Taking time for writing in college can be a challenge, but NaNoWriMo is one great way to start writing. What is NaNoWriMo you ask? National Novel Writing Month! People all over the world do their best to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. That averages out to about 1666 words per day, which realistically, it is very do able if you set the time aside for it. Spending an hour or two each night or morning and starting a routine to write each day can be something new you can really get into. While you may not be able make the full 50,000 words in a month, it is a great way to see how much you can write in a month.
NaNoWriMo has so many great ideas that if you don’t know what to write about, there are plenty of ideas set up for you. You can also try journaling each day, talking about what happened to you each day, or spending some time really reflecting on something from your past, and express it though your writing. This is also a great way to strengthen your writing in a fun and exciting way.
“National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational power of creativity, [they] provide the structure, community and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creativity goals and build new worlds – on and off the page.” NaNoWriMo is not only a creative space for writing, it is also a way to help and allow more students around the world to receive Young Writers program kits for their classrooms, which contain everything a classroom needs to participate in NaNoWriMo. They also fundraise to keep their site open, because more than 300,000 people participate each year. Maybe this year you can be included in that number with your own writing!
If you would like to sign up follow this link: https://nanowrimo.org/sign_up
Here are some tips and tricks if you do decide to join NaNoWriMo to get your full 50,000 words in the 30 days:
– Set aside a specific time each day for writing, and stick to that time. You will be more likely to succeed with having that specific time for writing.
– When you run into writers block, take 15 minutes for yourself, then go back and try again. Writers block is just a distraction for creativity.
– Use the first couple of days of your writing to brainstorm and plan out your month-long writing extravaganza!
Enjoy writing this month!