There is a lot to be said about NaNoWriMo. It can be a great motivator to finally kick your story into gear and craft it into the book you’ve been dreaming of for years. There is plenty of fun to be had, plenty of connections to be made, but the choice has to come from you and doing what is best for you and your novel.
Making connections
I absolutely love the writing community inspired by NaNoWriMo. The forums are brimming with excitement over word counts and achievements made over the course of the month. There are threads pertaining to different genres to help with prep work needing to be done.
There are also write-outs scheduled during the month. Local chapters with writers in your area are always planning a get-together in the hopes that inspiration will come from a group setting instead of pining away in the darkness of your office all the time. Or your really, really, really cold basement.
Lots of engagement to get the creative juices flowing.
You can spend hours chatting with other authors, some of which are probably right in your neck of the woods.
Or you can get your book written.
NaNoWriMo Your Way
I know, sour grapes much? That’s always been my issue with forums in general. I could spend all day connecting with like-minded folks and absolutely have a blast chatting them up about their book. But at the end of the day I still have pages to get done.
Last year I tried to use the forums. There were great people posting every day for hours on end about their journey. Great inspirational tales to motivate your own writing. There were write-outs and meetings, all kinds of engagement to help writers hit their goals.
I did a little bit of posting. I wanted to hit up the write-outs and meet some local writers but the timing never worked out. There were goals to hit, a house to maintain, and kids that missed me already. For me, working on the book came first and community fell to the wayside.
And that’s my point in this. There are many opportunities with NaNoWriMo, and one of the main reasons I’m doing it again this year. Connecting with people, even on a small scale with a word or ten of encouragement or advice about a plot twist can go a long way to making your own journey easier to handle.
Writing is a slog so why not take advantage of the tools at your disposal. But on the other end? Don’t let them slow you down or impede your progress. Use them or don’t but make sure either choice serves the book your crafting over everything else.
That is the goal. 50,000 words. 30 days.
You can do it. But do it your way.
