Hello again lovely writers! I hope that all of your planning is going brilliantly.
As November continues to approach, I want to share different ways you can participate in NaNoWriMo. I know that NaNoWriMo literally stands for National Novel Writing Month, but the main goal of NaNoWriMo is to encourage enthusiastic writing. If novels aren’t your jam, I respect that. I won’t yuck your yums. In fact, I come with three different ways you can participate in NaNoWriMo, and a word of novel-idea encouragement.
(Disclaimer: Some of these methods came from one of my high school English teachers. He did NaNoWriMo every year, and by the time I met him, he had written several novels. He was over novel-writing and started doing something new each November.)
Novel Alternative #1: Short Stories and Photographs!
This method has two parts. One: on October 31st, you must go outside and take a picture of something you think is cool. It could be literally anything. Two: on November 1st, write a short story about the picture you took the day before. On November 1st, you must go take another photo. The cycle of photo-to-short-story repeats each day, and by the end of the month you have 30 photos with 30 corresponding short stories. This alternative method of NaNoWriMo maintains a focus on creative writing while developing a different set of skills than novel writing. Writing a short story is very different from writing a novel: it requires concision, precise word choices, and the ability to explore a moment, rather than an entire plot arc. But! If you go down this route, do not be tricked into editing your stories! Just because you are aiming for concision does not mean you get to constantly edit your writing; let the words flow. If you are worried about taking a photo each day, you could try to delegate the task to a very kind family member or friend, or use random stock photos. (Alternatively, find a stock photo inspired by a random word.)
You can modify this method to a short story every two day or every week. The number of short stories you write is dictated by the length you are aiming for.
Novel Alternative #2: Short Essays!
Another way to participate in NaNoWriMo is through short essays, similar to short stories, but non-fiction. Each day, you would write one (roughly) 1,667-word essay on whatever topic is on your mind. You could write about political events, the social dynamics of your school, or something else. Your essays could be written in an academic tone or more colloquial, whatever you want!
Novel Alternative #3: A Play!
I seriously considered this idea for NaNoWriMo 2019. Instead of writing a novel, you could write a long play. Plays have many similarities to novels: they are both pieces of fiction centered around characters, motivation, and conflict. However, playwriting is a completely different type of writing. Playwrights have to use dialogue and stage direction to convey their intentions, and of course, the final project is a piece of acted work, not a book. If this is something you’re interested in, here are some resources.
To those of you who are struggling to think of an idea for November, I urge you to broaden your horizons of what you think a novel can be and latch onto something that truly excites you. Your novel can literally be about anything, and it can be in any genre. It could be about dinosaurs who are detectives in a murder mystery back in paleolithic times, or a murder mystery where the murder weapon is a dinosaur bone from paleolithic times, or have nothing to do with dinosaurs. Incorporate your interests or favorite type of novel into your ideas. And DO NOT WORRY about clichés or tropes. Readers enjoy those for a reason, because they are fun! And there is nothing wrong with a fun novel. (If you’re still stressed about finding a novel idea, try using the random Wikipedia page generator to read about some random, fun stuff.)