What is national novel writing month?
National Novel Writing Month (often shortened to the catchy 'NaNoWriMo') is a month long virtual writing event and 30 day challenge, which takes place every year in November (and there are also sessions in April and July).
The aim is to write 50,000 words over the course of 30 days (around 1,666 per day), which is practically enough for a finished first draft (depending on what genre you write).
The challenge started out in 1999, and it's now a non-profit organisation that supports writing fluency and education through programs and writing sessions (you can donate via their website). There are now participants all over the world. Every November, hundreds of thousands of people all writing together - and I think it's kind of magic!
The NaNoWriMo site offers writers a free supportive community in their forums, and a way to track your words and progress as you undertake the challenge. There are also in-person meet ups organised in cities all over the world (there's probably one local to you!) - giving you the opportunity to connect with your local writing community and build that tangible support network (and essentially just nerd-out about writing with like-minded people).
Why is it worth taking part?
NaNoWriMo is how I got my first taste of creative writing. Six years ago, I saw a post on one of my favourite blogs at the time (I think it was A Beautiful Mess), which mentioned NaNoWriMo. I don't think I'd ever really consciously considered writing a novel before then, but after a quick look round their website, I was already sketching out some ideas for the type of story I wanted to write, and I've been hooked ever since.
It's an easy way to start writing because it has such a clearly defined time frame - which comes in handy if you often feel guilty or self-indulgent for pouring time into a creative passion project.
I love 30 day challenges because they're such a great way to build a habit. Writing every day like that makes it a priority, builds skill, and helps you get into a really productive flow. It's just long enough for you to make that real progress and it's not so long that it's overwhelming. Writing a first draft in one month sounds really crazy, but drafting quickly like that helps you to outrun self-doubt and avoid your inner-editor (there's just no time to agonise over opening lines or character descriptions when you've got 1,666 words to write that day).
Essentially, something about the challenge just really works (for me, and the hundreds of thousands of writers who take part every year). It's so motivating and encouraging to feel all of those other writers dedicating that month to making serious progress on their goals.
How do I join in?
Sign up to their website, get your details filled in and set up your first novel in your profile - ready to start tracking your words in November.
Get planning! Even if it's just a series of bullet points outlining the direction of your plot, some ideas for your main characters or key scenes.
Make some time and space in your schedule. Prep anything you can ahead of time to take the pressure off in November - batch cook some meals; get ahead with work projects; plan in some extra childcare.
Tell people about it - share your writing sessions and wordcount on social media using #nanowrimo.
Have a browse of the forums for inspiration or find out where your nearest local meet-up is and get involved.
How can I use the spirit of this challenge even if I'm not writing a novel?
You don't have to be writing a novel to join in (there's even a section in the forums called 'NaNo Rebels') and make the most of a whole month of writing-focused enthusiasm. You can use the challenge to set any kind of writing goal for yoiurself - whether you want to work on something a bit different (non-fiction, a screenplay, a collection of poetry), or simply want to make regular writing practise a real habit in your day-to-day.
(The 'Camp NaNoWriMo' versions of this challenge - held in April and July - explicitly welcome non-novel projects, and wordcount goals of 10,000-1,000,000, but it's perfectly okay to use the November challenge however you like, too!)
To take part if you're not a novel writer:
Set yourself an alternative goal for the 30 days. Whether it's a specific wordcount target, posting a piece of writing on your blog or Instagram every week, or carving out an hour a day to write - choose something that works for you.
Similarly, you can also use the challenge if you want to make progress on editing your novel (rather than writing a new one). It's something I'll be doing this year as part of my goal to finish draft four of my current manuscript. Here - I'd suggest setting yourself a wordcount goal for 'new' words written, or simply setting yourself a certain number of scenes or chapters to edit each day.
Best of luck to everyone taking part this year, I'm cheering you on - happy writing!
