I had seen the phrase ‘NaNoWriMo’ online on different sites I read fiction on, and I didn’t know what it meant. Last October, I finally did some research and found out what it meant. It’s short for National Novel Writer’s Month!
That’s right up my alley! For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a writer. When I was a kid, I’d staple stacks of paper together and pretend it was my book. As I got older, I’d fill spiral notebooks with stories, and then I dove into the fan fiction world. Here, I knew I couldn’t publish anything to make money, but I could have fun and practice my skills. In fan fiction, I could really stretch out my writing muscles, learn the ups and downs, and get almost immediate feedback on some of my work. This helped me keep going and learn from my mistakes. I’ve also made many amazing friends through this and I’m grateful for each and every one of them in my life! Love you all! (You know who you are!)
Over the years, I’ve come up with several ideas for novels. One of them I first shared with my mom and she has passed away since then. When I first told my mom about the idea, I began researching, writing notes about the idea, the setting, plot, and the characters I wanted to create. But I never started a first draft… Until I discovered the NaNoWriMo world in October 2019.
In late-October 2019, I announced my untitled novel on the NaNoWriMo site, got everything set up and began tracking my words! By the end of November 2019, I had written 51,861 words of this novel, so I’d officially ‘won’ NaNoWriMo 2019!
What is NaNoWriMo? The general idea is: in the month of November every year, an author writes 50,000 words of a novel, which comes to about 1,700 words per day during the month. It’s meant to be a quick way to write a first rough draft, because sometimes that’s the hardest part of the writing process. And this draft isn’t being edited along the way; it’s meant to be messy and raw (editing will come later!). By the end of the month, the goal is to have written 50,000 words. For many, this gets them close to completing their novel, while others actually finish it.
Through the end of 2019, I had continued writing here and there, reaching 58,317 words. Unfortunately life and other projects got in the way and my novel was set aside. As we moved into 2020, I decided to do NaNoWriMo again. This year, I will finish my first draft, win NaNoWriMo 2020, and finish my first official novel!
So, starting November 1, along with thousands of writers around the world, I will begin NaNoWriMo again (while some will start for the first time!). We’ll be tracking our daily word on the website, connect with fellow authors in our writing genre, or our physical location, and get and give encouragement and inspiration as we keep working towards our goals.
This year, I’ll be writing what I’m calling the second half of my novel, or ‘Part 2’. My plan is to stick to the 1,700 word a day, 50,000 word a month, goal, to have a complete first draft by November 30, 2020. Yes, there will be a lot of editing to be done, but as I said, the goal of NaNoWriMo is not to edit as you write. It’s to get the raw content and ideas on the page and then, after the first draft is complete, the editing can begin!
I’d like to send a huge THANK YOU to my family and friends around the globe, who have always been supportive of my writing dream! You are continually encouraging me and I honestly can’t thank you enough for the courage it gives me to keep going! I love you all!
So come along with me on this journey, as I write my novel, blog my word count and what happens as the month goes on, and I get one step closer to my dream!
Best wishes, everyone!
~*~ EJ ~*~