How I (Finally) Managed to Write a 50K-word Novel for NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it is often called, is an annual online event which takes place every November. Whenever this event is about to roll around, a lot of writers I know start making plans for their 30 days of a novel-writing spree. Ideas for a novel to write are tossed around, outlines are created, a schedule is set up and everyone they know is warned that they will either disappear at times to get some writing done or they will be too cranky to communicate due to lack of sleep.

 

I wrote my first novel when I was in my teens. There were many days I passed the free moments I had in high school to write in my notebook. After my first novel was published and later republished, that “novelist” title I had finally achieved placed me among the ranks of writers I knew who had also written novels. I was hooked on writing them! So, naturally, trying my hand at NaNoWriMo was something I considered trying.

 

Unfortunately, my attempts to write those 50,000 words did not go very well!

 

There was one time I tried to do NaNoWriMo, but I was also working as a freelance journalist at the time, and after my editor handed me an assignment, all efforts to write a novel went to the back burner so that I could meet my deadline.

 

My next attempt at NaNoWriMo was a semi-win. I DID write a new novel, but it was actually more of a novella. It came in at 30,000 words and not the required fifty. There was just no more story to write. I didn’t want to be one of those writers who filled their manuscript up with useless writing, unimportant scenes, fluff or gibberish in order to get to 50K words, so I just left it at that. My writer friends assured me that this was not so terrible and congratulated me on writing a new book. (That novella is STILL a novella after I revised it years later. It is currently with a publisher!)

The same thing happened again another year I tried to do NaNoWriMo, and I took solace in the fact that at least I had another novella written.

 

Then I tried doing NaNoWriMo another year. This, too, did not go well, because I could only write one chapter before I was seriously blocked. My many attempts to get unblocked and get back to writing that novel were not successful, so I withdrew.

 

This block happened again another year with another novel attempt, but I at least wrote summaries for ALL of the chapters of that book. That was better than not being able to move past Chapter One! At least I had the whole story figured out, but I just couldn’t get the words for the story onto paper.

 

When I made the decision to try NaNoWriMo again this year, I vowed that this year would be different. After all, this year was different for everything else writing-related in my life: I was earning more as a freelance writer, I was succeeding in my new venture as a content writer, I had submitted manuscripts to publishers, I am once again looking for an agent to represent my novels, and I have managed to write several ebooks.

 

Plus, I was writing again! I finally got back to writing in late 2020, after enduring a serious creative block while I was recovering from an illness, when I wrote a whole nonfiction book in my notebook, and I figured that trying to do NaNoWriMo this year would be the ultimate challenge to prove I was able to write a novel in 30 days. I believed I could do it. I had faith that I could do it.

 

And having an idea for a novel in my head for a few months helped. I was ready to start writing it!

 

Before I got started, though, I had to ask myself: Should I outline this novel or not? I had A LOT of information about this novel in my head and I was confident that I could at least get started writing it. So, I decided to take the pantser approach, rather than the planner approach. I just decided to wing it!

 

Soon after I got started writing, though, I definitely had to create an outline. The story was coming to me too fast so I had to write everything down before I lost it. All that writing down was separated into chapters. I also used this sheet of paper for any notes or ideas.

 

Having that outline helped A LOT as I continued writing the novel. I wrote the novel on my laptop because we only have one computer in this house, and I needed something that I could have access to at any time. The laptop was that very thing. I wrote the novel at the desk in my bedroom, on the living room couch, and at the kitchen table.

 

Some writers plan their writing time but, for me, it was not so much planning for when I would write in the novel, but just when I would have that undisturbed time to write – which was in the evenings. I would spend the day thinking about the next chapter to write, and then sit down that night to write it. This was unusual for me, as I normally did my writing in the early hours of the mornings while everybody was asleep, but for some reason, writing this novel at night just happened on its own. I joked to my kids that I was a “night writer.” I was often up until midnight writing (yes, I was burning that midnight oil!). Sometimes these writing sessions started at 9PM, and at other times, 10PM.

 

When I got started writing this novel, I decided I would write 2000 words every day to meet my 50K-word goal. Unfortunately, some days were just too busy, and I didn’t get to write in the novel, but they were only a few days out of all 30 days of November. I kept tabs on my word counts and figured out how many words I needed to write once I was back at it in order to get back on track to reaching 50K words. With that effort, I managed to reach 50K words on November 29^th.

 

Ultimately, though, the big thing that helped me to reach my goal of writing a 50,000-word novel in one month was discipline. I had to have the discipline to get my butt in the chair every day and WRITE! (Seriously, you have to be disciplined if you want to succeed at NaNoWriMo. There were many times I didn't "feel like" writing or wasn't inspired, but I still did the writing anyway!) Even when I had no clue how to start a chapter or couldn’t figure out how to resolve something in the chapter, I sat at the desk and stared at that blank screen, pushing myself to write something. Gradually, ideas came to me, and I soon started writing. I also figured things out when I got to that certain point in the chapter. (Sometimes, you just have to write anyway even if you can’t figure something out ahead of time.) But the discipline to write every day – or to TRY to write every day – is very important in order to achieve the goal of writing a novel in a month.

 

The same goes if you want to write a novel at any other time of the year, or even a book. You need to have the discipline to keep at it. Keep going. Keep writing.

 

I’m thrilled I was able to finally succeed at NaNoWriMo this year. It was a huge accomplishment for me. I finally did it! YAY!

 

And therein lies another lesson I learned: DON’T EVER GIVE UP!! If you really want to do something, keep trying. It took me many attempts to succeed at NaNoWriMo. I didn’t succeed on my first try! Or even my second try! But I kept trying until I finally did succeed. I never gave up on it! It was important to me to be able to do this, so I kept trying. I tried and tried again. And I have finally succeeded.

 

And you know what? It was worth it. The sheer joy I felt at FINALLY achieving this goal was such a wonderful moment to experience. It was a really great feeling. I’m so glad I hung in there, that I never gave up, and that I gave it another try. Because of that, I finally did it. I finally wrote a 50,000-word novel for NaNoWriMo.

 

And now to see if I will be able to do it again!

You Will Always Be a Writer

 

Being a writer is funny sometimes. A writer is the kind of person who just sees the world differently. While one person is laughing about a funny situation, the writer decides to use it in their WIP. While one person is raging over something they read in the newspaper, the writer sees it as something they can write about or as an idea for an article to pitch. While one person is enjoying the beauty of a sunset, the writer is describing it in their head.

 

Then there’s the fact that our muse likes to come and go. A writer can go for years, writing nonstop, then the muse suddenly goes on an extended vacation and the writer is not able to get the words onto paper. Or there’s the time that life will get too chaotic or busy, and it’s just not possible for the writer to write as often as they used to.

 

But this will not change anything. The writer will still be a writer even if they can’t write. The writer will ALWAYS be a writer even if they can’t write. Once you flip the “writer switch” on, you really can’t turn it back off.

 

Remember that the next time you start to feel down or “like a fraud” when the subject of writing comes up. Even if you can’t write and even if life is just too crazy or scary to be able to write, you are still a writer. You will ALWAYS be a writer.

 

Being a writer is not about being published.

 

Being a writer is not about writing every single day.

 

Being a writer is not about having an active presence on social media or constantly getting published everywhere.

 

Being a writer is about you having the ability and the passion to write. Even if those things go away, they won’t stay gone forever. Because there will come the day that, after days, weeks, months and years of no writing, you will wake up one morning and start writing again.

 

That writer that you are is within you. It will always be within you. No one and nothing can destroy the writer that you have inside of you. Nothing can take it away.

 

Even if a writer is not actively writing with their hands, they’re still writing with their minds. Their creativity is taking everything they observe, do, hear, say and go through in life and using it as material for things to write later. This happens without the writer even noticing it. That “workshop in the mind” is constantly running, and even if it takes a very long time to hit you with an idea that inspires you to write, it will still have something to inspire you to write with at some point. You just need to wait it out.

 

Meanwhile, just keep doing stuff.

 

Even if you can’t write about what you’re doing, don’t worry. Just do it anyway. Live your life. Get through what you need to get through. Try new things, visit new places and expose yourself to new ideas. You don’t need to write every day to be a writer. You don’t need to be actively writing all of the time in order to be a writer.

 

Once you start on that path of being a writer, you will always be a writer. Even when you’re not writing.

If You Can't Write at Home, Go Write Somewhere Else

 

Writing at home is how most writers get their writing done these days. I write at home. Many fellow writers I know write at home. Most writers just starting out usually write at home.

 

But sometimes, home is not always where the writing is.

 

Even when writing at home, with all your comfort foods and items everywhere and with zero interruptions, you might have a hard time getting the writing going like always.

 

Sometimes, no matter what you do at home, the words just won’t come out.

 

You try exercising, meditating, visualizing, hydrating with water, sitting alone with your thoughts as well as reading – but even STILL you can’t write! It’s like your muse has gone on holiday without notice.

 

That’s when you will need to take a drastic measure: Change your writing environment.

 

When you spend time at the desk day in and day out, writing to your heart’s content, that writing environment can get old after a while. You’ll need to get your creative juices flowing in a different environment. This usually helps a lot of writers struggling to write and it just might help you as well.

 

There was one time I was writing a book when the day came that I couldn’t write anything. I tried all the usual tricks to get writing but nothing worked. It was only when I went to the library and surrounded myself with books for research that I was suddenly inspired to write. (I am not sure if it was the change in environment or having books on the topic all over the table that got me writing, but at least I was writing!)

 

The library is just one place you can go to get some writing done. I have also gone on a solo lunch and took my writing notebook along with me, writing while I ate. (Funnily enough, the service I received at that restaurant that day was fantastic. Maybe they thought I was a restaurant critic.)

 

I have also done some writing while my kiddo played at the Playplace in McDonald’s.

 

You can also try writing at a park. I have found this to be enjoyable as well. Just being out in nature, surrounded by trees and lovely paths, can really boost creativity. (If the sound of kids playing is an issue, maybe wear headphones while you write.)

 

Other places you can go to change your environment for writing:

 

·        A seating area near a river

·        A beach

·        Another room of the house (I often write at the kitchen table!)

·        A friend’s house

·        A cabin in the woods

·        A motel room

·        A treehouse or a fort

 

There are a number of different places you can go to in order to get some writing done. There are also different environments you can create in order to help you get those words down. Use your imagination and go with what feels right for you.

 

Sometimes, just changing where you write and your environment can help you write when you’re struggling to write. See if taking this kind of action helps and keep it as just one option to try the next time you’re having a bad writing day.