Don't Be Afraid To Give NaNo A Try

I told myself I wasn't going to write a post about NaNoWriMo, because that is the #1 hot topic in the blogosphere right now, but I couldn't resist. I love NaNo too much to not talk about it.

(before I continue, NaNo is an insane writing challenge that stands for National Novel Writing Month where you write 50,000 words in one month.)

Maybe when you hear the word, "NaNo," your mind automatically goes to, "more like naNO. Nahh no. Heh. sweats nervously at my lame sense of humor that sounds better out loud

I took a poll on my Twitter (that I may or may not spend too much time on), and a surprising amount of people were still as of yet undecided on whether they would do the NaNo challenge or not.

Basically, this post is to convince you to give NaNo a try. Before that scares you, I do understand that NaNo is not for everyone. Some writers write best without pressure and on their own time.

But, if you are one of those unsure writers, still debating on whether or not you should do NaNo this year... go for it.

Yeah, you might not make it. You might decide against it after a couple of days. You might start falling behind on school and and realize that it's all simply a little too much.

But don't let the fear of failing hold you back. Instead let the hope of succeeding push you forward. 

Because what if you do succeed? What if you walk out of November with 50,000 words and/or a finished novel? (we won't talk about the need for sleep and intake of caffeine consumption)

"NaNo Stats show: You have a 0% chance of winning if you don't create a novel. Let's do this!"

(dorky little quote from NaNo's website that is 100% true :P)

Maybe you'll surprise yourself -- that's how my first NaNo year turned out. (I was going for 15,000 words. Ha. Silly me.) Maybe sudden motivation will appear.

Maybe you won't make 50,000 words, and that's okay. Maybe you'll only come out with 5,000 or 10,000 or 20,000 words. What I'm going to say is obvious, but an important reminder -- that's more words than what you started with. 

If NaNoWriMo can inspire you to write some words -- however many that may be -- that is the real goal. 

If you're going into the month, knowing that you want to shoot for less than 50,000 words, you can use the Young Writer's Program that NaNo offers. It's for writers eighteen years of age or younger, and more like Camp NaNoWriMo in the way that you're able to choose your own word count. (and there's no shame for going for half the amount of words or even less!)

Don't be afraid to give NaNo a try. NaNo has taught me how to write under a deadline. Shown me how many writers are actually out there. Forced me to just get the words on the page. To show that editing isn't important in the first draft -- that can come later.

It's a scary challenge. It will be stressful. But go for it. No one's going to think any less of you if you come out of November with under 50,000 words. We'll all be happy to celebrate at the writing that did get done.

// katie grace

(convinced yet? sign up here and add me as a buddy if you want to stalk my stats!)
(and like I said already, no shame is NaNo isn't for you! There's no guilt in not being able to do it this year. :)

What scares you about NaNoWriMo?