Thinking Of Joining The Annual NaNoWriMo Madness? Here's What You Need To Know

November is nearly here, which means all over the world, writers are flexing their fingers, ready to get typing as they join in the annual frenzy that is NaNoWriMo - National (actually, International) Novel Writing Month, in which the aim is to get 50,000 words written in a month. And to make it a tiny bit harder, November has 30 days, not 31.

So if you're thinking of joining the fun this year and you're wondering what it's really like, I've asked some of my writer friends to share their experiences. But I'll start with my own very first NaNo:

50,000 words in a month - it's a considerable undertaking. I remember how, at the end of October 2011, I agonised over whether to take part. Could I really commit myself to that? Eventually I signed up - and then immediately panicked. What had I let myself in for?

That November 1st I spent the day at work, then came home and wrote 1,400 words, which on any other day would have been a splendid achievement; but in NaNo terms, you need to produce a daily average of 1,667. So there I was at the end of day 1 and already I had fallen behind.

Did I hit the 50,000 word target? Good grief, no. I managed 32,000 words. I could have written more (though nowhere near enough to get me within reach of the magic 50,000) except that I fell into the editing trap. When you do NaNoWriMo, the one piece of advice you are given over and over is not to stop. Keep going. Save the editing for later.

* * * *

Jan Baynham is in the process of submitting her debut novel to agents and publishers while she writes her second novel. On her blog, she shares her writing journey and also gives support to fellow writers. She and I became friends through a mixture of Twitter, the RNA... and NaNoWriMo.

Here's what Jan says:

When I first heard about NaNo, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to complete 50,000 words in 30 days and was very impressed with anyone who showed that kind of commitment. I’m the queen of procrastination and I take forever to do things through overthinking. In 2014, that was what was happening to my attempts to write my first novel. It was taking an age so when all the publicity for NaNo came around, I thought I’d give it a go. I registered and set myself a goal of getting up a couple of hours earlier than normal and to try and write every day.

I found other NaNo writing buddies, one of whom was a certain Susanna Bavin! Another Sue taking part that year was my now writing buddy Sue McDonagh, whom I’d just met at a new writing group in Cowbridge. Having NaNo buddies like these was a wonderful support. They encouraged and motivated me to keep going.

Seeing the tally of words written each day was another huge motivator for me. I got immersed in the story and apart from checking through what I’d written each day, I left serious editing until after NaNo was over. In 2014, I exceeded the 50,000 word goal by a couple of thousand and I feIt I had really achieved my target. I used the next NaNo to actually finish the first draft but my saga was finally written. I set the novel aside until a month later and then I started the editing in earnest. Did I make that editing stage harder by just writing non-stop for the whole of November? I don’t know but NaNo was one way for me to complete the initial draft of my first ever novel and it was a great feeling when I got to the end. The advice ‘Don’t get it right, get it written’ seems to be right for me and that is why I shall be registering again this year.

* * * *

My next contributor is Jane Ayres. Jane and I are part of an online writing group, giving one another lots of support. Jane organises The Place To Write writing retreats. Here is what she says:

I planned. I bought a new note book, announced my novel on the web site, and I was ready.

November 1^st came and I was off like a bullet from a Japanese railway station. The word count was everything. Dishes were left unwashed and the family began to wonder who I was. I loved entering my efforts on the graph every day. I told myself needed this month of NaNoWriMo to ‘make’ me churn out my story.

But 25,036 words in I stalled. I struggled on but I couldn’t keep it up. I began to hate my characters. In the end couldn’t bring myself to write another word. I was downhearted, sick of the constant competition. I had failed.

Now I realise I’m a not failure, but just a naturally slow writer. My way is to let things stew away in my head for a few days, rather than get words down in a hurry and change them later. But that’s just me.

If you’re someone who likes a fabulous writing community with meet-ups, pep talks and branded coffee mugs, or just needs a reason to get writing, then NaNoWriMo could be for you. Enjoy!

* * * *

Karen Coles, writing as K E Coles, is the author of the 5-star rated Mesmeris Trilogy, a darkly compelling YA series about a malign religious sect.

Here's Karen's view of NaNo:

I took part in NaNo last year, although I must admit I gave up before reaching the

50,000 limit. It did push me into writing more words, but a lot of those words were dreadful, and were consequently deleted as soon as nano had finished. I haven't

been tempted to do it again as it knocked my confidence rather than boosted it.

I think it is probably more useful for 'natural' writers, who are able to write

wonderful prose instinctively. I'm more of a slogger and have to really work at it,

so not for me.

* * * *

Catherine Boardman, a former BBC producer, now runs the wonderful 

Catherine's Cultural Wednesdays website and blog, featuring news and articles

designed to inspire everyone to get out and about. Her piece about doing NaNo

last year made me laugh. Hope you enjoy it too.

1,667 words a day, that’s not many.  I can do that.  A target, that’s what I need.  
Nothing like a deadline to focus the mind.Turns out that, yes, I do respond well 
to a deadline, but 30 days is too much of a deadline.  I fiddled around 
‘researching’ for the first five days.  Ended up talking to a Norwegian professor about 
Viking sailing techniques. Really really interesting. Word count 3,000.  The next day
 I tidied the house, I never tidy the house. Then I gardened. After two weeks I had 
10,000 words.  I stopped looking at Twitter.  It was awash with word sprints and 
people completing all 50,000 words and going back for a bit of a polish.  At 15,000 
words I quit.  Will I be doing NaNoWriMo this year? No, but I will be cheering others
on from the Twitter sidelines.

* * * *

So there we have it, a whistle-stop tour of the joys of NaNoWriMo. Are you a NaNo writer? Do you recognise any of these experiences? Or, if you are thinking of signing up this year, has all this helped?