Otherwise known as NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, sponsored by the non-profit The Office of Letters and Light, takes place every November. Originally started in 1999, it now involves thousands of novelists every year striving toward a minimum goal of writing 50,000 words in a single month. It’s mayhem and absurdly fun to do. I won it last year (meaning I wrote at least the minimum 50,000 words required) and I’m planning to do it again this year.

Last year was tough because I hadn’t really sat down with the discipline of writing an entire novel that quickly before (I’d done a chapter here and a chapter there for ages). It was crucial, though, because it taught me the limits of my discipline in a very organized, documented way. I understood under which circumstances the words flowed for me, and under which I struggled. (Knowing that now helps me with my current project. When I get stuck, I use the tricks I taught myself during last NaNo.)

Strangely enough, this last January was more or less JaNoWriMo for me (ha). I started a project vaguely between January 6-10 and had more than 50,000 words by January’s end. That furious pace continued until I had to set aside it for wedding stuff by March. Since then, I’d say I’ve also been writing a lot more in 2009 than I did in both 2008 and 2007 — it’s amazing, really, what I’ve actually written this year — so I’m eager to see what kind of pace I can maintain this November. Past success doesn’t guarantee anything, though. I still need an idea (starting with nothing on November 1st isn’t going to go over well!) and I’d had one by this time last year. If I don’t have one by October 1st, I’ll start worrying. By November 1st, though, it’s kamikaze novel writing time.

The other problem is this — what if I’m still up to my eyeballs in my current draft? Could there be any way for me to work on more than one that month? Probably not. If Things of Importance start happening with my current project, NaNo may have to fall by the wayside. In which case… gah. It’d be both a good and sad thing. Primarily good, though, because Things of Importance are really more important to me.

I tried NaNo first in 2002 and then again in 2007. Both times I gave up by the first week. The two unchangeable problems of November for me are my birthday and Thanksgiving; both occasions usually drag me away from my computer for some time. Ideally in NaNoWriMo you need to stay on pace (“pace” is at least 1,667 words a day — which isn’t asking too much, to be honest) in order to comfortably hit 50,000 words. Last year I had some days of 600 words then days of 6,000 words, which was somewhat absurd, but then again, I have days like that as a regular writer, even when I’m not trying to go for a goal as pointed as 50,000 in a month. I’m also an admitted procrastinator. That also influenced the way my month went. (For the image I posted: Red indicates “under pace”; green indicates “over pace”; and gray indicates “on pace”. Note: It says “30 days left” because it’s not yet November 2009 and the images I snagged from last year are a bit wonky, as they’re half updated; I snagged a bunch last year but I forgot where I saved them. Brilliant…)

I’m a writer but not everyone who participates in NaNoWriMo is, or at least is for their day-job. Anyone can do it. Anyone who reads has a good idea of how to start writing. A bunch of people I know personally are planning to attempt NaNoWriMo this year. Kamikaze novel writing with a collective group of people who’ve chosen to do this — there’s nothing like it. If you’ve never done it before, you really ought to consider signing up on the website (you can do that today!) and getting ready for the insanity to begin at 12am November 1st. Or 9am, or 5pm, really — the whole idea of NaNoWriMo is to set the goal for yourself, monitor yourself, and report your own word count on the honor system. So it’s entirely up to you.

Are you planning to do it? (Say yes!) Have you already been thinking about it, or are you considering it now? I bet you’ll have fun if you do it… Shameless non-profit promotion? Who, me?

Related posts:

1. And NaNoWriMo is over. I won NaNoWriMo 2009! Now all I need to do...
2. It’s That Time of Year Again! NaNoWriMo time, of course! (I did see Christmas decorations at...
3. JaNoWriMo? I haven’t posted since last Wednesday because I’ve been doing...

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