During the COVID lockdown, how many people thought they would finally sit down and write that novel that has been brimming in their brain for years. Some were able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task, but for most, the dream of writing the great American novel remains just that: a dream. There are plenty of reasons why writing that novel can seem like a pipedream for some. We’ve written about writer’s anxiety before and how it can be crippling for authors especially ones who are just starting their careers. Yet, for those who are persevering and still living the dream, November might very well be your time to shine.
Established in 1999, National Novel Writing Month began with a simple, yet somehow also complex goal for writers: to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. That averages out to about 1,600 words a day, which coming from a person who sometimes struggles to write a 1,000-word blog post across multiple days is not an easy task. The group NaNoWriMo began the month as internet challenge, but the group achieved nonprofit status in 2006. The organization’s website has grown over the last 25 years, providing an opportunity for writers to track their words along with programs and camps in multiple months of the year.
However, November remains the organization’s pride and joy. National Novel Writing Month has seen plenty of success stories over the years including drafts of Elizabeth Acevedo’s With the Fire on High, Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, and Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, among others, being completed during the month. In 2022, over 400,000 writers participated in National Novel Writing Month programs including 85,000 students and educators who participated in the Young Writers Program. Of those participants, over 50,000 reached the word limit goals during the month and were declared “NaNoWriMo winners”.
Of course, having a word count goal is a good start, but getting a novel written involves far more than that. It’s intensive work and requires real dedication from a promising author. In honor of the month and anyone looking to participate, here are a few tips to help get you started:
- Set a time to write every day. In his famous memoir, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King noted that one of the keys to his success is writing every day. In his book, he states that he writes 4 hours a day. That might be a bit much for some who are trying to write their first novel, but the notion of writing every day is a key element of National Novel Writing Month. Curtis Brown Creative goes further and argues that writers should not just set aside time every day to write, but they should set a regular time every day to write scheduling time to dedicate and focus on writing. This time can vary from person to person. Morning people might want to write at the crack of dawn while others might carve out an hour in the afternoon, but writers should make a plan to find distraction-free time to sit down and focus on hitting their word limits for the day.
- Read every day. Going back to Stephen King (the proof is in the millions of sold books), great writers shouldn’t just write every day, they must also read (“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”). It seems so simple, but you can’t really be a great writer unless you read and learn more from reading. Whether it’s reading non-fiction advice on how to write a novel (like this blog post) or reading fiction for pleasure, reading at least something every day can expand your knowledge, your vocabulary, and your worldview, which can greatly improve the stories you are creating.
- It’s okay if the first draft isn’t good. Writing isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Usually multiple marathons. Too many writers quit because the first draft of their story completed is just not what they want. Writers should understand that the first draft of a novel is never the final published drafts. We call them drafts for a reason. The important thing is to get the words and ideas on the page. Having to rewrite is fine and inevitable. Just ask, you guessed it, Stephen King, who threw the first draft of Carrie in the trash thinking that it wasn’t worth the paper it was written on, only to be dug out of the can by his wife and go on to become a best seller after multiple rewrites.
- “What If?” is an important question to ask. When writing scenarios in your novel, “What if?” is one of the most versatile questions. Experimenting with “What if?” scenarios are frequently used by authors in the planning stages of novels to help flesh out characters. You might know think you know who your characters are, but if you’re struggling to figure out where to go with some of them, try a few “What if?” scenarios. What if your character is sitting in a coffee shop and an old flame walks in? How would they react? What would they do? Questions like these can make you think more critically about your characters and further explore their backstories and their actions. These scenarios can just be hypotheticals to help with character design, but if compelling enough, they could become potentially pivotal scenes in your novel.
For more information on how you can participate in National Novel Writing Month, visit https://nanowrimo.org/. Do you have any advice for writers trying to write a novel in 30 days? Let us know in the comments.
By: Chris Moffitt
Chris is a Managing Editor at Technica Editorial
