My Yearly Declaration of Writing a Novel in a Month

 

November is here! So, that of course means it is my birthday month, so you can show how much you appreciate your favourite writer by showering him with birthday girts. Though Stephen King's birthday is in September and Nathan Rabin's birthday is in April, so not sure why you'd get them gifts this month,

More importantly, it is National Novel Writing Month where writers across the continent and even world try to write 50 000 words in 30 days. I've been doing it for several years, and it is a fantastic creative challenge. If you've ever thought you'd love to write a novel, then this is the month to dig in and give it a shot. Even if you don't achieve the goal of 50 000 words in 30 days (that is almost 2000 words a day), then it will at least get you one step closer to achieving your dream of writing a novel.

It also is a good test to see if writing is really a thing that you want to pursue. As a professional writer, I can tell you that in order to be any kind of success that you need to write at least 2000 words a day, and usually much more. If you want to be a novelist, then in order to make a living with enough books to sell then you definitely need to write around 2000 a day for your manuscript, plus any other non-novel writing you need to actually make a living (you don't make money until you're actually selling your novels).

NaNoWrimo has become special for me, because last year, Everett started doing a young writers' version of it. He gets to make his own word goal and then must accomplish it by the end of the month, Last year he aimed for 4000 and nailed it, and this year he is aiming for 6000. It makes me proud seeing my boy become a writer. He tells me that he currently has 4 writing projects on the go and will use this month to complete a few of them.

If writing has always been something you loved, then I encourage you to try NaNoWrimo by heading over to the site to declare your novel.

I'm also making you aware of NaNoWrimo to have an excuse for why the site will continue to not be very active. I'll be trying to write 50 000 words along with the usual sales copy, other writing projects, helping the kids during the day and the various client meetings. My hope is to still try to get something up every day, but it may not be the most stellar of articles this month.

I also hope to occasionally pull down the blinds and give you a peak into my creative process. I may share some of my writing process and maybe some pieces of the novel that I really enjoy or show how my idea transforms into something totally different than I planned as the month unfolds. Writing a novel is an interesting experience, as you always start out with an idea, but it often gets a life of its own and becomes something very unrecognizable from where you started. Hopefully, I can share some of that with you this month.

So, who is joining me this month for NaNoWrimo??? Anyone interested in sharing their story or plot idea? Happy writing!