How to Prepare for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
November is known by most literati as National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. How it works: Start writing a 50,000-word novel on November 1 and finish by midnight on November 30th. I’ve participated in the event twice. First, let me share these three important takeaways from my experience.
November is known by most literati as National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. How it works: Start writing a 50,000-word novel on November 1 and finish by midnight on November 30th. (For in-depth details go to the NaNoWriMo.org.) I've participated in the event twice. First, let me share these three important takeaways from my experience.
1. It was unbelievably fun.
2. Being that productive gave me the shot of adrenaline I needed to write more.
3. I was terribly unprepared both times and ended up with 50,000 words of useless material.
OK, so "useless" may be a bit harsh, but when looking back at my past attempts I realized that if I had just done some planning and preparation, not only would I have been able to complete more words, they would have been the making of a publishable story. I bring this up because I believe that 1) You should TOTALLY try NaNoWriMo if you haven't before—you won't regret it and it will be one of the best writing decisions you make this year, and 2) spend the next few days preparing yourself to write a story that's not only good, but has the structure to be great.
The key to preparing yourself for the challenge is to ask yourself these questions (which were once suggested to me by @JaneFriedman):
What’s going to happen in the story?
What does the character want?
What will the turning points be?
If you can nail these down, you will set yourself up in a much better position to write something meaningful and (potentially) publishable.
To help you further we've set up a page filled with resources to help you prepare for the event, and you can check them all out here: Gear Up for NaNoWriMo
If you are looking for suggestions, I highly recommend the Novel in a Month Premium collection (if there are any left). If not, definitely check out Write-A-Thon and Write Your Novel in 30 Days.
Good luck to all of you who take the leap and participate. I'd love to hear about your experiences and progress in the comments below. Unfortunately I have to sit it out this year, but the good news is I will be participating in Movember again--but more on that later. *insert smiley face*
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Brian A. Klems is the former Senior Online Editor of Writer’s Digest, and author of Oh Boy, You’re Having a Girl (Adams Media/Simon & Schuster). Follow him on Twitter @BrianKlems.
