What is NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is basically a writing challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during November.
More information can be found on the official website
Update
I am pleased to say, that I’ve not only reached my personal target of 50k, I hit 68,581 words of my first draft!
I’m not finished by any means. This is a bare bones first draft and I know I have a long way to go.
For a few years now, I have sat on the sidelines of twitter, peeking in at NaNo but never quite getting the courage to bite the bullet. Last year, I even went as far as entering, but I didn’t write a single word in that November. I could give a million excuses, but I think we can all agree 2020 was a complete nightmare. The biggest reason, though, was that I found out I was pregnant, and honestly, I couldn’t focus on my own life at that point, let alone all the people in my head’s lives.
I’m so proud that I’ve almost finished this draft. I completed NaNo on my laptop and on my phone whilst quietly typing away, knowing my baby could wake up at any moment.
This is the first time in a long time that I’m passionate about moving forward with this story.
Sneak peak at my WIP:
It will come as no surprise to my Instagram or Twitter followers that I’m writing a Romance. And what’s better than a Romance? A Fantasy Romance.
Waking the Siren
💫 Fantasy Romance
🍎 very loosely inspired by Snow White
🧜♀️ Siren
🔥 Fire Demon
💀 Evil King
💘 Enemies to Lovers
💙 Found Family
🏴☠️ Pirates
If interested links to my Pinterest board and Spotify for this WIP below *TW playlist features a few songs from Harry Potter movie soundtracks:
My tips for completing NaNo or starting that WIP you keep thinking about:
Read, read, read and read some more – read the books you love. Read the books in the genre of your WIP. Learn from them, what did you love about them?
Targets – set yourself a reasonable target, one that will push you but also one that is manageable to prevent burnout.
Writer Friends – writing buddies are so important. They help boost morale and give you valuable feedback. I’ve been incredibly lucky and have found a couple of like-minded people. You want someone who will give you honest feedback, not someone to blow smoke up your ass and gaslight you. For me, that’s incredibly important. Also, being able to vent to someone who knows what it feels like to lay awake at night thinking over your plot and writing scenes down at random parts of the day for fear of forgetting them.
Take time for you – this may seem counterproductive, but it’s so important to let yourself breathe. You don’t want to burn yourself out, be preemptive and give yourself some ‘me time.’
A tidy workspace
I just can’t write in a messy area. It’s like my brain won’t focus on anything else but that mess. So my advice it to create a little haven for yourself to write in. Another favourite place for me to write, in sat in bed with plenty of pillows and no distractions.
I hope these tips help. From a fellow amateur writer to another!
Let me know how you did if you took part in NaNo or if you’re working on something!
HK Loves Books 