November Is: NaNoWriMo and National Life Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month starts on November 1 and finishes on the 30th.  The goal of NaNoWriMo is that the thirty days of writing will produce at least 50,000 words.  That’s a healthy start on a novel, or an anthology of poems, short stories, short fiction or memoir. The premise is that “the world needs your novel.” I am a sucker for being needed. If there’s a reader out there that I believe is going to benefit from reading my work, I’m motivated to bring it to them.

According to Google:

“Chris Baty accidentally founded National Novel Writing Month in 1999, and oversaw the event’s growth from 21 friends to more than 300,000 writers in 90 countries. Chris now serves as a Board Member Emeritus for NaNoWriMo, and spends his days teaching classes at Stanford University’s Writer’s Studio, helping Dropbox with word-wrangling, and endlessly revising his own novels.”

Grant Faulkner took over for Chris Baty as the Executive Director at NaNoWriMo. What’s cool about the NaNo world Faulkner promotes is the division of its members into writing communities called regions. Each region has a fearless leader who spearheads special writing events like write-ins at coffee shops and libraries.  Countless motivating pep talks and word sprints are made available daily. Many regional events are possible to attend virtually. The writing communities provide accountability and support to local NaNo authors. NaNoWriMo is designed to make the hard work of writing fun and effortless. As far as the granddaddy goal of writing 50,000 words in one month, breaking it down to 1667 words per day seems like a bite size goal.

NaNoWriMo has always intrigued me. Yet, every year for the last five, I found an excuse not to sign-up. I’m currently in the grips of a second draft of my memoir (http://juliemcgueauthor.com), so I didn’t want to dilute my writing efforts by starting a novel. Linda Joy Myers, founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers (http://namw.org), suggested that the NaNo thirty-day writing challenge could help memoirists dig deeper into key scenes or turning points.  Myers advice convinced me. On Halloween Eve, I officially joined the 2018 NaNoWriMo wave of writers.

It’s mid-month and I am proud to say that I’m keeping up with NaNo. I’m averaging 1667 words per day, which will get me to 50K by month end. Here’s my biggest takeaway.  I get to put my inner critics on hold. All of them, including the onerous content critic, the relentless word choice critic, and that pesky, perfectionist line editor. I don’t battle any of them this month. They’re officially banished until December when I will review my work. NaNo has given me permission and the authority to scold these inner gremlins for interfering with my creativity.

My 2018 NaNoWriMo experience is not about writing a novel. It’s about Life Writing. I’m focusing on key memoir scenes that deserve embellishment. Combining NaNoWriMo and National Life Writing Month is a brilliant concept and the timing was perfect for me this year.  I appreciate the word and content generation while working virtually alongside a new community of supportive writers. I’m so enthusiastic about what NaNoWriMo has done for my writing project that I am already thinking about next year. I’ve got a half-baked novel in my desk drawer begging to be released. Go WriMo’s and Life Writers!  Write on!