONE. That is why the people at NANOWRIMO have created this community based project online so you can gather tips and inspiration from other writers who have participated in the challenge before. Writing a novel isn't easy, but everyone embarking on this adventure can make it a whole lot less complicated if they work together and share their own experiences.
Lastly, a couple tips to help you along the way. One critical piece of advice is to stop yourself from editing your work as you write. I know it's tempting, believe me! But in order to keep your thoughts processes flowing consistently, you must fend off any interruptions that might halt that momentum. Which also means you should try to find a quiet, distraction-free environment that will allow your imagination to flow with no problem.
However, the most important rule is to enjoy yourself and have fun. NANOWRIMO is an opportunity to let your imagination loose and unlock that creative potential that has been waiting to come through. The opportunity awaits, all you have to do is seize it.
What are you waiting for?
