I am getting ready for NaNoWriMo
It’s that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) time of year again. This time last year I was writing so much I thought sliding a novel into the mix would just happen. Except it never did. The writing I do for my job, that pays the rent and so on, seemed to take over and dominate my workflow. This year, I am going to make it happen.
In case you don’t know what that is, there is a website. Or if you can’t be arsed to click that link, here is some blurb:
What Is NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand new novel. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.
NaNoWriMo officially became a nonprofit organization in 2006, and our programs support writing fluency and education. Our website hosts more than a million writers, serving as a social network with author profiles, personal project libraries, and writing buddies. NaNoWriMo tracks words for writers like Fitbit tracks steps, and hosts real-world writing events in cities from Mexico City, to Seoul, to Milwaukee with the help of 900+ volunteers in thousands of partnering libraries and community centers like… well, like nothing else.
NaNoWriMo is internet-famous. It’s community-powered (hello, Wrimos!). It’s hosted authors drafting novels like Water for Elephants, WOOL, and Fangirl. It’s a teaching tool and curriculum taught in 5,920 classrooms, and NaNoWriMo’s programs run year-round.
Whatever you thought NaNoWriMo is, it’s more than that.
https://nanowrimo.org/about-nano
How’s all that going to fit into an average workflow?
That’s the question my subconscious has been pestering me with for a while now…
I probably average 1000 to 2000 words a day with my current client level of daytime toil. Even more if I include this site, my writer website, and science fiction site. NaNoWriMo means writing 2000 words a day, which means I will need to average… well, a ridiculous amount, even if I shuffle things around. But it is doable and, over the last year, my workflow has become a bit more steady. I am also a faster writer when it comes to my regular clients.
The main trick to writing more is to practice a lot, and have a plan. I work out a writing plan for the next day, most evenings. Unless I am out having a life, obviously, but that happily doesn’t happen much these days. There are a few other tricks which I have mentioned previously here.
There are also a lot other great resources and tips on increasing writing.
I read somewhere that by making a target more public, you are more likely to achieve your goals. So, with that announcement made, we shall see how things pan out.
If you are also doing NanoWriMo, then I wish you the best of luck. If you want to get in touch on the site, I am there as Jason R Ward. Happy writing and good luck!
