NaNoWrimo is here!

November is
National Novel Writing Month

The first time I heard about NaNoWrimo was in October of 2018, 19 years after its debut. I came across it while searching for inspiration and upon learning about who and what they are I immediately knew I had to be a part of it.

NaNoWriMo is an online platform, and nonprofit organization, that dares writers to write 50 000 words in 30 days. Once you create your profile you join an amazing community of writers who are just as excited about the concept, and the prospects, of writing a whole novel in one month.

Becoming a Wrimo:

First you need to write your ‘about’ section, choose a list of your favorite authors and books and then create your NaNoWrimo goal. The goal entails the name of your project, how many words you are aiming for as well as the time frame for this specific project. Apart from those crucial details you can also link a playlist or even Pinterest to the project to make it a bit more interesting.
You have the ability to join writing forums and groups, as well as connect with fellow Wrimos from your region. Being able to have a community of writers at your fingertips is one invaluable resource that urges the creativity when there seems to be none left.
Apart from the community, you are also constantly rewarded with badges on the platform that helps you to stay motivated and eager.

My experience:

When I came across NaNoWriMo in 2018 I was experiencing some excessive writer’s block and had been struggling for months, unable to write even a sentence or two that seemed satisfactory. Despite being overworked and stressed at the time I thought that pushing myself to write a whole novel in one month is maybe exactly what I needed. I’ll be honest, I knew that I was not going to reach even close to 50 000 words, but I still needed to try.
I had this idea for a book in the back of my head for quite some time and immediately knew that this was going to be my November project. I poured my heart out and managed to write a whopping 2 830 words! Compared to a whole novel 2 830 does not seem like a lot, but compared to months of absolutely nothing I felt unstoppable.
That was until my laptop crashed and I lost every single magnificent word that I had carefully planned out. I cannot explain the overwhelming sense of anguish that occurred, I was not only writing a novel, but I was also studying and lost all of my notes. At that time November did not seem to agree with me, and I did not even attempt to write another word in hopes of salvaging this writing streak that I was experiencing.

Yes, I did not complete my project. But I started, I wrote, I felt emotions that were stagnant for so long. NaNoWriMo gave me that thrill I was missing, it provided me a platform for my goals. And no matter where you are in your project I think you should give NaNoWriMo a try.

My 2020 NaNoWriMo Goal:

To write 50 000 words in 30 days amounts to 1 670 words per day. In my personal writing experience I write roughly a 1000 words in a week, if even. My goal this year is simply to participate. I want to feel that excitement again, I want to know that the possibility of creating something extraordinary is there.
That’s why this year, along with vigorously backing up my work, I want to share my NaNoWriMo experience with you. I have decided that I will take a new idea, start from the very beginning and update the story onto my blog weekly. Along with posting my work on here, I will also be posting my current word count, the badges I earned and any other information that NaNoWriMo has shared with me regarding my process.

Tomorrow is the first of November, so far I have:
An extremely vague concept.
No book title.
No genre.
A lot of hope.

The vague concept came to me while I was reading Forgotten Secrets earlier this month (view my book review here). If you haven’t read it yet it is a crime fiction novel, that dabbles in romance, against the backdrop of a little town in Wyoming called Singing River. For quite some time now I have wanted to put my love for Wyoming into words, and if not for NaNoWriMo then when?

I look forward to sharing this project with you, update you soon (in 7 days to be exact)!