NaNoWriMo: 5 Lessons for a Writing Life
By: Julie Ranson
Tags: Planning, Goal Setting, Editing, Writing, Writing Tips

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.

So, not only did I set daily writing goals in a spreadsheet, I wrote a decent outline and laid it out digitally(also in a spreadsheet). I fell in love with Excel when I taught a full semester college course in the software — it’s so versatile! Advice from a conference seminar in October set me on a storyboarding journey too. Thanks, Lisa!

2) Writing time matters

The folks over at NaNo get it. Carving out time for writing is the only way to get you to your goal — no matter what month it is. They run sprints on Twitter, offer a discussion board to help writers figure all this out.

When I retired, I envisioned sitting at my laptop from 8–11 in the morning and typing away, daily disciplined like Stephen King. Nora Roberts apparently works from 8–5, but she’s a “real” writer who’s been around the block a gazillion times. Haha… I am a writer, quoth this writer evermore.

My writing schedule has yet to evolve into anything resembling that. Showing myself some grace is important, and the passing of time will bring me to a more regimented writing time, I’m sure.

In my defense, I wrote 22 of the first 23 days during NaNo whereupon I finished the required 50,000 words. The day I missed was election day, when I worked 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. at my local polling place wiping down individual voting booths after each voter. My writing happened when it happened. As well, some days I wrote twice. A group writing sprint would be announced and there I’d be, laying down more vocabulary in my story. Yeah! I rocked it.

3) Community matters

Nothing gets one through the storm like good friends traveling in the same boat. NaNo even has a section called “Community” on its site where forums offer answers and groups form in support of each other based on location, genre, or even personal traits.

I enjoyed finding new buddies on the NaNo site. One buddy, Wendy, invited me to my first writing sprint and, in turn, I introduced her to our city’s fabulous James River Writers. My local group held Zoom meetings and writing sprints throughout November.

Belonging to several Facebook writing groups provided immeasurable support and camaraderie. We commiserated when someone struggled finding the time around pandemic homeschooling, getting pulled into overtime at work, or just floundering with the basic process of pushing ideas onto paper.

Bottom line, writers are thinkers. We recognize when we have a learning gap. Most of us are not afraid to ask questions of our writing community, a vast community of experts who love sharing their expertise. Just look at the authors on YouTube, Reedsy, and other places willing to share and encourage.

Community is important, possibly the most important element of a writing life.

4) Skipping the edits matters

Sounds wrong, right? As a newbie writer, it is really tempting to look over scenes I’ve recently written, doing so under the guise of positioning today’s writing onto the correct path.

Most of the time, that wasn’t true. Instead, I took out the ol’ red pen and started rephrasing, visiting the thesaurus, or researching something that could wait.

Putting off writing — it’s a thing, a common thing. Seriously, it is all over the discussion boards and Facebook, so I know this to be absolutely true.

And that’s where not editing comes in. As long as a writer is editing a new work, they are not finishing that book, that article, that poem. It pays to get out the words by telling yourself that story. Later, you can give it a good haircut or major scene surgery, whatever editing your work needs. First, you need to lay it all out there. Clean up comes later.

You want a finished work, don’t you? Nike has it right, just do it.

Write. It. All. Down. First.

5) Convincing myself

Having completed my first horrible draft, I feel like I’m in a new club. I sense an arrival, of sorts.

Now, I hum to myself, “I am a writer” to the tune of We Are The Champions. I do love me some Queen.

I’ll keep on writing till the end.

Perhaps you also participated in NaNo, maybe you learned different lessons. Tell me about them in the comments!