Time for NaNoWriMo

 

Diorama I created a few years ago that sums up October.  Find your place, and the tools that give you what you need, then just do it. 

October is generally a time when families are getting ready for Halloween, and years ago I used to work towards painting miniatures for the MMSI Chicago Show, anniversary plans for the end of October, and my own birthday plans for the beginning of November. But now?  Now, October means prepping for NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. ( NaNoWriMo.org )

Most of my family and friends know that I love to write, and yet, other than a few poems and short stories, as well as minipainting articles,  I have not published.  I have manuscripts, just not very good ones. The past year has seen a rebirth of me as a writer, with a close-knit group of friends who support each other in our shared goal of publication.  We’ve learned so much this past year about crafting a novel and publishing,  that it really amazes me that it has only been a year. Last NaNo I wrote the first draft of the first book I will publish, and this NaNo I hope to write book 2. I almost decided to quit NaNo, though.

Why would I, the local Municipal Liaison, aka Lead Volunteer for my NaNo region, quit suddenly?  Because planning the regional events is hard work, all volunteer, and it all comes at a time of year I really want to be celebrating with friends and family.  This year it also comes at a time when I am not yet ready to write book 2.  To be ready, I need an outline, beat sheet, scene list– I have a lot of planning to complete yet!  NaNoWriMo is designed for writing though, right?  One novel in one month – but it’s not a hard and fast rule at all! Mind blowing, right?

The secret is combining the two needs – family and planning for writing.  I need to spend my time with family and friends.  I need to take those days and enjoy them, because these will be milestones in my life!  I also need to be ready to write book 2, because if I am not, I will struggle with getting that book 2 manuscript completed. These are my needs right now.

So what’s the major issue?  No time.  I will let go of that nagging November 1st deadline to be ready to write my next novel.  I will use the sprints and writing focus of NaNo to complete my scene list and get my plot ducks in order. I switch gears on some days and focus on celebrating with fam and friends the graduation, birthday, and anniversaries. I will use some of my free time to make sure the NaNo events happen and lead those sprints, because helping other people get words and dig into the writing we all love – that gives me joy, too!  So I will plan what I can and let the rest go.  I will start writing that first chapter of the book when I am ready to go ahead on that writing, and the manuscript will be better and faster because of that.

What I learned this year, more than any other, is to use the parts of NaNo you love, and leave the parts that do not serve the writer you have become. You need writing breaks, we have events, even HQ is running online sprints and such. But if it doesn’t fit your schedule and habits, leave those parts be. The only part of NaNo you have to do as a participant, is fill in a project title, and report how many words you completed at the end. Nothing else. The rest is a bunch of electives you can choose as carefully or as carefree as you like.

Words during NaNo are simply a unit of measure, some of your end word count is editing equivalent words, and some words come from a synopsis or a scene outline you wrote, or a character exercise you did, and some come from actual manuscript project words.  The rest of the month is for you to decide when and where and what you will be working on,  and most importantly how you will interact with the NaNoWriMo world.

NaNo gives you extra opportunities to find whatever support you like. There is so much support out there through the NaNoWriMo organization!  There’s help for sticky problems, laughs when you feel like crying, the energy of a focused group, and the resources to help motivate and enhance your writing. It’s all there if you’re looking for that.  You can find forums for everything, podcasts, books, articles, links to resources – NaNo covers so much now. If you cannot find what you need, there are people who will help you find it! It’s a huge writing world community at your fingertips.

I keep talking about dropping NaNo for the same reasons some of you out there are discussing. You think you can’t make the 50k word count goal, or your local scene is pretty barren, you’re not sure what you would even write, and there’s just a lot of pressure.  I do like the extra pressure to work.  I’m just not going to be ready to actually write come November 1st. This week I have to paint for a show, the week after is getting ready for birthday, graduation, and anniversary.  I will do some writing, but most likely continue to work on my beats and scenes until I am ready to write, which might be the middle of November. Those words I use plan will still count! Shrug. It’s not a quitting situation at all. I just have to use NaNo for myself, and not be so strict about what it is and how it works for myself.

What is it about NaNo that has you worried? Forget that part. Cherish the writing friends, grab those resources, clutch each and every sprint as time to focus on whatever it is you need to do right then and there. That’s what NaNoWriMo is for me this year, and into the future. It’s a kick in the keister to focus on my writing. It’s a chance to meet new local writers and form life-long friendships and support. It’s the experience of living the writing life and showing others they can do it, too.

NaNoWriMo works because it’s got something for all kinds of writers, you just need to be strong enough to choose what parts of NaNoWriMo you need in November this year.

Happy Writing Planning Everyone!  NaNo ON!