NaNoWriMo - A Galloping Word Count

NaNoWriMo sets writers the challenge to write 50,000 words in the month of November as they work towards a novel or substantial writing project. It's a forward march at the pace of 1667 words a day, it's hard work, it's fast paced, but it works.

Or rather it works if your goal is to end up with 50,000 words. For some writers, those like me, this process kind of goes against my grain. So, in the words of Emperor Kuzco 'it threw off my groove'. I like to edit as I go, read the previous day's work and amend that before carrying on, but as a full time worker (I was also doing a degree with the OU in that time), that's hard achieve with that daily target looming over your head. Now that I'm a mother, I dread to think how much of a mess my house would be if I signed up this year.

'Where's the baby?'

'Oh he's just over there playing with that pile of dirty washing.'

Somehow I don't think that's gonna fly. I love to write but you can only skip so many showers...

Don't get me wrong, if you're after a boot up the arse to get yourself in gear, this is definitely for you. I had never written so much as I did in that first participation year. The site also has a great sense of community, with lots of helpful blogs and local support groups. Even so, I would recommend joining with a friend so that you can bolster each other. A little bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone. 

For the process itself, I really bought into the daily writing tracker and have used one ever since when I'm working on a larger project - with adjustable targets that account for having a life outside of writing. There are several online platforms that mimic the NaNoWriMo tracker but you can also create your own in Excel. If you would like a copy of mine, feel free to message me.

When you finish it, you feel like a champ. You will swear at your computer like you're both drunk. Why not take it to the pub to celebrate? After all, that laptop is your buddy now, you've been glued to it for a month and it knows you intimately. But after that hangover subsides you need to answer some questions, the first of which is:

Now what?

Let me tell you, what I wrote was a mess. To write this post I opened up the project folder in my Dropbox and quickly hopped back out again. It's been four years since my first participation year and I am still yet to pick that project back up. Four years is a long time in the life of a writer; I'm a different person now and my style has changed. I wouldn't say I'd never touch it again but when that time comes, I'll have to be really brutal.

The second question to ask yourself is:

Do you like what you've written?

I didn't - but that was my fault because I didn't plan, so I had to stop mid-month and figure out where the plot was going. Because of that, I have a mismatched 50,000 words that are at varying levels of acceptability. You need to really like and know your story to write something this quickly and still love it at the end. Otherwise they end up a bit deformed, and no one wants a half-formed character.

So, if you're going to take part this year, approach it with an open mind. National Novel Writing Month is not just about writing a novel in a single month. It's just to get you started - the rest has to come from you. At the end of next month, you need to still have faith in your project and still love your writing, or it will go in a drawer and mock you whenever you see it.

Will I do it again? You bet I will, but not this year because it's not just about the word count, it's about the project and the timing has to hit you right. If you are one of the adventurers this year, get your plan together. Plot your story and your characters now so that you don't have to take time out of the month. Prepare to edit in December.

If you're taking part I have every faith that you can do it - good luck!

I have been writing for about ten years but it's something that has its up and downs. I have my good days where it flows so well I would quit my job and fly off into a fanciful future of books deals and associated fame. At present I am working on the final draft of my novel, Unravelling Indigo, for which I will shortly be seeking representation. I also have a website, which contains all of my smaller projects such as Science Fiction short stories, anecdotal pieces, reviews and updates on my writing process. I am new to blogging and completely addicted. It has made me value my writing and the positive feedback has really helped my self-esteem as a writer. My site views have really started to take off with my exposure to social media platforms such as Twitter, Googleplus, Digg. Reddit, and Stumbleupon.