Episode 73: NaNoWrimo
For the uninitiated NaNoWrimo is an event that started in the US that challenges writers to write 50,000 words in the month of November. I’ve done it the last two years. The majority of the last two books I’ve written have been in NaNoWrimo.
NaNoWrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Which is ironic as I’m doing it in the U.K outside the “nation” of the U.S! I have found the event tremendously useful, for several reasons:
- Having an online dashboard where you can track where you are against a target is in itself extremely motivating. Yes, I know there are lots of programs that can do this (you can set targets in Scrivener, for example), but the way they do it is particularly motivating.
- The sense of community you get helps to activate a kind of peer pressure in people like me!
- If you live in an area with an active community, like I do, then you can attend in-person Write-In events, where you sit and write with other people for a few hours. These are a great way to get the word count in!
- You get to mix with people who may well be a lot less competent writers than you, which often makes a change from some of the more literary people you might encounter at a writing group for example.
- It’s generally fun
That’s why I’m doing it again. Are you doing NaNoWrimo? Let me know in the comments below.
To celebrate the fact that I’m starting the last book in my Magpies and Magic series, I’m giving away 100 eBook copies of the first book in the series. Get a copy here, before they run out:
Free Copy of Magpies and Magic
If you liked this post then you might like Writing : Business or Hobby?, Should You Become a Full-time Writer? and Why is Writing a Book Important?