Some people who write struggle with getting the words down on paper. They worry over every word, agonizing over which adjective to use, tweaking dialogue in their heads until it’s smooth, sweating bullets to make their details crisp. This can kill the creative drive of some people, as they become paralyzed at the thought of having to make every story perfect. If this sounds like you, I suggest that you participate in NaNoWriMo!
NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. In the month of November, writers who want to pen a novel are encouraged to write 50,000 words of their book. Writers who sign up on the website (www.nanowrimo.org) turn in their finished electronic manuscript on or before November 30th. The manuscript word count is verified, and if the writer made it, he or she gets a winner’s certificate and web badge. Because other writers are participating, NaNoWriMo has a fantastic feeling of community. The site includes links to pep talks, ways to connect with other writers, and positive reinforcement. Writers are praised for whatever they get finished, whether it’s the full 50,000 words or not.
NaNoWriMo is all about quantity, not about quality. This forces those who participate to really chug out vast quantities of writing. It’s actually a very useful tool for getting your creative juices flowing again. You’re writing so much you find that, while you may have written a good deal of rubbish and drivel, there’s also some excellent scenes and plot development that happen in the story you craft. An additional bonus is that, by the time the month finishes, you’ve gotten into the habit of writing – just letting the words spill out – without judging yourself too harshly.
If this sounds interesting to you, go check it out! It’s almost done for this year. The tools on the website are always present, so if you just need some general encouragement or tips about writing you should browse it for a while – it may be more helpful than you think. Have fun, and happy writing!