This year is ticking by so quickly; in fact, this Friday sees the start of November and the writers out there will know what that means…it’s NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month.
For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is designed to help writers get motivated and produce a body of work in a short space of time. The goal is to write hard throughout November and produce 50,000 words by the end of the month. The focus is on quantity rather than quality; churn out the word count now, you can go back and polish it into something great later. NaNoWriMo has a huge community of writers who support each other to achieve their goals.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never taken part in NaNoWriMo, yet every year I feel that pull, the desire to sign up and let that story that’s been building inside my mind emerge in print.
So what stops me?
I guess it’s the fear of reaching the end of the month and being far away from my goals. Despite my love of writing, I know it is one area of my life that I’m not forceful enough about pursuing, about carving out the time to write.
There’s a story I’ve wanted to write for years. I’ve even started it a couple of times, but never progressed beyond the first few chapters. It needs more planning, more direction, but it’s been germinating long enough that I have a good sense of my characters and many of the plotlines I want to include.
So perhaps now is the time to stop talking about writing, to stop fretting about if and when and actually get on and make it happen.
What do you think; are you signing up for NaNoWriMo this year? I’d love to hear about your experiences from previous years too.
luthien says
It’s going to be my first time for NaNoWriMo, but I’ve done similar marathons before. Still a bit nervous about it!
Amy Lord says
Good luck with it, you’ll have to let us know how you get on!
Sara Strauss says
I’ve always wanted to take part too, but I’m always afraid that I’ll just stop because 50,000 words is a lot of pressure. But seeing as I’m currently doing my thesis, which is my novel, I might have to try this. It might actually help me write!
~Sara
Amy Lord says
I’m the same Sara, scared I’ll choke completely but I guess it could be just the motivation I need. Good luck with your novel!
Kristin - My Life as a Teacup says
As much as I’ve wanted to do NaNoWriMo, I have such problems writing creative fiction; it’s what I love, but when I try to write it, the stories get all jumbled. Too many ideas trying to come out at once, I suppose. If I can narrow down my ideas, I’d love to give it a go!
Amy Lord says
Kristin, maybe it would help if you planned out your ideas first so you have a sense of where the story is going?