With October knocking on our doors the time has come for writers to decide, will you Nano or not? The month of November is National Novel Writing Month where writers commit to writing a full-length novel in a month. Crazy? Insane? Probably. But this exercise does have its Pros and Cons. The truth is finding deciding if it’s right for you and if this year is the right time for you.
I participated last year and I will say that finishing such an accomplishment was really satisfying. By finishing Nano I finished my third manuscript and I felt really accomplished. However, when I went back and revised that Nano manuscript I found that it was horrible. In fact, it was a disaster
But I did learn something very valuable from my experience with last year’s National Novel Writing Month. Grammar may not flow in a hurried stream of rushing words but creativity really does. I’m currently reworking my middle grade project that I wrote during last year’s Nano. It had some plot gaps and needed a lot of work but overall it was a stronger story and had an important minor character that I originally never planned to write. This particular character has turned out to really compliment my main character. Without her the main character wouldn’t have the character arc that he now has and this all happened because of Nano.
Nano is not for perfection. It is for finding your creative muse and strengths. Unbox the creative you. Put away your excuses. I’m a writing mom so believe me excuses are easy to find! That is one reason I’m teaching Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind, a Write It Forward Workshop next month. My goal is through simple self-study techniques, to help fellow writing moms find their groove and way to meeting their writing goals while being the mom they want to be. This way anyone can participate in Nano. Click here for more information on my Writing Moms class.
Will you Nano? What benefits have your experienced or hope to experience? Share them below in a comment.
I've considered this challenge, but I am reluctant for the reasons you give. Would I turn out a quality manuscript with this time schedule? Since I waiver, I will probably wait until next year. Thanks for the low-down.
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