Get ready for NaNoWriMo!

“What,” you ask, “is a NaNoWriMo?”

That’s what I inquired when I first heard the term six years ago. It stands for National Novel Writing Month and is an event, a tool, and a community. Fiction writers of all ages, abilities, and genres should check it out at https://nanowrimo.org.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, this volunteer organization does everything in its collective power to encourage writers to do what they do best—write. Each year, NaNoWriMo hosts a month-long writing sprint in November designed to encourage writers to finish a rough first draft of their novels. To date, 798,162 writers have completed 367, 913 novels through NaNoWriMo’s online tracking and motivational tool.

Now is the time seasoned writers begin preparing for NaNoWriMo!

It’s easy to create an account. Simply input your name and email address, then name your project and set your word count goal. You can do this today in anticipation of November. While you wait for that magic month, I recommend that you:

1. Complete your profile by uploading a photo and adding a little paragraph about yourself along with a list of your favorite books. This helps writers participating in the NaNoWriMo virtual community get to know you better.
2. Get involved in the NaNoWriMo forums and groups under the Community tab. You’ll meet lots of super nice writers willing to answer questions and commiserate.
3. Build a circle of NaNoWriMo buddies who are able to access your writing goals. They’ll serve as your cheerleaders and check on you when they notice you haven’t entered a daily word count.
4. Surf through the writer resources the website offers. Read pep talks from established authors like Diana Gabaldon, Dean Koontz, and Ann LaMott. View the community calendar, receive discounts on writer tools, and download the editing workbook to help you tackle your first draft.
5. Most importantly, take this time to create an outline for your novel. You may be a pantster, not a plotter, but most NaNoWriMo participants achieve their word count goals by using outlines, however cursory or unpolished.

On November 1, start logging your writing. It’s fun and motivational! The website keeps great stats. You can see how many words on average you write per day AND per minute. The site also keeps track of what time of day and where your write. And—this is so cool—it calculates when you’ll complete your project based on your current daily input. 

I haven’t participated since 2020, but I plan to challenge myself this year. I hope you will join me. Look me up at JillKWillis and be my buddy!