NaNoWriMo: 5 Lessons for a Writing Life
Opportunities for winning in the writing life
How does one go about “winning” NaNoWriMo? That is, National Novel Writing Month’s goal of 50,000 words in the 30 days of November.
I managed to complete my required 50K words by November 23, but I didn’t have a full-time job like so many of my NaNo “buddies.” Not if you ignore my house, my husband, my dogs…. I could write whenever I wanted so I’d never compare my workload to those with kids and a “real” employer. I currently employ myself in my writing endeavors (business, if you will) and what a taskmaster I am!
1) Planning matters
You may be a planner or a pantser, or the hybrid plantster, but to achieve 50,000 words on the page in 30 days requires at least some goal setting. The NaNo website provides the writer some statistics about daily and cumulative achievements to keep him/her on target to the ultimate goal.
In October, I was already 15,000 words into my debut novel when I realized that, because of an over-generalized story outline, November’s challenge could send me entirely off the rails, down a wasted rabbit trail, whatever. I wanted to win NaNo; and not just win it but have a completed story draft out of which I could tease my best writing through the editing process.
