November is a time for frolicking through the fall leaves, recovering from Halloween candy overload and preparing for the ravenous time of stuffing and pumpkin pie that is Thanksgiving. It’s also the perfect time to write a novel! What you may not know is that November is National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). What’s NaNoWriMo all about? HC has the scoop from collegiettes who’ve participated.
What is NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month is an entire month dedicated to creative writing. It started as a group of 21 people in July 1999 just looking for an outlet for their creativity. With the launch of a website and buzz from blogs, it has grown into an event enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of amateur writers each year.
Participants (also called Wrimos) in the organization start working on November 1st towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by November 30th at midnight. Novel writers sign up on nanowrimo.org to make their account in preparation for sending in their novel for word count verification at the end of November (no worries, broke collegiettes—it’s free!). Wrimos can also join forums for support and a sense of community as well as attend NaNoWriMo events, get participant web badges and receive pep talks from past writers. Writers can write just for the experience and fun of it, but they’re considered winners if they make it to 50,000 words by the 30th.
More than 250 Wrimos have gone on to become traditionally published authors. New York Times Best Seller Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen started as a NaNoWriMo submission, so you never know how far your novel will really go—Gruen’s novel went so far that it became a movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson!
NaMoWriMo isn’t just a November event. It’s also a nonprofit organization that works throughout the year to assist and inspire young writers. The Young Writers Program promotes writing fluency, fun and creative education and the joy of novel writing for kindergarteners through 12th graders throughout the world. The program also provides free classroom kits, writing workbooks, Common Core-aligned curricula and virtual class management tools to more than 2,000 educators from Dubai to Massachusetts.
Interested in becoming a Wrimo? Check out the experiences of collegiettes nationwide who took on the challenge!
Why should you participate?
Collegiettes who have participated in NaNoWriMo know that sometimes the experience isn’t even about hitting the 50,000-word minimum; it’s about the creative and often cathartic experience of writing.
“I’m a three-year Wrimo!” says Rachel, a junior majoring in journalism at the University of Hartford. “I’ve never finished the 50,000, but I’ve really enjoyed doing it.”
Rachel’s first unfinished novel was called The Freshman’s Guide to College, based off of her own experiences. Her second and third pieces, called Sword and the Pen and Marching Line, were part of a series about a TV news station and the reporters, photographers and other people who make the station work.
Rachel used NaNoWriMo as a therapeutic experience. “My favorite thing about writing novels is the fact that I can use it to help me work out things in my head,” she says. “It’s almost like therapy; if I put my characters in a situation or certain frame of mind, I have to get them out of it to move the plot forward, so it really helps me get over stuff.”
Novels are also a way to look into your own mind and get a better understanding of yourself. “When you’re writing a novel in a month, the writing process is very compressed, so you usually end up writing about the first thing that comes to mind,” says Katherine, a junior majoring in English at the University of Rochester. “Rereading my novel is like looking through a journal, since the many plot points and themes reflect what was on my mind freshman year.”
The ultimate reward of writing a novel? Knowing that you did it. “I got a huge sense of accomplishment from finishing NaMoWriMo my first year,” says Katherine, who has participated twice. “I finished my 50,000th word about seven minutes before midnight on November 30th. I got a huge adrenaline rush, and I still think the final scene I wrote was the best in the novel.”
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How do you power through and finish a novel?
If a 10-page paper is tough to get through sometimes, how do you write an entire novel? Collegiettes who’ve taken on the challenge say it takes guts, determination and killer time management skills.
“Do a chapter-by-chapter outline—not an incredibly specific one, but one that marks the major plot points, character developments and settings,” says Kate, a writing seminars and film studies major at Johns Hopkins University who has written three novels so far (and is even in the process of getting one published!). “That way, you have a road map you can follow as you write.”
And another thing: be passionate. “It took passion, discipline and innate motivation,” Kate says. “It also took a ton of caffeine and a lot of self-confidence!”
Rachel also knows one of the keys to writing a novel is focus. “Noveling takes practice – and the most important skill is writing when you think you don’t have time,” says Rachel. “If you block out time to write – and do nothing else – no editing, no critiquing what’s already been written, etc. – you’ll make the 50,000 and have a cool thing to show for it!”
When writing in such a short time span, you also have to accept your mistakes. “One of the most important things to have when writing a novel is a willingness to embrace the fact that a lot of what you write will be terrible,” Katherine says.
But there will always be time to fix your work and make something you’re proud of after November! “You can always go back and polish it later with edits,” says Rachel.
And don’t forget about the importance of girl power. “My main tip would be: Do it! Writing has been in the domain of men for far too long,” says Hannah Rubin, a NaNoWriMo intern. “As women, we are generally expected to keep quiet about what we think and feel in order to cater to the needs of the people around us. What is beautiful about writing is that when you write, you can say whatever you want. You can let your mind wander and become unabashedly curious about who you are and what you think about life.”
All in all, it takes drive, perseverance and creativity to power through and finish your very own novel.
National Novel Writing Month is the perfect time to step outside your comfort zone and create something you’re proud of. Even if you don’t hit the 50,000- word minimum, you’ll know that you did something creative and innovative that no one else could create but you. Get on those laptops, collegiettes, and start outlining where your story will take you!