I recently posted on my writing blog that in just less than a month, NaNoWriMo will begin. I know I've mentioned it a few times before, but I feel like I ought to explain it further and dedicate this entire post to it.
It stands for National Novel Writing Month. Since 1999, during the month of November, writers (also known as wrimos) all over the country make a goal to write at least 50,000 words in just 30 days. Let me repeat that: 30 days. 50,000 words. Minimum. If you wanted to do the math, you would have to write about 1,666 words a day. Which is about two pages in a Word document. Piece of cake, write?
Wrong. Oh so hilariously wrong.
Writing is a skill that isn't easily forced, and you can't exactly press the pause button on life to wait for inspiration to come knocking on your door. There's still school, homework, work, and all of the various house work to be done. Try cramming an hour of writing into your busy schedule and hoping that you write something J.K. Rowling would be proud of reading. It's the hardest darn thing ever.
Yet, NaNoWriMo is one of the most fun and exciting months of the year for me. There isn't a better time of the year for me to focus on my passion for writing than November (except for maybe those warm summer months or a rainy spring day). There is nothing more elating than watching a seed of an idea grow into something so much bigger than even yourself. You create worlds with your words. Your creation takes on a new life, it wouldn't surprise me if it even started to breathe, that's how real it becomes to you. It engraves itself into your heart and mind. As you leave each day for school and work, your characters leave with you, follow you wherever you go and whisper bits of their own personal story to you; little facts that only you as their creator would ever know. I'm the only one who knows Liz, Grace, Stacey, and Adalia inside and out. They are a piece of who I am, just like I am a piece of them.
With NaNoWriMo, it's like a marathon. You have a goal, and you have a limited amount of time to complete that goal. You have got to write and you can't stop for nothing. There is no time to go back to trim and spruce up what you have, you just go and go and go. Forget that there is such a thing as sleep on the last week of November, because you'll be desperately cramming the last 10,000 words in. And when your muse walks out and leaves you with absolutely no inspiration at all and you're 7,000 words behind, you just keep writing even when every word you type feels like a dry and dead leaf that crumbles as soon as it glides onto the page. Trust me, I've looked back on my writings during those times and laugh at the absolute nonsense I write to try and rejuvenate my inspiration. Once the only thing I could think about was a princess party sleepover, and so I wrote about a princess party sleepover simply to get my words in for the day. It had nothing that pertained to the plot lines, my characters aren't the type to involve themselves in a princess party sleepover, but that was all my mind was giving me for that day. That scene is no longer in existence.
Believe me when I say there are days when you are going to write absolute crap. There are going to be days when you pull your hair out and you just want to cry because you start to doubt yourself. You think, "I'm not a writer, I can't do this!" There was once when I was especially struggling with my confidence in my story. My brother took me to a write-in (a meeting where local writers meet and write their stories together and then critic and share each other's stories) and after hearing everything my peers were planning in their own stories, I felt so inferior. Why would anyone want to read my story with a stupid princess party sleepover? Would they like anything about my story? I wanted to quit, and give up even trying to be as good as all of those people. It wasn't the first time and it certainly wasn't the last time I felt that way. I feel that way all the time. I doubt that I will ever make a story that makes my readers desperate for more. But those kind of thoughts are absolute poison, especially during NaNoWriMo. Your story is going to be filled with errors, inconsistencies, and those moments of absolute nonsense. Accept that, and keep writing. You'll have time in December to fix all of that.
If you don't make the goal, it's okay. At least you did it. You are a winner simply for braving something as big as NaNoWriMo. You attempted no small thing and faced a very large task. You are successful as soon as you put words on that "blank page." The only way to progress is to not stop. Don't ever stop writing, don't ever stop creating. To stop creating will only stump your progress as a writer. As long as you keep writing, you will never lose. The only bad writer is the one that doesn't write. Write. Use your words. Set your characters free, let them take over your life and let them roam in your thoughts. Pick at their brain, let them pick at yours. Allow yourself to immerse in your creation and don't let any ideas or opinions of anyone else sneak in. It's just you and your characters. Write about them, don't let them down. Don't let yourself down.
To anyone who writes, I encourage you to try NaNoWriMo. It isn't just for the new writers or the local closet writers, it's for everyone, even professional writers. Published authors such as Ally Carter, Merissa Meyer, Melissa Landers, Erin Morgenstern, Veronica Roth, John Green, Brandon Sanderson, Lemony Snicket, Neil Gaiman and Rainbow Rowell have participated in NaNoWriMo! Some of their published works were written during NaNoWriMo, like Cinder by Merissa Meyer and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This isn't a small town function on the world wide web, it's a national event involving everyone. You may be taking the challenge along with your favorite author, isn't that a crazy thought? NaNoWriMo isn't just about writing, it's about supporting your other fellow wrimos. Published authors will write pep talks to keep you from giving up. They encourage you, comfort you, and urge you to keep writing. They remind you that writing isn't easy, that sometimes you fail, but that in the end, everything will be okay.
Writing is fun, it is so much fun! I love writing! I love experimenting with words and planting seeds of ideas. I love creating worlds, I love creating people and molding them into who they are. I love seeing my blobs and blurbs smooth themselves out, and watching it grow and grow. It's fun to look back and see that arc of progress and then say "Oh my gosh! I wrote a book!"
So again, to anyone who writes, or to anyone who has a desire to write, I urge you to try. You don't have to do NaNoWriMo yet, but maybe take some time on a quiet rainy day to take your laptop or a notebook and pen and just start to write. Empty your thoughts and ideas onto a page and see what you can create. You might be amazed at what will happen. You may meet a new friend that day. I know that as long I write, I am never alone. When I write, anything is possible. The pen is mightier than the sword they say; that's something I truly believe. You are powerful, dear wrimos. With just 26 letters, you can change the world.
So what are you waiting for? Get writing!
Yours Truly,
Kenra Cook
P.S. Did I mention this was all totally free? Because it is!
To Learn More About NaNoWriMo, here are some links:
The History of NaNoWrimo here.
About NaNoWriMo and How It All Works here and here.
