Introduction
Before I dive in, a quick introduction on NaNoWriMo and my specific project. National Novel Writing Month, shortened to NaNoWriMo, is a challenge lead by the amazing NaNoWriMo nonprofit (for more details, visit the NaNoWriMo website at https://nanowrimo.org/about-nano).
The traditional NaNoWriMo challenge is to write 50,000 words in a brand-new story during 30 days of November, but there are lots of different ways to NaNo. Some artists will work on editing a story during NaNo, creating non-written art, or continuing a novel draft that has already been started.
My NaNoWriMo project for November 2021 was writing the second half (the last 50,000 words) of a novel draft that I had already begun.
When I first read about NaNoWriMo, I immediately wanted a scale. For perspective, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling is about 77,000 words (Wordcounter). The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Wordcounters) is about 99,750 words. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer is about 119,000 words (Wordcounters).
My Path to NaNoWriMo Winner
My first attempt at NaNoWriMo was in November 2020. My goal was 50,000 words, and I ended the month with 15,000 words. So, 35,000 words short of my goal! Oof.
Those 15,000 words for 2020 NaNoWriMo were exhausting. I spent hours and hours paused in front of my laptop screen, hands poised over the keyboard, music playing hopefully to help me envision what my characters would do next. I spent a lot more time sitting and not writing than sitting and writing, but at the end of the month I wasn’t too bummed with myself. Those 15,000 words were the most I’d ever written in a month, and I was determined to meet 50,000 in 2021.
In November 2021 I ended up writing 50,000 words with a few days to spare, and below is how I did it! I’ll walk through the four main ways I changed my approach in November 2021 and how the results pushed me to meet my goal. Those four steps were Practicing Beforehand, Preparing and Rewards, Joining the NaNoWriMo Community, and Requesting Support.
1. Practicing Beforehand
The first action that helped me win 2021 NaNoWriMo, to no one’s surprise, is practicing! Between November 2020 and November 2021, I wrote as much as I could. The maximum amount I wrote in a month was about 20,000 words and there were some months where I only wrote in my journal, but I made sure to write every month no matter what.
Reaching 20,000 words during a month where I wasn’t solely concentrating on writing during my free time made me feel confident that when the time came to write 50,000 words in a month, I’d be able to meet that goal. I’m positive that writing beforehand and taking the time to grow my writing muscles made a big difference in my 2021 NaNoWriMo experience.
2. Preparing and Rewards
Another major difference between my 2020 NaNoWriMo and my 2021 NaNoWriMo was the amount of planning I put in beforehand. Going into 2020 NaNoWriMo, I had an outline, a goal, and a vague understanding that I tended to write more on weekends. I barely knew anything about my writing habits, and I certainly didn’t create a schedule for how many words I wanted to achieve each day or plan rewards.
In contrast, for 2021 NaNoWriMo, I built a schedule based on how many words I wanted to write each day. This schedule took into account my preferred writing times, my full-time job’s expected workload over the month, and the days I found it easiest to write. I asked my partner to contribute to my daily chores, reduced my workload and other commitments where possible, and even planned out rewards. I went into 2021 NaNoWriMo with an understanding of the amount of time I could set aside each day to write, how my best writing happened, and a detailed outline.
Planning out rewards was the most fun part of preparing for 2021 NaNoWriMo, and definitely something I’ll do again. To plan rewards for NaNoWriMo I put off a few pleasure purchases in September and October and saved that money instead (this technique was a good test for my spendthrift ways). Then I assigned the planned purchases to word goals for NaNo. For example, there were a few books that I marked as my rewards for reaching 10,000 and 30,000 words during NaNoWriMo.
I also asked my wonderful partner to chip in and provide a few rewards (for example, when I got to 40,000 words, my boyfriend did the laundry for a week)! It may sound silly, but I got ridiculously excited for those rewards, even the things that I had been planning to purchase anyway.
3. Joining the NaNoWriMo Community
The third action that helped me win 2021 NaNoWriMo, and the action I would most recommend to anyone wanting to reach 50,000 words for NaNo, was joining the NaNoWriMo community. I didn’t just create a free account on NaNoWriMo to track my word progress, I also joined my local NaNoWriMo discord and the NaNo Coffeehouse discord. The NaNoWriMo website recommends joining your local discord in lots of places. I didn’t join in 2020 because I wasn’t sure what the hype was about, but I’m so glad I joined in October 2021.
News Flash (okay, maybe I’m a little late on the uptake here): The NaNoWriMo discords are amazing! I could not believe the amount of fun, support, and great advice available in the NaNoWriMo discord, all for free.
The community is fantastic. The volunteer Municipal Liaisons (MLs) are knowledgeable, helpful, and encouraging. Every person I interacted with was supportive and pleasant. There were countless virtual events, write-ins, bots that could be used to track writing sprints and projects, and so much more. Almost any time that I logged onto Discord, there were other people there who were happy to chat or sprint together.
In particular, I learned that participating in sprint competitions and group write-ins was a game changer for my productivity. Joining sprints and racing to write the most words in 15 minutes with people from across the country and the world was an awesome experience, and sometimes the challenge to my competitive spirit was just the push I needed to finish a chapter. I expect to stay active in the NaNoWriMo discords year round now that I’ve discovered these gems.
I didn’t have much prior experience with Discord and there was definitely a learning curve using the bots, so I recommend joining the discords before November starts if you’re interested in using them!
4. Requesting Support
The fourth action that helped me win 2021 NaNoWriMo was asking for help. Like the rest of the ideas in this post, requesting support will look different for everyone. I got ideas on asking for help by reading NaNoWriMo’s terrific information on NaNo Prep (for more details, visit the NaNoWriMo Prep 101 https://nanowrimo.org/nano-prep-101). In particular, there is an example form for a writer and a supporter to sign together, with ideas for activites the supporter might do to encourage or help the writer.
Specifically, I had conversations with my partner ahead of time and asked if he’d be willing to pitch in on some of my usual chores to give me more time to write. He responded way more enthusiastically than I expected and took on the lion’s share of the housework during NaNoWriMo so that I could use every spare minute to write.
The built-in accountability created by asking another person to contribute to my success helped turn 2021 NaNoWriMo into a tangible goal that had more at stake than just me.
In Conclusion
That’s it for my list of 2021 NaNoWriMo ideas and how I changed my approach for 2021 to reach my word goal of 50,000 words! The four areas I changed the most from 2020 to 2021 were practicing beforehand, preparing and rewards, joining the NaNoWriMo Community, and requesting support. Thank you for reading and I hope these ideas will be helpful for you. May your words flow smoothly!
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