NANO: National Novel Writing Month (November 1st
-30th)
“Thirty days and nights of literary abandon!”
I first heard about NANO via one of my very cool critique
partners, Tami Klockau, who had been an
active participant for several years. When she gave me the low down, I thought
she was out of her mind.
Writers devote themselves to a fresh project and during NANA
they strive to:
-
Complete the first draft of a NOVEL in ONE month
-
To do so, their expected daily word count sits
around 1600 words
-
Miss a day, or two, and you have to power out
the extra pages to catch up and get back on track
Like I said, crazy, right? But the next year I gave NANO a
shot and while I didn’t cross the 50k finish line, I had substantially
increased my word count that month. By about 30k.
Nothing to sneeze at. Plus, the supportive (possibly
distracting) forums, the pep talks from bestselling
authors, and the community spirit is uplifting. Writing is usually a solitary
art – but during NANO writers seek each other out. Host write-ins, come
together with their notebooks, laptops, coffee, and / or stronger beverages to
WRITE.
It’s pretty nifty.
And so every year since I have either participated on the
sly (without actually registering) or have gone full out and signed up to share
my experience with other keen NANO souls.
Have I ever made
the 50k? Nope. Not once. But each November my word counts soar – on new or
current projects. That’s gold in my
books. If you’re one of the doubting sorts, how about the success story of like
that of young adult fiction author, Denise Jaden: http://denisejaden.com/ - a fellow Canadian
author I was lucky enough to meet during our debut publishing year with the
Class of 2k10: http://classof2k10.com/
Denise is a loyal NANO participant (aka, aWrimo) and several
of her published novels were NANO efforts. She crosses the finish line – as do
many other writers – published or otherwise.
Whether you use NANO as a motivational tool to increase your
general word count, or you’re focused on the first draft end game – I encourage writers to give NANO a shot.
WARNING: You may become just a smidge addicted.
I’m registered as JudithG – if you’re a Wrimo – let’s cheer
each other on!
ASIDE: I have to give Tami a shameless plug. If you’re into
spinning yarns, and not the literary sort – I’m talking crochet or knitting –
Tami has the most AMAZING online shop: Candy Skein: http://www.candyskein.com/
HAPPY WRITING!
Judith Graves is the author of the Skinned series, paranormal fiction with a bite.
Thanks Judith! It's great to hear your story with Nano. And that's the thing...everyone has their own story and the way they use the month-long writing challenge. This is the first year I'll be taking a vacation through part of November, so I'm crazy-writing to try to get ahead. And so far (fingers very crossed) I'm really enjoying my story.
ReplyDeleteHey Denise, yes, NANO is what you make it and it sort of changes for me each year. I noticed your NANO word count thus far is scary good - I'm sure you'll bounce back after the vacation and catch up super quicklike. ;) Enjoy the break!
ReplyDeleteGood on you Judith,
ReplyDeletehats off to everyone doing Nano. I know I can't make those daily targets and I'd end up getting horribly depressed. BUT, I am plotting like crazy for a new book ...
But, it's inspiring to see so many people making such great word counts every day. Go for it!
Thanks, Ebony - that's precisely why I didn't register the first few times - but now I cheer the others on and just keep plugging away at my "advanced" pace. ;) Enjoy the plotting! My favourite part of the process.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on NaNo this year everyone! I wish I could do it this year. I miss the intensity as the words flow and the hours tick by. Thanks for the plug, Judith!
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is the year you'll make it to 50K! It's my first year participating and I'm going kinda slow so I know how you feel.
ReplyDelete