How I Would Improve NaNoWriMo.

Note: This was inspired by Cait's post on How I Will Improve Goodreads When I Rule The World. But seeing that I'm not planning to take over the world, I did not put that in the title of my post. :P

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So, unless you're a writer living in some sort of hermit shell (unless you're a actually a hermit crab who's a writer living in a shell without internet? ...), you've probably heard about NaNoWriMo.

If you weren't about to tell from my excess NaNoWriMo posting last week, I absolutely adore NaNo. I mean, hundreds of thousands of writers bonding together over late nights and overdoses of caffeine for a whole month? AND you're hypothetically walking away with a finished novel and/or 50,000 words? Please tell me how it can get better than that. (Actually, it could probably get better if pizza were involved...)

But just for fun, here are some NaNo improvements I would make if I was able to take over their website for a day. Mwahaha.

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1. A NaNoWriMo App.

NaNo on the go? I think yes. It would be awesome if it was possible to check and update your word count on a phone or tablet.

And also, what about reminders and notification banners. "YOU HAVE 5k TO WRITE TODAY." 

Or maybe it could congratulate you on your buddies's accomplishments: "[name] WON! SEND HER A NANOMAIL WITH FLAILING AND INTERNET COOKIES."

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2. Improved NaNoMail Formatting.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets annoyed with the NaNoMail system. I mean, it's nice that we're able to send messages to other writers, but can't we at least do it with normal formatting? The current format is really weird and nothing like an actual inbox. There's an automatic line break every time you press enter, and instead of having a thread of emails in one reply, each email appears in a separate thread. (Does that make sense? Probably not. Just go with it.)

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3. Writing Buddy Achievements. 

It's hard for me to remember to check my writer friend's progress each day on the NaNo site. (and even when I do remember, I get distracted 0.65 seconds later with the thought of pizza or new plot ideas.)

So it'd be great to have a banner or space on the home dashboard displaying: [name] reached 50k! or [name] is halfway with 25k!

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4. Change Your Username.

When I first joined NaNoWriMo, I wasn't thinking when I created my username. I made mine "Katie - Grace." Yes, with spaces in between the dash. How completely ridiculous was that? It's rather confusing to try to explain my username to people. Ah, what I wouldn't give to change it to KatieGraceWrite, now.

BUT, NaNoWriMo is weird and won't let you change your username. *discontented sigh* So, when I take over the NaNo site, that's definitely something I will change.

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5. Editing Months.

Ew, editing. I can already hear the groans. (Or the excited cheers if you're one of those people.)

But after everyone finishes their novels, editing is VERY needed. (Unless you're a perfect first draft writer, but let's be honest here: no one is.) So why not have another NaNo month in January or February for editing? A lot of people would sign up. Or at least should sign up.

Hundreds of writers moping, complaining, and whining about editing for a whole month? I mean, what could go wrong?

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6. Social Media Sensor.

Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, NaNo forums, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, Goodreads... Most writers have some form of procrastination, and I know that at least for ME, I can get reaaaally distracted on websites like those when I'm supposed to be writing.

So, I propose that NaNoWriMo has a built in plugin. It could sense how much time you spend on a certain website, AND poke you until you get off it after a certain amount of time. (Five, ten, or fifteen minutes.)

I wonder how many more words we'd all actually get done if we stopped talking about writing online and actually wrote....

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7. Group Writing Goals.

If you're familiar with Camp NaNoWriMo, there are cabins filled with 12 people, and together you all try to make a group goal. Which I think is epic, especially when you all gang together to write 40,000 words in the last day. (It's happened with my cabin, and it's awesome. xD)

I think the NaNoWriMo site should add up the 50k of all of your writing buddies participating, and then together you all try to make the same goal. It would make NaNo more of a team activity than it already is. I know this point has flaws because everyone has different writing buddies, but just go with it.

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And finally...

8. A Complete Novel Editor.

*cough* Cause this is completely possible.

You know how you have to paste in your novel to get it validated for winning? 

I think NaNoWriMo should send you those words back, but completely edited. Just... perfect. The plot holes fixed, typos corrected, and characters fleshed out. You could immediately start working on the sequel or another series. ...

... *sigh* Only in a perfect dream world... 

But one can fantasize if they're already making up a pretend list about taking over the NaNo site... right? ;)

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- Katie Grace

How would YOU improve NaNoWriMo? Any of these you particularly like?

(And have you recovered from the NaNo craziness, yet? ;)