Sign ups for National Novel Writing Month 2010 won't be open until October, but when they are you can find them at http://www.nanowrimo.org. Expectant writers begin planning what they want their 50,000 word novels to be about. But Higher Deity forbid that you should write any of it down before midnight of October 31st, because the NaNo rules only allow 30 full days of furious writing during the month of November. So be prepared for lack of food, overdose of caffeine and late nights trying to get in that extra 1,000 words, because NaNoWriMo 2016 is coming!
Alrighty, let's break this down. Vets of NaNo, you know the shpeal. Newcomers and those of you still thinking about it can step into my office and hear the details. NaNoWriMo (stands for National Novel Writing Month) is an awesomely crazy, yet highly rewarding 30 day period in which your goal is to write 50,000 words of semi-coherent sentences, preferably forming some sort of story. We are not looking for perfection. Spelling and grammar can go out the window. Perfect plot lines can too. Characters can go insane at the romantic climax, and yes... you can kill off your main character if they get annoying. My point is, the goal is quantity, not quality.
Moving on... to split this up a bit, 50K breaks down to 1,667 words a day. That is approximately three pages in a size 12 font. If you think you can do that easily, try setting a higher goal. Or get ahead on weekends, and save up for those nights when you have too many previously planned obligations to get a chance to sit down and write. In other words, customize this NaNo to fit to you personally.
A great tip, is to bring your friends into this. They're great at nagging you about your word count and to tell you when you've had enough caffeine for the day. Feel free to also return the favor to them! They'll thank you for it in the end. Speaking of the end! Once you reach your goal, whether it be 25K, the regular 50K or maybe even 100K; you'll feel great. Don't be surprised if you're unusually giddy come December 1st and you burst out randomly laughing or you start telling strangers about your noveling experience or detailed explanations about your crazy plot that went nowhere you expected it to. It's pretty normal for all of us.
So, the checkered flag is ready. Are you?
If anyone has questions, feel free to PM me! And you can add me on the NaNo site. My username is the same as here: yoha_ahoy
