Hello folks! Are you doing NaNoWriMo? How did your first week go?
Mine was rough. I wrote only 4,216 words when I should have written 11,667 words. Responsibilities, homework and social obligations prevented me to write 3 days out of 7, which didn’t help. The fact that I was tired the remaining 4 days didn’t help, either.
I almost gave up. I thought my exhaustion was proof enough that I shouldn’t be doing it this year. But the thought of giving up was too depressing.
Besides, this false start isn’t a problem. At this point, 50,000 words by November 30 is still achievable.
Story-wise, I almost switched to something else. Before NaNo started, I had trouble outlining this story because I couldn’t choose a direction. It is complex, as all psychological thrillers should be, so trying to plan it all ahead is a nightmare. I settled for using NaNoWriMo as a month-long intensive brainstorming session. If I can end the month with enough material to make a fairly detailed outline for draft 2, I’ll be happy.
Do not give up, people! No matter how late you are, no matter your chances of reaching 50k, don’t give up. Nobody “loses” NaNoWriMo: every participant ends the month with more words than they had at the beginning and that’s what’s important. And if it can get you into the habit of writing every day, it’s even better! It’s a win. A win that will outlast NaNoWriMo and make you grow as a writer.
NaNoWriMo is an exciting challenge, but it’s easy to get discouraged and forget why you’re really doing it: because you love writing.
Ida Auclond 
I’ve always thought about doing this – but I never have what I feel is a solid enough foundation/idea. Do you have a network of other writes for support?
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I do and it really helps. On the NaNoWriMo website, you can find your region and its members on a separate forum. In some regions there are even in-person “write-ins”, which are informal meet ups centered around writing. I don’t write as much during those as I would at home, but they’re really motivating. My community also has a separate live chat: we talk on Discord daily (and even all year long), although I don’t know whether that’s generalized.
NaNoWriMo was an excellent opportunity for my to find a supportive community of writers. Most of the time we don’t share what we write, we mostly provide moral support.
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I’ve never done it either. I’m not sure I have the type of mind that could write 50,000 words all about the same thing. But I love expressing myself and celebrate anyone else who does too. Good luck!
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Even though it’s called the “National Novel Writing Month”, some people write several short stories instead. It’s totally acceptable. ^_^
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I’m glad you’ve decided to hang in there. You’re right; the issue is bigger than just “winning” or writing 50k words in November. I had a brainwave this morning myself re:Nanowrimo
I just read this quote and spoke to me: “Teach me delight in little things” — Kipling
It gave me an idea for a writing challenge, something to consider if we need ideas to get more word written:
Create a little thing, some everyday situation or crisis, and use it to reveal something about your MC’s (or adversary’s) character. Even if it gets edited out later, their reaction will help us get to know our characters better.
Ideas:
Someone comes to the door — selling magazines, asking for directions, looking for lost dog, etc…or
Downtown shopping, maybe in a hurry, Main character meets and old friend. They go for coffee and catch up…or
Mc finds a lost child at the mall, their own or someone else’s…or
Some minor accident around the house that MC has to deal with…or
A picnic, trip to some local park or sight to see, maybe add some annoying tourists
Reading a book, giving opinion of story line or the writer’s ability.
What do you think of this challenge?
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Those are great prompts! When I get stuck, that’s usually the kind of thing I go for. It’s like adding compost in the earth to grow vegetables: you can’t eat compost, but it is most important in the process of growing food. Everything I write is useful in some way even when entire paragraphs, scenes or even arcs are deleted.
I noted your prompts in a document so I can add to them, maybe eventually creating some that are more “genre” specific. In general, I make up prompts as I go, but writing them somewhere could come in handy when, like last week, fatigue makes me feel “brain dead” and uninspired.
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I’m looking at it the same way, haha. ;; I have two projects, in a way–there’s my main story, which I started from scratch on day one etc. There’s also another project that I’ve been trying to write at least a few sentences of before bed every day, and I’ve been working on that one for a few months. I definitely didn’t want to put that aside for a month, so I’m counting the words I write for it toward my Nano total, too. But even so, my numbers are depressing. ;; I passed 5k but didn’t write very much during the last few days, so I know I’m nowhere near 6k. But like you, I’m telling myself that even if I don’t make it to 50k, every word counts. \o/ We can do it!
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This year, I’m also counting the words I write for my blog posts and those for my creative writing assignments… Anything’s fine as long as writing gets done. ^_^
Good luck in your projects!
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Great post! It’s so important to remember why YOU are writing which is to bring enjoyment to yourself 🙂 Do what you can and be proud of your accomplishments!
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