NaNoWriMo: The Words, Insanity, and Beauty
Yes, 50,000 words in 30 days is insane. That’s kind of the point.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
No, not that.
The calendar has flipped to November, which means we are now in the throes of National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo (or simply NaNo, if you’re lazy or an old-school newspaper editor worried about column space) is a challenge: write 50,000 words in 30 days. I’m a bit fuzzy on most things math, but that comes out to 1,667 words a day.
A lofty goal, yes, but not entirely unreasonable. That said, NaNoWriMo is crazy and intense and one of the best ways to establish and reinforce the habit of consistently writing. Writing daily year-round isn’t feasible for everyone, but getting in the routine of putting words on the page at regular intervals is the point.
Anything that fosters creativity and literacy is worthwhile, and having attempted NaNoWriMo every year since 2008, I can honestly say it has been a vital part of my creative journey.
In short, without NaNoWriMo, I might not be a published author.
In 2015, I used NaNoWriMo to draft Bounty, my debut novel. The following year, the month of November gave me the first draft of Behind the Badge, the third entry in the Jill Andersen series.
In 2017, Notna was my NaNoWriMo project.
I’ve used NaNoWriMo to write both Betrayal (Jill Andersen #5) and Bitter End (Jill Andersen #6). My upcoming release, Summertime, Assassins, and Other Skullduggeries, was my 2022 NaNoWriMo project.
So, if my math’s correct (a dubious notion, I admit), six of my eight published or soon-to-be-published novels started as NaNoWriMo projects. Fact is, NaNoWriMo is a boon for creativity, a month in which writers throughout the world sit at their computers or tablets or notepads and turn on the proverbial spigot.
(I suppose you could consider this a form of word vomit, but I much prefer the image of a faucet. There are drawbacks to being such a visual thinker.)
Publication’s not the point here. Countless projects birthed during the month of November never see the light of day. This isn’t National Novel Publishing Month; I like to joke that there’s National Novel Writing Month, and then there’s National Novel Publishing Year. Because what non-writers (and even some new writers) sometimes don’t get is that the first draft seldom, if ever, resembles the finished product.
The first draft is just the beginning, both in definition and in reality. If you embark on the journey to become an author, writing the story is but a small part of the process. There’s editing, revising, editing, rewriting, revising, editing, securing a cover, formatting, editing, rewriting…
Did I mention editing?
But here’s the tricky part: when writing your book, don’t think about all the other steps in the process. Because then, you run the risk of overwhelming yourself to the point where a word never gets written. Writing and publishing a book is a time-consuming, laborious task, and it can be overwhelming even to those of us who’ve done it several times before.
The trick is to ignore all the other steps until the words The End (or To Be Continued) have been typed. Focus solely on the words.
NaNoWriMo allows for that.
For the next 30 days, the only thing that matters is getting the words down. Turn off your inner editor; let the misspelled words and the plot holes go. Ignore the voice in the back of your head telling you this idea doesn’t work. Those are questions and issues to be addressed in December and January. November is all about getting the words out, putting the words down, bringing a draft into this world.
That said, if December 1 arrives and you don't reach 50,000 words, that’s okay. Because however many words you do have, that’s a lot more words than you had at the start of the month. Progress is the ultimate goal of NaNoWriMo, and any progress is good progress when it comes to any creative endeavor.
Also, 50,000 words constitutes a short novel, so chances are, you’ll hit that milestone and still have story left to tell. Both Notna and Summertime, Assassins, and Other Skullduggeries clocked in over 95,000 words, and my series books range between 60,000 and 85,000 words (depending on how much hell I decide to put my characters through).
NaNoWriMo isn’t about winning. Not in the strictest sense. Instead, it’s about fostering creativity, feeding the habit of writing, and celebrating the wonder that is the written word. In a world that doesn’t always value the art of writing (between reliance on graphics and video and books being banned left and right and the struggle to make a living through the written word), having a month completely dedicated to writing is beautiful and sorely needed.
If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo this year, may you craft many, many words. May you bring that idea that’s floated in your head for years to fruition, and may you experience the beauty that is creating and crafting, whether by yourself or in the presence of other writers.
Just don’t forget the turkey. Or the holiday gift shopping.
To learn more about National Novel Writing Month, and to make a tax-deductible donation, visit nanowrimo.org.