NaNoWriMo offers concrete writing experience for aspiring authors

Now that we’re out of the month of November, NaNoWriMo has officially ended for this year. This is my second time participating in NaNoWriMo. 

The first time I was able to participate was in fifth grade with a group of students at my elementary school. When I participated that time there was a teacher at the school who was our go-to teacher for all the steps of completing and the whole process of writing. 

Our homeroom teachers would send us periodically throughout the day to her room to type for half an hour or 20 minutes, so it was a lot of accountability to get it done. At the end of it, if we completed our 10,000 words goal, then we got to get a paper copy of our book, and we got to pick a cover, so I still have that to this day. 

This time participating in NaNoWriMo I was all on my own, so it was on my own time, on top of my regular schedule and regular homework. So this year I wasn’t able to complete the 10,000-word goal, unfortunately, since I had a lot more going on, but I still got to almost 6,000 words, and I still was able to get fairly far. Even though I wasn’t able to complete my word goal, it was still a good learning experience of writing in general. 

Some things I’ve learned participating in NaNoWriMo twice that I would tell people thinking about participating in NaNoWriMo next year include the following:

-Really set aside time each day or however often you can to just write. A lot of the times when I know I should be writing I just want to keep doing whatever I’m doing at the moment and not go write because I can’t think of anything to add to the story at the moment or I just have really bad writer’s block.

-Tell other people you’re doing NaNoWriMo—especially other people who like to write. My brother and I have both had stories we’ve started or completed writing in the past because we both really like to write, so a lot of the times when I start writing something I really like, I tell him about it because I know he has really good ideas when it comes to writing, so a lot of the times he helps me come up with ideas for my stories, and I have him helping me and a couple of other friends as well. It’s really good to have accountability when you’re writing.

-Utilize the tools that are there for you. A lot of the tools on NaNoWriMo might seem a little trivial and like they’re not going to help, but they do. For example, using the writing sprints can actually help you come up with ideas because your brain is under pressure to come up with something to write down. The letters from authors are definitely useful in giving some helpful tips for writing and just to give you a little motivation. 

-Know what works for you. Figure out the environment you thrive best in for writing. Some people need it to be absolutely quiet with no one around so there are no distractions. Other people like me enjoy playing music and just kind of vibing until you think of something. I personally like being around people because as soon as I get an idea I can bounce it off one of them.

Just because I might not have met my writing goal doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep writing and meet my writing goal next year. I definitely am going to keep writing, and I hope to keep doing NaNoWriMo as well. 

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.