Get out of your head and back into the story.
If youāre a novelist, you have likely heard of NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. Held every November, this is when writers all around the world buckle down with a challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. If youāve never heard of NaNoWriMo, you can read about it here:
The benefits of NaNoWriMo is that it forces writers to get out of their own heads and just put pen to paper (or more realistically, fingers to keys), slamming out a story without thinking too hard about it. However, thatās also one of the biggest challenges ā getting out of your own way and writing the damn story. But thatās only one of the challenges. ā¦
Are you planning to write a 50,000 word novel during National Novel Writing Month? Hereās how to reach your goal.
NaNoWriMo is coming up! All right, itās technically coming up in November. However, itās never too early to start thinking about NaNoWriMo, itās only too early to start writing for NaNoWriMo.
What is NaNoWriMo?
From the website: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.
Hereās a little history on how National Novel Writing Month began.
NaNoWriMo was founded by Chris Baty in July 1999 in the San Francisco Bay Area, with only 21 participants. The goal of 50,000 words was set after Baty grabbed the shortest novel on his bookshelf (Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley) and did a rough word count. Only 6 of those 21 participants completed the challenge. But doing NaNo in July proved too difficult due to the gorgeous weather outside. So after 1999, NaNo was changed to November to take advantage of the miserable weather. ā¦
This is not the time.
Last night, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend shared the devastating news of the loss of their unborn baby boy, Jack. With the news, they posted photos that chronicled their pain, including one of Chrissy crying on the hospital bed, and another that showed them holding their child.
Many followers offered their support with heartfelt messages and empathy over this kind of loss. Some offered stories of their own loss.
Others ridiculed them for posting photos of their pain, their choice of filters, and accused them of seeking attention.
And then thereās the #ohchrissy hashtag thatās trending on Twitter right now, taken over by pro-life supporters who are using this moment of loss to throw Teiganās pro-choice beliefs at her face. ā¦
I felt sharp, fluttering kicks. Two days later, I was in the ER.
He would have been eighteen today. We would have had eighteen years of memories, including cold Saturday mornings on the soccer field, late nights finishing up school science projects, nursing heartache over love gone wrong, preparations for prom, and excitement over post-graduation plans. Through the years, he would have been one more forehead to kiss goodnight, another body to cuddle on family movie nights, and another beloved child to celebrate with cake and candles, sports trophies, and school awards nights.
Instead, he is remembered as a fairly easy pregnancy that ended unexpectedly in the seventh month, throwing me into a different reality of life where 24-year-old mothers give birth to lifeless babies. ā¦
If youāre ready to give up, read this first.
I know youāre tired. I know you have times when you wonder what the point is. You wake up early, stare at that blank page, and arenāt sure why you even bother. You have things you want to say, but youāre afraid no one will listen. Sometimes you wonder if you actually do have things to say, or if writing has just become an extension of your ego.
Whatās the point?
There is one, but first let me tell you a few stories.
Eat. Pray. Love.
āWhen I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another personās body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.ā ā¦
#2. Your familyās biased views are not an accurate assessment of your writing talent.
Remember back when you first decided to become a writer? The words probably flowed easier back then, am I right? That was before you started receiving unsolicited opinions about your writing, before your family had ever read a word youād written, and before you realized just how hard writing really was.
Writing IS hard. But what makes it harder is when we allow external forces affect the stories we have to tell. In response, many of us self-sabotage our writing career without even knowing it.
Your self-sabotage might look like this:
- Writing what you think other people want to read instead of what you have toā¦
Hating your idol wonāt bring you success.
Comparison is a tricky game. It starts out innocent enough, where you look up to people just ahead of you in the game. You might feel inspiration from their journey, along with all the possibilities it presents for your own journey. And then things shift. It could be a slow turning point or an overnight event, but suddenly your idolās journey doesnāt feel so inspirational anymore. It feels like an attack. You look at all the good things coming their way and wonder why they arenāt coming to you. You see their happiness in an Instagram selfie, or all the fans who leave comments on their social media posts. Meanwhile, your social media isnāt experiencing the same kind of joy or attention from others. You think, āMaybe if I tried thisā¦ā and then go on an experiment spree where you switch up your Instagram filters, put your books up for free, spam āBuy my bookā on social media, and then wish really hard things would change. ā¦
I took a paycut, too.
Itās probably not a surprise that I always wanted to be a writer. Itās all the things that came out of that dream that are surprising. And, just like most writers, it began with a love for reading.
Dad, a Cup of Coffee, and the News
Some of my earliest memories of reading started with the newspaper. First it was the comics. Then it was advice from Ann Landers. Eventually it was actual news stories. Almost all of it had to do with my dad. An early riser, my dad would already be a half pot of coffee in when I emerged from my bedroom, the newspaper spread out in front of him. ā¦
He told me it needed work. So I did the mature thing ā I decided to quit writing.
I spent the whole weekend writing, coming out of it with a short story that felt like the best thing Iād ever written. It had tension, a touch of humor, and enough emotion that I cried as I wrote the end. I pored over that piece, tweaking and polishing it until it read like perfection.
āIām done!ā I bragged to my husband, and he asked to read it, just as I hoped he would. Then I stayed out of his way so he could fully absorb the story and I wouldnāt get in the way of the emotional finish. I imagined when he came back, heād have tears in his eyes and want to discuss the troubled main character and the hard role of her father, and this very big thing the two of them were struggling through separately. ā¦
After too many virtual happy hours, it was time for a change.
I spent July completely sober. In this time of COVID, thatās a strange thing ā especially since there are Zoom Happy Hours popping up everywhere you turn. However, Iād noticed that my occasional evening cocktail was turning into a daily occurrence, and it was affecting my mood, my sleep, my mornings, and my coping skills. I started viewing my nightly drink as an escape, and that just isnāt like me. So I took the month of July off from drinking.
For the most part, not drinking wasnāt a huge challenge. I mean, if it were something like giving up chocolate or social media for a month, then it would hurt a little. ā¦
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