I wasn’t familiar with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) until a teacher friend told me about it in late 2016. NaNoWriMo involves setting a word count goal (usually 50,000) and working to reach that goal between November 1-30th.
I thought the idea of writing a 50,000+ word manuscript during the month of November was intriguing, but also pretty much impossible, given my insanely busy schedule. With a full-time job as a middle school teacher, plus balancing my responsibilities as a wife and mother, volunteering at my church, and November holiday plans, it just seemed way too ambitious to take on such a lofty goal.
Fast forward to spring 2017, when I learned NaNoWriMo offered a virtual “summer camp” option. Writers could set the same word count goals, but work to reach them during the month of July. As a teacher who had summers off, this seemed like the perfect opportunity!
A Novel Idea
I had been toying around with the idea of writing a novel for years, but could never seem to get the motivation to actually start. I realized this was my chance!
Since this was an online virtual “camp” experience with total strangers, it was a low-risk option. If I failed to reach my goal, no one who knows me in real life would have any idea. I could set my word count goal, give it a try, and even if I didn’t make it, at least I’d be that much closer to someday writing a novel.
The Plan
I signed up and began planning, although I had very little understanding of what I was doing. Thankfully, the NaNoWriMo website offered message boards with tons of great advice from other writers and guest experts.
I joined a virtual “cabin” with other writers, and my writing journey began! My cabin-mates were very encouraging. There was one person in particular who was very responsive to questions and served as our resident cheerleader. We connected and spurred each other on throughout the month, which was very helpful on those days when I fell short of my daily word count goal. I am also highly competitive, so I loved it when I had the highest daily word count of anyone in my cabin!
The Process
NaNoWriMo works, but only if you commit to it and are self-motivated. For me, it really was a group of strangers who didn’t know me and wouldn’t really care all that much if I didn’t finish. Still, just knowing my stats were visible, that those strangers could see my word count goal and progress each day, and that SOMEONE was checking in on me gave me that extra boost I needed. Seeing the graphic with my daily word count tracker every time I logged in provided a nice visual kick in the pants, too.
Daily Writing Routine
My daily writing routine that month was pretty consistent. I would go for an early morning run most days and then camp out on the patio with some iced coffee and my laptop while my daughter was sleeping in and my husband was at work. I would write for a couple of hours, and then sometimes again later that night for an hour or so if I was behind on meeting my daily goal. Obviously, this ideal schedule didn’t work everyday. There were some days I had to get up really early to fit my writing time in, and other days when I would lock myself in a room by myself in the evenings after dinner just to write for an hour or so.
During my writing time, I purposefully put my phone out of reach and closed out all tabs on my computer except for the one I was typing on. If I found myself needing to research something, I would open a new tab and do a quick search. However, if I couldn’t find what I was looking for in just a couple of minutes, I just typed something in, highlighted the text for later, and kept going. While necessary for a finished draft, I didn’t want to waste precious writing time by researching. My goal was just to get the story down. I knew I could fill in the gaps later during the editing and revising process.
Inevitably, things came up, and I did find myself falling behind. There were a few days where I didn’t find time to write at all, and others when I fell short of my daily goal.
The last two days of July were a whirlwind of writing. My family barely saw me those last two days (and couldn’t really understand my obsession with finishing before the deadline), but I somehow managed to type that last sentence and upload it to the NaNoWriMo website around 11:45pm on July 31st. Whew!
Reflections on My Experience
Participating in Camp NaNoWriMo was an amazing experience. Without it, I have a feeling I would still be toying around with the idea of just starting my novel or have managed to type a chapter or two, but made no real progress. The daily word count goals, encouragement from my cabin-mates, and advice and tips from the experts really did help me stay focused on the finish line.
Thanks to this experience, I now have a finished, published book instead of just an idea for a “someday novel” bouncing around in my head. You can check out my Amazon author page and see more info about my books here.
NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program
I was also able to share this experience with my students via the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program. As a result, I have coached eleven students in grades 6-12 to write and self-publish their own novels. I am so unbelievably proud of them and the hard work they put in to reach their goals!
Your Turn!
If you’ve been thinking about writing a book, I highly encourage you to give NaNoWriMo a try! They now offer online virtual camps in April and July, plus the regular NaNoWriMo program in November. Check out the November program here.
You can see the camp options at this site.
Who knows? It might just be the kick in the pants you’ve been needing!
Have your own experience with NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo? Share in the comments!
Amy Bellamy, Author 