National Novel Writing Month is a month-long noveling contest that takes place every November. In order to win at Nanowrimo, you have to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. This means that you have to write 1,667 words minimum every day in order to hit 50,000 words by the end of the month. This event is my favorite time of the year. I look forward to November all through the year and I celebrate it like a holiday when it finally comes around.
I’ve done Nanowrimo for the last seven years and I’ve won every time, despite school, work, and every other imaginable distraction. I open with that in order to say, if I can do it, anyone can. I plan on writing another novel this November and I’m hoping to keep my winning streak going. Nanowrimo is the perfect excuse to write a novel, even if you don’t think that you can do it. I’ve compiled a few reasons that I do Nanowrimo, I hope they inspire a desire to write a novel this coming November.
- Nanowrimo is like a vacation. I’ve always loved to write, but Nanowrimo kicks that into overdrive by forcing you to work to meet a deadline. Therefore, forcing you into your very own fictional world for 30 days. To me, this is paradise. I get to live in my own world and hang out with characters that I truly come to care about by the end of the month. It’s the perfect break from real life.
- The busyness helps me get things done. My life is busy anyway, but during Nanowrimo, it gets downright crazy. Believe it or not, this makes me more inclined to keep myself organized and results in me getting more done than just noveling.
- It gives me something to look forward to every day. College is difficult and along with homework, volunteering, and work, it’s easy to get bogged down in everything you have to and honestly it’s easy to get a little miserable. With Nanowrimo, I have an excuse to set aside time every day to work on something very important to me.
- It is a great way to make friends. There aren’t a ton of people on campus that do Nanowrimo, but there is a great local chapter and there are friends to be made on the Nanowrimo Forums. I’ve made several writer friends from other countries and I would never have had the chance to meet these great people if it weren’t for Nanowrimo.
- You get to write a novel! I write novels year round, but Nanowrimo makes it a special occasion and makes me write at a faster pace than I’m used to and it gives me a deadline. Writing so much so quickly is difficult, but definitely possible and most of all, it is so rewarding. You start out the month with a handful of characters and a few scattered scenes, maybe an outline if you’re a planner, and you end with an amazing and messy brand new novel that is all your own. Even if you don’t make it all the way, you’ll learn lessons about your own writing and as long as you try, you’ll still have something to gain. Whether you make it to 50,000 words or you don’t, embarking on such a quest to begin with is something to be admired.
