Lessons Learned From NaNoWriMo
Why Take the National Novel Writing Month Challenge
Chris Baty, National Novel Writing Month founder, says, “Because of the limited writing window, the only thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality.”
So why do it?
Turn Off the Internal Editor
One of the early lessons learned by new NaNoWriMo participants is to turn off the internal editor. No pondering the best name for a character, no stopping to think of just the right word, no re-phrasing into something smoother.
According to Baty, “By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create.”
The ability to focus on creating and not editing will carry over to future, less-hurried work.
Let the Story Go Where It Wants
Some NaNoWriMo participants outline the plot and plan characters fully before the official November start, setting them up for a month of directed, focused writing. Others begin with nothing and let the story grow as they write.
With this second strategy, spontaneity gets full rein. New characters appear from the recesses of the imagination. Characters with only a brief mention suddenly become major antagonists. An odd comment becomes a major plot thread. Old diary entries, random thoughts used in word count desperation, can lead to character background, which can lead to subplots that would never have occurred without the diary.
Produce a Rough Draft to Edit Later
As the official NaNoWriMo site says, “Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing.”
Participants find their characters having long, involved dreams. Writers accept challenges to include silly things in their stories, such as the combination of a Ninja, a robot, and a monkey. Pointless dialogue goes on and on and on. Long descriptions that would never show up in a book get written for the sake of word count.
That’s all right. Somewhere in all the detritus are a few unexpected gems: a lovely phrase in that long description; a whimsical character that adds humor; hidden character background that wouldn’t have shown up if it weren’t for the long dream sequence.
And regardless of the mish-mash of writing that is the final result, the fact remains that it has the bones of a novel. Once it’s down on paper, it can be tweaked, ruthlessly cut, and otherwise massaged into something worthwhile.
Daily Writing Discipline
Beyond the creativity found and the rough draft produced, one of the biggest benefits of NaNoWriMo is pushing to write every day, often several times a day.
When November is over, writers are often at loose ends with newly-free evenings, weekends, and odd moments that don’t need to be dedicated to The Novel. While reconnecting with family and catching up on other responsibilities, wise writers will remain determined to continue writing every day.
If a novelist can churn out 1,700 words a day, seven days a week during NaNoWriMo, then imagine the good quality writing can come with a goal of 500 or 1,000 words a day, only five days a week. The discipine of NaNoWriMo can be carried over to the normal writing life, whether working on short stories, articles, or a novel.
NaNoWriMo Challenge
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