As a novice writer and a complete beginner in the world of novel writing, NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – was a welcoming community and the boost I needed to complete my very first full-length draft.
I stumbled upon the idea of joining when I was lazily flicking through blogs and tweets online. Something clicked for me - I thought committing myself to writing every day for 30 days might help. I had in the past tried my hand a creative writing, getting 20,000 words or so into a story idea. Then returning to it a few months later, struggling to get back into the groove of writing and connecting with my characters again. So I resolved to join NaNoWriMo and write every single day for a month. The effects of that decision was so rewarding that I joined again the next year and why I am now planning for my 3rd stint with NaNo this year.
NaNoWriMo offers a community of friendly fellow writers who are there to help you. Suddenly there is a support system, there are friends to lean on, people to bounce ideas off and NaNoWriMo will also send you friendly words of encouragement straight to your inbox, pep talks from highly esteemed published writers are posted on the site and there is a world of resources in that community.
I definitely felt in my first year that I was spurred on by the sense of accountability. I had made the pledge to write 50,000 words in 30 days and had truly embraced the ‘write now and edit later’ mentality. Go forth with your story and focus on progressing it further, don't get crippled by your need to edit as you go. The result was remarkable from someone who had not gone far past the 20,000 mark. I had suddenly produced 80,000 in 30 days (the quality of which can be debated). The excitement did not die down and I steamed through a rough first edit in December.
The first edit made me realise two things. Firstly, I'm a planner to the point where I don't want to go back and make any large structural changes to the timeline of my story. Secondly, the quantity element of NaNoWriMo challenge had left me with a lot of fluff - pretty descriptions that could have been delivered with more punch and that were often unnecessarily long. It was a good exercise in showing me what I could do if I really put my mind to it and I am extremely proud of what I achieved - but I was also realistic about my results. I believe I can do better, which is why I went on to do NaNoWriMo last year as well.
My second year, armed with a new story idea and a new resolve - to not write lengthy chapters with long scene descriptions but focus on more concise writing that propelled the storyline forward with a quicker pace.
My second time around was another amazing year from a social point of view, making many new friends and growing in my writing. The only regret I have about last year was that I didn’t finish my story. I managed to write past the 50,000 words of the challenge. But after November my first draft has been left untouched and unfinished. When the magic of November and NaNoWriMo passed, I again found it hard to get back the sense of urgency that NaNoWriMo creates.
This year, I’m challenging myself to finish the end of last year’s story as well as writing the sequel.
Much advice can be give about what to think about when it comes to NaNoWriMo and much good advice can be taken from the pep talks on its website and from the fellow writers that you’ll meet at the social events. For me, the most important advice I could give someone is to try it. Once you get hooked into the world of NaNoWriMo you’ll find so much more than a writing challenge.
For me, NaNoWriMo takes writing from being a solitary experience into being a group activity. The first year I joined I was looking for a challenge that would keep me writing and getting me closer to my characters - but I found so much more. I found a new sense of confidence in my writing and, more importantly, I found friendships that lasted beyond the 30 day challenge.
I have been writing since my first year of NaNoWriMo in 2013 - mostly for the fun of it, out of passion for telling a story and often sporadically. My resolution for this November and beyond is to continue forward with the adventure of writing and make as many new friends as possible. Do say hello to me - you can find me on Twitter.
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