I’ve been a fan of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo abbreviation) for as long as I can remember. While exploring my local library in my early twenties, I had spotted Chris Baty’s guide to crafting a novel in 30 days, perfectly titled No Plot? No Problem? Intrigued and mildly skeptical, (30 days! — wow!) I checked out the book. I read his author biography and learned that he was the creator of November’s NaNoWriMo.
Since the early 2000s I have participated. Some years I have been successful (measured by actually writing something, registering, but not necessarily finishing the manuscript) and some years I didn’t participate at all. Within that time span, I was able to reach the 50,000-word goal a few times. One year, I was able to introduce two sixth grade classes to the insane, gratifying, nerve-wracking, fascinating world of NaNoWriMo. Out of sixty students, only one was successful (she busted her writing chops to complete her draft during Thanksgiving Break) and she received three free proof copies from Create Space for this praiseworthy feat. I’m a proud owner of a copy. 🙂
This year, I’m starting early because I’ve got a major deadline looming over my head!
I did a little research and discovered that writing buddies and NaNoWriMo, Anna Howard and Becca Campbell, were so inspired by Chris Baty’s global event that they created JuNoWriMo, which you can learn more about here. I will carry on most likely as an informal participant and I think that it’s great that Anna and Becca provide adorable and colorful achievement buttons.
Here’s what one looks like:
You know how much I adore cute! Kyaaaaa!
Here’s the current word count (as of today) and my goal is to complete the first draft at a solid 90,000 words or so.
So, I need to continue telling the story with about 56,000 more words.
Daunting? Indeed. But I’m game. I’ll be posting my total word counts each day. 🙂
Monique L. Desir 