If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's simple really. National Novel Writing Month happens every November. You have 30 days to write 50,000 words and by the end of it you will, hopefully, have a novel.
I did this for the first time in 2010 and man was it rough. I didn't finish, but what I ended up with months later was a decent first novel. NaNo was actually the thing that made me want to get into writing novels in the first place. Before that I was strictly a poetry girl. I did, however, "win" in 2011 with my "Ever After Tales" series. I believe I was on book 2 at the time.
But that's not the point. NaNo is a really great thing. It forces people out of their comfort zones and gives us a chance to do something we never thought we could do. First drafts almost always suck, so why not punch one out in a month then spend the next year editing the crap out of it?
Writing at least 1667 words a day plus keeping up with a busy schedule isn't easy, but the way I go about it usually helps force me to get my work done. If I do all my homework, write all the articles, and even find time to eat (wow!), then I can write. And since I want to finish this year, I'm going to get my work done quick. So far by going about it this way, my word count is 5396 in 2 days (I haven't done today's writing yet).
By setting your own personal goals, writing for the next month can seem less daunting. Maybe you don't want to finish on time, maybe you just want to write at least 1000 words a day. NaNo is a great way to get you to do that goal. And don't compare your word count to others! You're not going to be able to write as fast as others, or have 5 hours in a day to just write.
As the old saying goes, as long as you do your best and have fun, it doesn't matter what else happens along the way.
I did this for the first time in 2010 and man was it rough. I didn't finish, but what I ended up with months later was a decent first novel. NaNo was actually the thing that made me want to get into writing novels in the first place. Before that I was strictly a poetry girl. I did, however, "win" in 2011 with my "Ever After Tales" series. I believe I was on book 2 at the time.
But that's not the point. NaNo is a really great thing. It forces people out of their comfort zones and gives us a chance to do something we never thought we could do. First drafts almost always suck, so why not punch one out in a month then spend the next year editing the crap out of it?
Writing at least 1667 words a day plus keeping up with a busy schedule isn't easy, but the way I go about it usually helps force me to get my work done. If I do all my homework, write all the articles, and even find time to eat (wow!), then I can write. And since I want to finish this year, I'm going to get my work done quick. So far by going about it this way, my word count is 5396 in 2 days (I haven't done today's writing yet).
By setting your own personal goals, writing for the next month can seem less daunting. Maybe you don't want to finish on time, maybe you just want to write at least 1000 words a day. NaNo is a great way to get you to do that goal. And don't compare your word count to others! You're not going to be able to write as fast as others, or have 5 hours in a day to just write.
As the old saying goes, as long as you do your best and have fun, it doesn't matter what else happens along the way.