November is National Novel Writing Month and NaNoWriMo encourages writers across the globe to write 50,000 words in 30 days. It’s an amazing accomplishment! Writing a novel requires making a plan. Let’s talk about how to win NaNoWriMo and why you need to prep now.
Find Your Writing Friends
The goal for NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That breaks down to 1,667 words per day. It’s possible to knock out your word count writing in solitude. But it’s not very much fun. Take some time in October and find other folks in the writing community, either online or in real life, who are participating in NaNoWriMo. The we’re-all-in-this-together mindset will help you stay motivated on those days when you want to quit.
If you’re not sure how to find a group, visit Nanowrimo.org for more information. It’s free to create an account, there’s an awesome wordcount tracker, as well as opportunities to earn virtual badges. Check your local library as well. Often they will have special events planned to support NaNoWriMo participants.
Don’t Wait Until November First to Decide What You’re Writing About
The best way to win NaNoWriMo is to prep now. If you wait until November first to start planning your story, I promise you’ll give up quickly. It’s too daunting to write every day if you don’t know what you’re writing about. Let me be clear. I’m well aware of the age-old debate between folks who want to plot out their novel before writing versus folks who want to delight in the journey and see where the story takes them.
But this is a post about how to prepare to win. Writing 50,000 words in 30 days requires a plan. Much like the fictional characters and the story world you’re going to design for them, you’ll need a map and a strategy to conquer your obstacles and get to The End of your creative journey.
There’s nothing wrong with finding joy in the creative process. However, winning NaNoWriMo requires sustained effort almost every day for an entire month. Please believe me when I say this will be more fun and you’re more likely to succeed if you plan ahead. Brainstorm until you have a basic plot, an interesting story world and a cast of flawed yet likeable characters.
Here’s a quick rundown of the plot elements you’ll need to start writing your story:
- A protagonist who wants something. This has to be something specific. World peace is an admirable goal for any hero or heroine but it’s too vague. If your protagonist is in fact fighting an epic battle on their quest for peace, write down exactly what they will be conquering: dragons, aliens from outer space, the mayor of their small town, their own inner demons, etc.
- Plenty of obstacles keeping them from getting that elusive thing. You have options here. An obstacle in a story takes many forms. Write down anything you can think of that might get in your characters’ way. A bear chasing them, job loss, extreme weather, finding out they have a child they didn’t know about. A word to the nice ladies writing sweet, wholesome romance novels: miscommunication is not a plot device. It happens a lot and I’m mentioning it because I’ve tried it myself. A situation that could be resolved with one conversation is not an obstacle. So don’t do it. Not even for NaNoWriMo.
- An interesting setting/story world. Spend twenty minutes making a list of iconic settings and story worlds in pop culture. The apartment and Central Perk in Friends, Luke’s Diner and all of Stars Hallow in Gilmore Girls, Tatooine in the Star Wars franchise are three that come to mind. Don’t panic. Your setting doesn’t have to be mind-blowing. But you do need a setting with enough sensory details to keep the story moving.
Pick a Genre You Already Enjoy
The creative writers who conquer the NaNoWriMo mountain and finish the month with 50,000 words are often the writers who choose to build a story in a genre they enjoy. There aren’t any rules or guidelines that say you can’t do something different. Many a novelist has jumped into a new genre boat and found it to be an incredibly refreshing experience.
However, I’m here to coach you on how to set yourself up for success. Often writers get bogged down in the second week of November because they suddenly realize they don’t understand how to plot a story. So write in a genre that you’ve read before. Preferably a genre that you’ve read A LOT. This will help your brain intuitively craft that next scene. You’ll feel more confident, which will help you keep going when you’re exhausted.
Practice, practice, practice
Set a timer on your phone, your microwave, your smartwatch…you get the picture. For an established amount of time, do nothing else but write. Go old school with pen and paper, dictate into your phone or type on your computer. However you choose to get the words out of your head, make it happen until the timer rings. This is called a writing sprint. It will be your new best friend for all of November.
Remember: if you want to win NaNoWriMo, you need to prep now. So practice writing. Pretend you are your protagonist and write a journal entry about the best thing that ever happened in your fictional character’s life. Set the timer again and write for twenty minutes, describing every detail you can think of regarding your story’s setting. This exercise will give you some idea of the effort required for you to log 1,667 words in a day. Hint: the secret sauce is the writing sprint.
Final Thoughts How to Win NaNoWriMo and Why You Need to Prep Now
National Novel Writing Month is an incredible opportunity to stretch your creative muscles and challenge yourself to write a novel. It doesn’t have to be brilliant. It just has to be a complete story. Ideally, a story you can revisit later and revise into something worth publishing.
October is the perfect time to read a book by a favorite author in a genre that you enjoy reading. There are people handing out bad advice in the world telling you not to do this because you’ll steal other people’s work. This is the worst advice I’ve ever heard. Spoiler alert: there are no unique ideas. Everything’s been done before. But your story will be unique because it will be from your perspective, featuring the characters with unfulfilled longings, embarking on their epic journeys in the story world that you created.
So go on. Read the great books. See how James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Susan Mallery, Taylor Jenkins Reid, John Grisham, Celeste Ng, Abby Jimenez and countless others have written their bestselling novels.
Then keep prepping. November will be here before we know it.
If you’d like some additional resources, here are a few of my favorites:
Why Plots Fail by Tiffany Yates Martin: a quick read and highly informative article about how to plot effectively
Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell: a short, useful book about how to incorporate that crucial moment that will be the crux of your whole plot.
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes how to plot a romance novel. It’s easy to read, easy to implement and the best writing resource I’ve seen specifically for romance writers.
Savannah Gilbo has some incredible resources about preparing for NaNoWriMo. Her Ultimate Guide is phenomenal!
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you have any questions, I’m happy to help. Leave a comment and let me know if you’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo this year.
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