For the last three years, I've participated in NaNoWriMo. For those unfamiliar with the event, NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. Every November, thousands of writers attempt to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 thirty days. Crazy, right? I'm proud to say that I managed to reach the word count goal the three times that I tried! Two of my stories even wound up getting published, Believe Me and Transmissions.
This year is different. I haven't been writing as much because my day job has been kicking my butt more so than in previous years. If you combine all of the words I've written so far in 2017, they'd total less than 50,000. What makes me think that I'll be able to produce 50,000 words in one month? It's not like my day job will become easier in November to accommodate my desire to participate in NaNoWriMo (although that would be really nice).
I'm being realistic when I say that there's very, very little chance that I'll win NaNoWriMo this year, and it has made me wonder if I should participate at all. Part of me says that I shouldn't because near certain failure isn't exactly great motivation for me to write. I haven't prepared at all for it, and preparation is key to having a chance at reaching 50,000 words. But another part of me remembers how the challenge of NaNoWriMo resulted in some of the most productive writing habits I've ever had. Besides, there's nothing wrong with not reaching my NaNoWriMo goal, is there?
While I'm still debating whether to join NaNoWriMi this year, I do plan to make an extra effort to write more in November. How about you? Anyone else planning to tackle NaNoWriMo?
