NaNoWriMo is Coming… (but) I Don’t Know if 50K is my Goal
5 Ways to Still Benefit from the November Writing Challenge
For the past three years, November has meant one thing in my house: I was writing a total of 50,000 words. I would be unavailable to my family, most of the housework and I’d be at the library, away from my mom and the dogs.
During two of those three years, I took the 50K crown and felt amazing about it. I love writing and knowing that I could produce that much within 30 days always left me exhilarated. It left me mentally exhausted and with a large stack of things to catch up on, but it also left me happy.
This year, as we’re inching closer to the midnight kickoff, I’m debating if 50K is really important to me. I’ve been discussing it with a close friend who is also a writer. She’s also a full time student, employee, new aunt and in ministry. When asked, she said that her goal was to write at least a sentence each day.
Sometimes we make a bigger deal of a challenge than what we know we need to do. We’re writers, so participating in NaNo feels normal. It can even feel slightly expected. However, there are other ways to benefit from this month-long project even if we know that winning isn’t the most important thing for us that year.
My personal focus this year is writing and publishing. Last year, I started my personal blog as my project. This year, I’m contributing to a few sites, fairly regular with writing my own two blog posts a week and of course, writing on Medium. I know a healthier goal would be to write, edit and publish at least two posts a day. To emphasize quality over quantity.
I’m signing up for NaNoWriMo on the website. This is simply as a means of keeping track of my work. If I get to 50K, I want to be able to celebrate it and enjoy the fact that I’m a three time winner (two times as a rebel). However, my focus is not going to be that exclusive number.
I don’t think that my project is too far away from the values of NaNoWriMo. However, it does bring up an interesting point. How can a writer still benefit from the spirit of NaNoWriMo when they really don’t have the 50K goal set in stone?
Make writing a daily habit
In order to win at NaNoWriMo, each person must write about 1,660 words a day. Writing more is always a great strategy to becoming a better writer. However, when we remove the 50K goalpost, it becomes more about sticking to the everyday aspect of writing.
Whether we choose to write 500 words, 1000 words or even 2,000 words each day, in order to accomplish the goal, we must make time daily to write. Therefore, it becomes a habit instead of a mad rush to the finish.
Taking the 50K challenge off might be the most beneficial thing we do for ourselves in November. However, the aspect of daily writing stays the same regardless of what goal we make.
Set a concrete goal that if deviated from, needs to be caught up
In NaNoWriMo, if we miss a day or are not on our A game, we need to find a way to catch up with the count, preferably as soon as possible. That’s why every year that I’ve won, I’ve written 5–10K words the first day. I knew that if I could get ahead, I could allow myself a few less than stellar days.
However, I don’t believe that it’s necessary to set a goal of 1660 every day if that’s not what’s in our hearts. A goal of any number of posts published or words on the page every day is still powerful.
Holding ourselves accountable to that set number per day encourages accountability and the need to catch up if we somehow fall behind. However, it feels just a little more personal since it is a self-appointed goal and not something that is arbitrary.
Participate in the write ins
Last year, I participated in my first Kick-off Dinner and two other write ins. It is deeply inspiring to meet others who are working on their goals for November.
It fostered a sense of community as we all sat typing or long-handing our work. It reminded me that I’m not alone on this writing path, that there are other people who are just as passionate about doing the work as I was.
There are also plenty of times that a write in will lead to one or more accountability partners for the remainder of the journey. It can lead to new friendships and people to reach out to when we feel stuck.
The forums on the NaNoWriMo site also offer great tricks and tips while writing. It also offers a place where thousands can gather and communicate. However, there is something that is more powerful about meeting in person.
Plus, an added bonus is seeing places in your community you never thought to go to. For me, that was the Millvale Library (which is the perfect writing oasis for me).
Write with abandon (at least the first draft)
There come multiple times while crafting a 50K masterpiece that we need to shut off the inner editor. To just get the words on the page (we can edit later). The first draft of any story or post is us telling ourselves that story. So, cut the inner critic and just write for the love of writing. Then, set it aside and come back to it in a few hours, a day, etc and edit.
Some of the most powerful work that we can do as writers happen when we gag the inner critic. In order to do that, we write without editing, without looking for perfection.
A paragraph out of our original line of thought can lead to further exploration as to what our mind was thinking. Who knows? That might actually turn into further exploration and a great piece of writing.
So actually allow yourself to write the first draft, whether or not it’s perfectly written. Don’t stop writing (one of the tenants of NaNo) and see what happens. You can always edit later.
Challenge Yourself to Try New Things
NaNoWriMo by it’s very nature encourages us to try new things as writers. It provides a one month frame work for us to be able to write our first (or next) novel but within that month it also allows us to explore something out of our comfort zone.
The new thing could be a different genre, doing a mashup of styles, being a rebel and writing 50K words of a screenplay, poetry or a mix of different things. It can also be a great time to try out a different venue for writing or to get a massive project off the ground.
This November, try something out of your comfort zone, whether a little or a lot.
Have at least one buddy who will check in with you
I’ve covered this a little bit while writing about write ins. However, this buddy can also be someone who is not a writer or just not participating in NaNo.
The goal of this buddy is to check in with you daily or weekly to monitor progress. Then again, if they are a writer, you can encourage one another to get the project to it’s end goal.
Conclusion
I love the concept of NaNoWriMo. I enjoy pushing myself every November to craft something that I’m proud of. However, every year is different, and sometimes we are too busy, have goals outside the lines of NaNoWriMo or just can’t see ourselves writing 50K words. By incorporating the above ideas inspired by NaNoWriMo, however, we can draft our own ways to a successful November, whether we are participating or not.
