Some Things You Should Know About NANOWRIMO

November is the bane (or joy) of every writer's existence. It's the time when nation-wide, all the people buckle down and attempt to write 50,000 words of a novel. Some authors/writers/agents/etc love NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month) Some hate it. Some have no opinions--at least none they're willing to voice.

Whatever your opinion of NaNoWriMo, it doesn't matter. It's a GREAT challenge for anyone who calls him/herself a writer.

Why? Quite simply: it makes you write.

There's a way to track your progress in pretty little charts. Other people get to actually see what you're doing and if you're writing. There's encouragement, accountability, persistence--all the things we talk about on Tangled. Sometimes, you won't finish--because 50K in 30 days is kind of crazy. Honestly. When we attempt it, we're basically saying "I have no experience in hiking but I'm going to climb this mountain and not die." Especially when you have other things going on in your life.

But there's something about attempting that's so fulfilling. And then, on the off chance you succeed---well. That's just about one of the coolest things ever.

Last year was my first year doing NaNoWriMo. And guess what? I won! *insert happy dance here* The problem with that is when I look my life this year, I'm not quite sure that I will win again. There's just so much going on with school, work, life, and all the things in between. I know the odds of me winning  have decreased. I know it will be a treacherous hike. I know that I have a massive 10-12 page paper, plus my normal homework, plus the Spooktacular all happening in the next three weeks.

Maybe attempting NaNo is already labelled a disaster. But you know what? I don't even care!

So why am I telling you all this? A few reasons.

1) Patricia and I are both doing NaNo. We'll be talking about it on the blog through November. If you are participating, you should add us! We want to connect with you. I'm @danielleewrites on NaNo site and Patricia is @patriciaeriley.

2) Even if you don't participate, there's still A TON of good writing advice out there about NaNo and writing and all the things in between. Here are some things I found last year that you may find useful, encouraging and challenging whether you're doing NaNo or not.

Writing Prep for NaNoWriMo from Persephone Magazine
Rules for Writers from the late L.K. Madigan (Mermaid's Mirror, Flash Burnout)
You Gotta Believe from Myra McEntire (Hourglass)
My Pro-NaNo Rant from Julie Kagawa (The Iron Fey series)
Remember to Suck from poet E. Kristen Anderson
Why NaNoWriMo Rocks My Life by Courtney Allison Moulton (Angelfire)

3) It makes you think about what you want, when you want to do it and how you will accomplish it. We do weekly check-ins, but think of this is a monthly check-in. Set a goal and do everything you can to achieve it. Even if it seems crazy. It may be crazy, but that doesn't mean it won't be fun.

4) I really wanted an excuse to post this video. Because I love it. So much.




Are you participating in NaNo? If so, leave us your username so we can find each other!

What are some goals you have for November?