If you’re a writer, chances are you’ve heard of, or seen mention of, Nanowrimo, a non-profit organization that runs an annual challenge based on the acronym – NaNoWriMo which stands for National Novel Writing Month. This challenge takes place every November and thousands of writers participate in the hopes of completing a rough first draft of a 50,000 page book. Every day of November requires a dedicated block of time spent writing in order to maintain a little under 1,500 words/day to complete the challenge in the the alloted time frame.
I decided that I would do the challenge this year because previous years found me smack-bang in the middle of writing projects, deep in the editing trenches. I had the time this year, and the motivation, because I haven’t written since early in 2021. I’ve not only been unmotivated, but busy doing art projects.
At the outset, I had a rough outline for a romace adventure story. I wasn’t all that successful at sticking to the plot points, but I didn’t mind where it went and I was happy with the overall result.
In case you’re wondering — yes, I completed the challenge. I actually finished ahead of the end of November, on 23 November. I crossed the finish line at 50, 034 words in total. With dedicated time and focus, I managed to produce a very mediocre story with plenty of rough edges, but I am most proud of the fact that I WROTE. I accomplished something because I set a goal and worked towards completing the draft.
Will I do NanoWriMo again? I don’t know. Maybe. I didn’t find it much of a challenge, as I’ve always written fast in large blocks of time. The idea was to get the cogs greased again, which I’ve done. I’m happy.
