NaNoWriMo

Some of you might already know (from one of my recent Hashtag posts) that I have decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this time around.

What is it? It is an annual event during which writers challenge themselves to write 50,000 words in the month of November.

Fifty thousand.

FIFTY.

THOUSAND.

In 30 days.

I have never heard of this until last year. I was only about 5 months into blogging when suddenly my Reader became covered with NaNoWriMo posts. Everyone was writing a novel. Back then it was too late for me to start, so I figured I would attempt it the following year.

My plan was to spend the entire year on coming up with an idea, drafting, planning, etc. By the time November rolled around, I would be prepared and ready to write my first book, which would turn into a bestseller. Of course.

Once November 2017 ended, and related posts stopped appearing in my Reader, I forgot about NaNoWriMo. Until October of this year. Mid October to be precise. At that time, I found out that there is something called Preptober, which is meant to serve as hardcore prep to November. NOW you tell me? After finding out that some people spent a whole month outlining every character and every scene for their future book, I felt slightly intimidated and disadvantaged.

Was I too late again?

Would I have to wait until next year to do it properly?

After a brief pity party, I decided to go for it anyway. To do NaNoWriMo. I had a chapter, or so already written (years ago), and I could use that to help me jump start the challenge. So I went home and turned it upside down, looking for that manuscript.

I never found it.

What a start…

But then, I said to myself: “If not now, then, when?”

When most people were celebrating Halloween, I was excited for November 1st – the start of NaNoWriMo.

If I want you to know something about me is that I welcome challenges.

Unlike some more experienced writers, I did not prepare for this challenge. I did not take a month off my full-time job. I did not create a bible containing everything about my upcoming book. I did not create a “kit” for my writing times. I did not re-arrange my house to make it more writing friendly. I did not ask my family, or friends to completely write me off for the next month.

It is a bit intimidating and scary, knowing that I signed up for such a steep challenge. Maybe not stretching ahead of time was a bad idea. Now that I think about it, it probably was. However, if I want you to know something else about me is that once I commit to something, I go for it.

The first of November was spent on me frantically putting words down. It took quite a bit of time to hit the daily average, but I did it. That totally empowered me. If I could do it the first day, I could do it for another day. And then hopefully for the next 28 days as well.

There is no telling how this month will end. Whether I will hit the 50k mark, or not. But what I do know is that I will try my hardest to write at least 1,667 words a day until the end of the month. Having to work full-time on top of this, AND having some sort of a life unrelated to the two, I realized that I might have to sacrifice a thing, or two. While I do not want to abandon my blog for all of November, I might have to accept that time will not allow me to be as active as I would like.

What does that mean? I am not sure. I would like to continue with my 2/week posts + Hashtag week at the end of the month, but I cannot predict how I will feel when it is time to post. Also, because writing that novel takes a lot of time, I might not be as involved on your blogs as I would like to be. I would like you to know that is just temporary. Once December rolls over, I will be back full speed ahead.

This does not mean that I will lock myself out of WP. Maybe I will be able to keep it all up irregardless. I just wanted to write this post, so that you knew what was going on, and maybe inspire YOU to part-take in NaNoWriMo. If not this year, then maybe the next.

To those participating – Good luck! May the inspiration be with you.

To those who do not participate – If you see someone feverishly writing, leave them alone. You might be interrupting a best seller in the works. If you see someone blankly staring at their screen, maybe try chatting them up. Maybe you will end up inspiring the next best seller.

Stay golden,

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