Fandom Friday | The Stages of NaNoWriMo

It’s officially National Novel Writing Month! NaNoWriMo is the writing challenge to top all writing challenges: 50,000 words in 30 days. The challenge was created to inspire and encourage writers to stop putting it off and get that first draft written. I’ve started the challenge several times, and won twice – and although I’m not doing it this year I am excited to see what my friends come up with and cheer them on.

This is not an easy feat, and can definitely be a struggle! Here are some of the stages I’ve noticed over the years;

Remembering NaNo is coming halfway through October…and having no ideas whatsoever.
Getting a great idea, planning it out and actually feeling prepared to start.

3. The 1st of November hits, and you’re ready to go…

4. …and you’ve suddenly never been so popular. Everyone wants to ~~cut into valuable writing time~~ spend time with you.

5. You actually get ahead of your target and it feels so gooooood…

6. …and then you discover a huge plot hole and have to redo a huge chunk.

7. But you keep going. You skip showers, binge eat junk food and set up a caffeine IV drip. You don’t see anyone for days and your room/office starts to smell, but you’re determined to keep at it. Even when you’re not writing, you’re thinking about your novel.

8. You get really close to quitting a LOT.

9. But finally reaching the finish line feels amazing. You’ve done yourself (and your characters) proud – now go brush your teeth.

Winning NaNoWriMo is so rewarding and all of the blood, sweat, tears and cancelled social events are worth it in the end! It’s so easy to give up, especially if you get busy or come across problems with your work, but being able to say you did it feels so good. Keep going, and remember that this is only the first draft – it doesn’t have to be perfect. It is also worth saying that you should be realistic; look after yourself, and if the default 50,000 words is too much you can set a smaller target on the website. Don’t doubt yourself, you can do this!

Are you doing NaNo this year? What’s your novel about? If not, have you done it before and what advice do you have?

See you soon,