I have been dabbling with the idea of writing a novel for many years. I even have some ideas lying around with semi completed settings and backstories. However, it was always just that, an idea, but I never pushed through and actually sat down to write the whole damn thing. And ideas will not come to fruition if you don’t put in the work.

Whilst scrolling through WordPress to get some inspiration for short stories or other topics I want to write about I came across a post about Camp NaNoWriMo. This got me thinking about my novel ideas and what a great way to push myself to actually write them this time. I cannot participate in Camp NaNoWriMo anymore since this happened in July. However, I can still participate in NaNoWriMo itself which will occur in November.

For those of you who are not familiar with NaNoWriMo let me explain it a bit. The abbreviation stands for National Novel Writing Month. All over the world people get together on various platforms to try and write 50.000 words in 30 days, in other words: write a novel in one month. This equates to about 1667 words per day and the challenge is to actually write those words every day to keep on track and finish at least the first rough draft of said novel.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, and to be honest it is. But it’s also a great opportunity to actually see what I might be capable of. The short stories I’ve written so far are around 300-400 words each and those can come together pretty fast if I set my mind to it. Now what I need to write every single day to complete the end goal of 50K words is simply 3-4 short stories every single day. This is going to take a lot of hard work, determination and possibly late nights. But I know that it is possible. Over the years I’ve seen so many people complete this challenge and I know that some days might get really hard. But if I simply keep pushing myself I can make this happen.

And to give myself some slack and not completely burn myself out within the first week, it’s okay if I miss some days or write less that what I wanted to write. Even if I don’t end up writing 50K words I would still have a rough draft of a novel. And that is something to work towards. I also need to take into account that I don’t have to edit while I write. If a sentence is not perfect but I know what it is supposed to convey, that is perfectly fine.

So to wrap this up: Yes, I am going to participate in NaNoWriMo and attempt to write 50.000 words in one month. No, I will not beat myself up if I don’t make it to the finish line. And yes, I might even post updates about this adventure here on my site. After all I still have the whole of September and October to plan ahead.

So even though they are still months away, what are your plans for November or NaNoWriMo? Care to join me on this expedition through mountains and creeks made of words and jumbled sentences?

Take care and keep on writing!

-Merel