If you're well-versed in the lit world, you probably know about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Every November, tens of thousands of writers across the country attempt to write a full novel—50,000 words. Of course, many of them, including myself, knock that number down a little (or a lot).
The first time I did NaNoWriMo was back in 2016. I'm pretty sure it was only five thousand, maybe ten thousand words. I took 2017 off, then in 2018 I signed up to do 15,000 only to inconsistently beat that by eight thousand words. In 2019, I was determined to even out my writing and did 35,000 words in both the normal November challenge and Camp NaNo in April. This year, I hope to write 40,000 words, the smallest jump I'd ever made, but still a hefty amount of words.
Every year, I learn more about novel writing and speed writing. I was thinking back on all of the research and practice I've done and realized I would've killed for a guide of things to know. Obviously, I'm not some all-knowing master writer. There are a million other things I don't know and a million other things every writer needs to find out on their own; these are just a few things I would have appreciated learning about.
1. NaNoWriMo doesn't have to be a huge commitment. The biggest mistake I've seen other people do is try to write the full 50,000 for their first NaNo. Obviously, there are writers who complete a full novel their first try, but most of the time, especially in the Young Writers Program, people bite off more than they can chew and end up feeling worse about their writing skills after the month than they did before. The YWP isn't about writing as much as you possibly can, it's about finding the extra time to add writing to your schedule.
2. The more planning, the easier the writing. Each year, I prep more and more pre-NaNo. I've found that knowing the scenes I'm going to write beforehand makes late-night word sprints a lot easier. I can't really recommend a specific way to plan because every novel comes differently - sometimes, you're just hit with a great idea, other times, you have to force a single name out. One way I know works for a lot of people is the Snowflake Method, which I found best explained in this MasterClass article.
3. On the flip side, it can be unplanned. Outlining works for me, sure, but that doesn't mean it's fool-proof. Every writer is different. #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries Meg Cabot wrote an entire blog post about why she doesn't outline (and why she believes everyone should get the choice). Read it here: Why I Don't Outline.
4. NaNo is all about trying new styles and genres. Just because you read a certain genre doesn't mean you have to write about it, and even more important: just because you don't read a certain genre doesn't mean you can't write it. A good portion of my reading is rom-coms (considering I just referenced Meg Cabot, that probably makes sense), so in previous years, I felt like I had to write that genre. This year, I'm taking my writing elsewhere, to fantasy—a genre I've barely breached beyond a few Holly Black novels.
5. The YWP has useful tools. Did you know you can write your novel on NaNoWriMo, separating the chapters however you want, and it will automatically update your word count? Have you ever read their tips from published authors? What about advice from participants around the country? The Young Writers Program has endless helpful tools at your disposal—use them! My personal favorite is the dare machine, which always spruces up boring scenes during the writer's block kind of days.
6. I've got three words for you: Three. Act. Structure. If you're planning on outlining your novel, I cannot recommend the three act structure enough. Unless you're looking at five-act Shakespeare every day, most of the stories you know are probably in this format. It's basically the classic "plot mountain" we learn in school, but fleshed-out so that it works for a longer piece. (Side note: would recommend this plot mountain song. Trust me, it's worth the two minutes forty-nine seconds.)
7. Character archetypes are real, and they make writing interesting characters easy. Ever heard of Katniss being called "the rebel" or "the outlaw"? Did you ever notice how eerily similar Romeo (R+J) and Edward (Twilight) are when it comes to character development? You may or may not be familiar with the term "character archetype," but you're definitely familiar with the characters following the archetypes, considering most classic stories contain them. If you think they might help you with writing your characters, I would recommend this website, which breaks down the twelve most common. (But please ignore that it says you should already know them. It's so elitist.)
8. That being said, characters can be strong without archetype. You don't need to follow a classic plan in order to write great characters. The best characters are real. If you draw from yourself, your characters will be believable, no matter how archetyped they are. As writing god Neil Gaiman so beautifully said, "You’re using the truth as a condiment to make an otherwise unconvincing narrative absolutely credible.” As long as you have truth in your characters, they'll be great.
9. Consistency is key. You can write ten words a day. You can write ten hundred words a day. The single most important thing about participating in NaNoWriMo is doing it, especially in the YWP, which is all about getting kids to write. I've found that when I miss my word goal for one day, I tend to be less inclined to do it the next, and then the next, and then I've spiraled all the way to December without any words. You can change your goal to whatever you need to get the words out, but getting them out every day is what NaNoWriMo is all about.
10. First drafts are never good! Never in a million years has a single author said that the first draft was supposed to be good. First drafts have problems. They have plot holes. Write the problem, write the plothole, and move on. Once it's on the page, don't obsess over it. Continue in the story and save the editing and revising for after you've finished.
11. NaNoWriMo is supposed to be fun! If you're participating in NaNoWriMo, it's because you like writing. Enjoy yourself! Writing a novel is difficult to say the least, but it's also rewarding and exciting to create something so genuine. Write your heart out in November and spend the end of the year admiring your work. You can do this!
I hope this helped any NaNo newcomers. You can sign up here if you're interested in participating. I really would recommend the program to anyone who loves to write, no matter how often you get around to it in the rest of the year. This was pretty different from my normal post, but I always get really excited about NaNo and wanted to talk about it. I probably maybe might be back at you with a review next month (but who knows). Before I go I'd just like to congratulate myself for posting twice in one month. That hasn't happened since, like, my very first year. Good job to me. Until next time, keep reading, readers.