November is here! Do you know what that means? Besides midterms and papers, it’s National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo! For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is a writing contest: you win by writing up to 50,000 words. But no one judges your writing, and the writing is not limited to just one genre. “The point is to write something, anything and give people something to work for,” says Maddi Porter, a junior majoring in English: Creative Writing.
This will be Porter’s seventh year doing NaNoWriMo, and each year she meets the 50,000-word bar. She adds with a smile, “It’s a new adventure every year.” Her enthusiasm for writing makes sense, as you choose whatever you want to write about, whether it’s sci-fi or romance, a novel or a collection of short stories. If you want, you can continue a story you’ve already started – but only the words you write during November count towards the 50,000 words.
Don’t let the 50,000 word count scare you away, just write as much as you can! If you fall short by a couple thousand words, it’s no biggie. It’s all just for fun. If you don’t know what to write about or need help reaching the “winning” goal of 50,000 words, Porter suggests getting some help, saying, “There are so many resources and support groups in person and online to encourage people to finish….You come up with things under pressure that you wouldn’t normally.”
You don’t even need to have a set plot before you write: last year, Porter began NaNoWriMo without having one, and she still reached the goal. It all comes down to how you’re most comfortable writing. I usually like to have some idea of what to write about before I start – even if that idea is something as small as someone waiting for a date in a coffee shop.
If you’re worried that someone else will read your stuff and try to steal your ideas, never fear! NaNoWriMo only counts the number of words; it does not record or store anything that you upload to the site, so no one can read what you’re working on and no one can steal your precious ideas.
“Pretty much if you go into it with an open mind and a positive attitude, magical things can happen by November 30,” concludes Porter.
Here are some tips for great writing for all you aspiring NaNoWriMo authors. Even if you don’t want to write a book or even a three-page story, you can use these tips for writing a paper for class:
1. Have an idea in mind of what you want to write about. This may sound obvious, but it’s easy to start writing something, and then get sidetracked after a paragraph or two. For example, if you’re writing about a princess who runs away from her jealous step-mother, focus on the princess, not on what the step-mother did when the girl left. There should only be one main storyline so that you don’t lose the reader’s attention.
2. Find a style that fits you. Some people like using examples to describe what they’re writing about, others prefer short and simple sentences. Some have a sarcastic streak; others may be perkier. There’s more than one way to write. To find your style of writing, think about your personality. Are you bubbly? Outgoing? Impatient? Do you like reading long things, or are you the kind of person who glances quickly at something before moving on? When you find out what kind of stuff you like to read or that resonates with you, try writing like that.
3. It’s okay to have really bad first drafts. Even J. K. Rowling had many drafts before she published the first Harry Potter book. Just get out all your ideas onto paper or digital screen, and then start editing. Editing while you’re still writing the first draft only hampers your creativity.
4. Use what you know. Don’t write about colonial America if you don’t know anything about it. You’ll just confuse yourself and the reader. Write about what you know most about, what interests you. You understand that stuff the best, and you will end up writing a clearer story so everyone can follow what’s going on.
5. That being said, do your research. You might know a lot about horses and want to include them in whatever you write, but it still helps to look something up every now and then. Maybe you forgot a certain fact, or there’s something new about horses that just came out today. Or maybe you want to write a fantasy novel and know a lot about dwarves, elves, and orcs – still look into the fantasy genre. Because there’s more than one way to write for a genre, you can always learn something from another story.
6. Be clear in your writing. Readers want to see the world the story takes place in, the action that’s taking place. If you write “the pig ran into the city and got tired,” you lose the reader: she doesn’t get a clear sense of what’s happening. Was the pig scared, or just going for an afternoon jog? Did he get tired right after entering the city, or not until it passed a mattress store? Use details to describe what’s going on – but don’t include so much detail that the reader is swamped by words. It’s better to say “she jumped the river” than “the girl swiftly crossed the flowing body of water by leaping through the air.” See how cluttered that is? Write clearly and concisely so everybody can understand what you mean.
7. Most importantly, write for yourself. Whether it’s a future bestseller or a research paper, write about something you would want to read.