Definition – Why NaNoWriMo Matters
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Hello Lovelies, and welcome back to the blog. Last week started the National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, and even in years where I have no specific project or aren’t wholly committed to the challenge, I often still love talking about my experiences with the entire NaNoWriMo experience. This week, I want to talk specifically about why I loveNaNoWriMo so much. Let’s get started.
What is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is a challenge that takes place every year throughout the entire month of November. Writers attempt to start a new novel or project on November 1st and write a novel during the month. A novel, for the challenge’s purpose, is loosely defined as 50,000 words, so the goal is to reach that amount of new words written before the challenge closes on December 1st at Midnight.
What Makes NaNoWriMo Important?
While there are undoubtedly a lot of great reasons to try to write 50,000 words in a month, I can only talk about my own experience here. What exactly makes NaNoWriMo so important to me, and why do I keep talking about it year after year?
- I’ve Finished Many Manuscripts by Completing a NaNoWriMo. I mean, wow. Starting out of the gate with an absolute banger, am I right? I used to start and stop projects multiple times when they got difficult, and never finish a thing. My first ever NaNoWriMo was the first time I actually had to focus on a project and see it through, and it became the first of many manuscripts that I was able to finish while participating in NaNoWriMo. I’vee been a participant since 2014, and though some years I’ve won, and others I’ve lost, NaNoWriMo is honestly fun no matter the outcome.
- Huge Productivity Boost. For a lot of people trying to become full time writers, 1667 words per day is a significant increase in the amount of productivity that they have during the month. I have heard of other November challenges including writing every day, one poem a day, and revision challenges. Many writers use NaNo month to work on multiple projects, and you shouldn’t be afraid to have several of them in the wings if you think you will need them to get your word counts in. It is critical to remember that even if you hate every bit of what you’re writing at the moment, you wrote new words that probably won’t be that bad once you look them over tomorrow, and all of them count toward your word count for the day.
- But Did You Die? What’s the most glorious thing about doing NaNoWriMo? For so many of us out there, we are writing on our lunch breaks. We are squeezing words in while we sit at the kiddos baseball practice, or taking that one hour before the day starts to get our words in. If I make 600 words in an hour, I’m doing really well. NaNo is HARD. Like, really, really hard. When you are already trying to fit writing into your already crazy work schedule and life, with holidays, family gatherings, retail being nuts, and school and work projects coming due near the end of the year, there is no worse time for NaNoWriMo. Squeezing your schedule so that you can wrangle out time for 1667 words per day is no small challenge when you’re only making 600 words at most like me. But it’s a thrill. And more than that, it’s a challenge that, if completed, can make me feel awesome for the rest of my year.
Next Week
Next week, we are continuing to talk about the National Novel Writing Month. I hope you are doing well and writing all the words! Stay tuned for more on NaNoWriMo, coming your way throughout November!
Discussion Questions
- How do you prepare for NaNoWriMo season?
- Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Why or why not?
- Have you participated in NaNoWriMo in years before, and if so, what was your favorite part of participating?
- What winner goodies are you most looking forward to nabbing this year?
- What writing questions would you like to have me answer in a blog post or podcast episode?
Leave your answers in the comments section for this post!
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