Before NaNoWriMo

Don’t you just love a challenge? Well I suppose really it depends on the nature of the task in hand. If it’s physical violence you can count me out straight away. If it’s a crossword or a puzzle of some nature bring it on. But what if it’s a challenge that you want on the one hand to embrace and on the other to run away from, a very long way away from. Such for me is the nature of NaNoWriMo.

NoNoWriMo Shield
I'm loving the steaming
mug of coffee

For those who don’t know, this is an abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. It happens in November and has done for several years now. The aim is to write the first draft of a novel. The target fifty thousand words. To save you doing the calculation I can tell you that equates with 1,666 words a day, every day. Take a day off and you have to make up the shortfall, though to prevent this happening it’s better if you can stack some extra words away in the first few days. Much easier than having a deficit and trying to catch up.

My first attempt at this challenge was in 2012 and I reached over thirty-seven thousand words before having to withdraw for personal reasons. I am happy to say that the book I began then went on to be published…eventually. There are many helpful pointers on the website https://nanowrimo.org/about so if you too like a challenge I’m throwing down the gauntlet. It focuses the mind and the feeling of achievement is well worth the effort involved.

If, like me, you write by the seat of your pants, with maybe just a few notes and pointers, then NaNoWriMo will suit you down to the ground. I have done some plotting but it isn’t detailed so perhaps I’ve got to the stage where I fall between two stools – neither plotter nor pantser but something somewhere between the two. There isn’t really time to refine the writing as you go though, as with my daily grind, I always read the previous day’s work before continuing. For one thing it takes you straight back into the plot and for another, well actually I can’t work without doing some editing as I go along.

If you are a plotter then I’ve left this post a bit late for you. However, it may be that you already have plans in place for your novel in which case go for it if you can. I only decided a week or so ago to participate again this year and I already had several commitments in my calendar for the coming month, but then it’s difficult to clear any month completely. I shall be scribbling furiously on my laptop – yeah, I know, doesn’t make sense – at every opportunity because falling behind is the one thing I really don’t want to do.

I sincerely hope that by 11.59pm on 30^th November I will have reached my goal. That is my aim but even if I don’t achieve it I expect to have a large chunk to take forward that will eventually become my next novel. I’ll let you know how I get on.