The Way to Win NaNoWriMo – Guaranteed
By Greer Macallister | November 1, 2021 |
Welcome to the first day of National Novel Writing Month, or as it’s generally abbreviated, NaNoWriMo! While I’m not signing up for NaNo this year, I’ve done it a number of times in the past, often “winning” in the way winning is defined by the NaNoWriMo organization: writing 50,000 words of a new project from scratch in just 30 days.
Given the timing of my post this month, I felt like writing about NaNo was almost a no-brainer, but one thing held me back: I wasn’t sure there was anything new to say. So I checked in with fellow writers on Facebook. Before long, it was obvious from the volume of comments that there’s plenty of interest in the topic! And I started to see a pattern as authors and other friends were quick to share their NaNo thoughts and experiences:
“Someone attempting NaNo might want to go into it with certain questions in mind, like ‘Does writing every day actually work for me?’ or ‘Do daily word count goals help or hinder me?’ or even more broadly, ‘What is this experience teaching me about myself/my writing process?’ I did straight NaNo last year for the first time ever and won (as in, started a brand-new draft on November 1st and finished it by the end of the month) and just felt like I learned so much about myself as a writer and about my process, which was really valuable.” – Alyssa Palombo, author of Heavy Metal Symphony and The Borgia Confessions
“I’ve never written a novel in 30 days (as if!) but I did do NaNoWriMo to write 500-1000 words a day of my then-WIP and it really got me over a hump.” – Kathleen McCleary, author of Leaving Haven and two other novels
“I think it’s important to stress not beating yourself up if you fall short. There is a lot to be learned about process with this event; it can be valuable in other ways besides word count.” – Elisabeth Carson-Williams
“I am a total fan of bending the event to work for the individual.” – Aimie K. Runyan, bestselling author of Across the Winding River and Daughters of the Night Sky
What do all these perspectives have in common?
Redefining the concept of what it means to “win” NaNo.
Maybe you win by writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Maybe you win by setting a goal for yourself of writing every day whether you feel like it or not, and see whether that produces better results than your previous practice. Maybe you dig a half-completed project out of a drawer and aim for NaNo’s brisk pace of 1,667 words a day – and either bring that project back to life or realize that more effort isn’t going to get it where you need it to be and abandon it, and either way, you now know something you didn’t know before. Maybe your goal is to edit a certain number of pages of your mid-process project every day. Maybe you just try to write as much as you can without editing, if you’ve never done that, and see how it feels. In the end, it’s all up to you.
So if you’re on the fence, jump in. This November can be an opportunity to discover something about yourself. Your project. Your process. Each one of these, in its way, is definitely a win.
Q: Are you doing NaNo this year? Is your goal the 50K-word win, or are you attempting another path to victory?
Raised in the Midwest, Greer Macallister earned her MFA in creative writing from American University. Her historical novels have been named Book of the Month, Indie Next, LibraryReads, Target Book Club, and Amazon Best Book of the Month picks and optioned for film and television. Her latest novel, The Thirteenth Husband, is inspired by Aimee Crocker, the Paris Hilton of the Gilded Age. Macallister also writes the ongoing Five Queendoms epic fantasy series as G.R. Macallister. A regular contributor to Writer Unboxed and the Chicago Review of Books, she lives with her family in Boston, MA. www.greermacallister.com
Thanks for this post, Greer! Writing 1,667 words each day is not feasible for me just now, but as in earlier years, I will draw on the NaNo energy to boost work on my WIP. November is also Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem A Day challenge, so it all adds up to a month bursting with writing mojo.
I love the new website, by the way!
So glad you like the new look, Barbara!
I’m doing it—again. This will be my 8th. Even though I draft outside of NaNo these days, I still participate for the immersion and so I can encourage others on the way. It’s now a part of my Novembers. Too, at this point there’s a nostalgic element involved. I remember each and every one of my 7 other experiences because each was unique. My personal goal is to finish a novel in the month, but this year there’ll be an added bonus. I’ll be finishing a series.
Thanks for this, Greer! I’m not signing up with NaNoWriMo formally, but I’ve joined a writing group and I’ve decided to set aside time every day this month to work on my WIP. Part of my motivation is also because I’ve decided to attend a writers’ retreat in July in Ireland, which will have Heather Webb as one of the instructors! So, assuming that Covid won’t screw it up, I need to have something to work on there.
I don’t remember exactly how many times I’ve attempted NaNo… but I do know that I’ve never “won”! Haha.
Except, perhaps, in your sense of the word. I really like the idea of reframing this endeavor as a way of learning about yourself and your work, and not just hitting word counts.
Obviously NaNo has worked, in various ways, for countless writers, and that is why it’s still going strong!
Thanks Greer! This is my first attempt and I’ve already learned so much. Hardest thing for me is not edit as I go but just write! If I learn nothing else that is a winner!
Hi Greer!
I used Nano twice before – with one of those projects completed and on its way to publication, and the other project (which had been on hold while I tended to other duties) is now almost finished. This year, I’m planning on using it to write my way to the end of a YA novel — a new genre for me. So, the writing will also require time for research of the time period as questions and the need for accurate details arise. Each year’s project was different and required a different approach. But there is something about holding yourself to a one-month focus that I find helpful, especially since so many other demands crowd my days. Wishing everyone well with their projects!