Hello Bloglandia!

Well, the season ’tis upon us.

No, not the season of “Why the fork have Christmas things been in the stores for two months already?” And no, not the season where you’re dreading the countdown of days until they start playing Christmas songs in the stores 24/7.

It’s the season of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month for those non-writers out there.

NaNo (as the cool kids call it) takes place every November and is a contest against yourself (although you can participate with others) to see if you can write a 50,000-word “novel” in November’s insanely busy 30 days.

My NaNoWriMo Quibbles and Grumbles

Now, those of you who have followed this blog for a while know I have my quibbles with NaNo. Mainly….

  • I don’t think it should be called “novel” writing, but rough draft writing. I know some magical people out there can crank out a publishable (?) novel in a few weeks, but the for the majority of participants, those 50,000 words are going to need A LOT of work to be an actual novel.
  • Why November???? This is a bit US-centric, but I think NaNo was started by Americans (correct me if I’m wrong) and I have to wonder what nut jobs they are. November has two holidays, Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving. Both of which mean kiddos are out of school most of the month, and one of which involves travel, lengthy meal prep, family time (ick), and more. So seriously, why November, people!!???

I have more quibbles, but I don’t want to go on too much about that.

However, don’t take this as criticism if you LOVE NaNo. I understand it can be a huge motivator, but I do hope you can find other ways to motivate yourself to write if you really do want to be writer.

Also, some people just love the camaraderie and challenge.

I’ll admit, I’ve never done NaNo. I’ve been tempted, but my first draft stages have never really coincided with that specific month.

This year, I’m tempted….but I’m also not tempted.

Why I Might Not Do NaNoWriMo

What? You mean besides my snobby quibbles?

Well, let’s put it this way…I’ve basically already done NaNo this year. Twice. It just didn’t happen in November. Again, WHY NOVEMBER, you sadist whackadoos!?

  • In March (I think, I can’t keep track of time anymore), I wrote the first draft of the first book in my next series (more on that coming soon). The draft took a little over three weeks and it came out to be about 55,000 words.
  • Then in September, I wrote the first draft of the second book of the series. It took me just under three weeks and it came out to be around 52,000 words.

So do I need this event to prove to myself I can write a 50,000 word “novel” in 30 days?

Nope.

But….

Why I Might Do NaNoWriMo

Because for once, I am at the point where I’m ready to write another first draft.

Yes, I realize we’re already a couple days into November, which means (if you’re sticking by the minimum daily word count to reach 50,000) I should already have close to 3500 words down.

I don’t have any words down.

I also, due to being sick most of the month, didn’t have the time or energy in October to do the prep work for this next draft (which would be the third book of my new series).

While I have been writing these books completely without any outline (also known as “pantsing” or “writing by the seat of my pants”) and that has been going SPLENDIDLY, I do still do a tiny amount of prep work…mainly jotting down ideas of culprits, clues, and red herrings (these are cozy mysteries), and ideas of how much to move along the overall series story arc.

Still, I think I could get that prep work done this week if the gods of scheduling shine down on me with their organizing goodness.

Now, my main goal this month is to do the final proofread of the first book in the series done and get everything in place for publication in January, but…

…since I’d really like to get this third book drafted…and since I’d still have three weeks left of the month, which I’ve already proven is more than enough time for me to crank out a draft)…

Well, I might just do NaNoWriMo this year.

Maybe.

I’ll keep you posted.

What about you? Think you could crank out a 50,000-word first draft in 30 days? Are you doing NaNo? Let me know why or why not in a comment below!!

Have a great week!!!

LET’S STAY IN TOUCH!

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5 thoughts on “Yes or No, NaNoWriMo?”

  1. I’m giving it a try for the third year in a row. I find the motivation helps. I’ve never come close to 50k words, but last year I finished the novel nonetheless. It helps when it’s a much shorter middle grade book. I’m writing the sequel to that one this month.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Good luck to you! I have heard from a lot of people who say the event is a great motivator, which is probably better than the self-imposed guilt I usually rely on for motivation.

      Another quibble is the 50,000 word thing. Who came up with that number?! Oh right, the same people who thought November was a great time for an intense writing event…haha! I’ve had first drafts that were only 20,000 words and eventually fleshed out to an 80,000 word book. I figure, set your own goals and just have fun writing.

      Thanks for popping by : )

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Well, I’m hoping to finish up the (final?) proof of my upcoming book in the next couple days. Then I’ll start in on the NaNo madness…only about 10 days late, but we’ll see how far I get. Thanks for popping by : )

      Liked by 1 person

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