NaNoWriMo 2020

 (I originally wrote this post for THE WRITE WAY, the blog on the White County Creative Writers website. If you're interested in writing, definitely check out that website. I have updated it slightly for this year.)

It’s almost November, and that means NaNoWriMo. For those who don’t know, that’s National Novel Writing Month. If you’ve never heard of it, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that there’s an online community of writers who pledge to complete a novel in only thirty days.
Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
But every year since 1999, thousands have proven that it can be done. The idea started small, but has continued to grow every year. Hundreds of those novels have gone on to be published by traditional publishers, while hundreds more have been self-published.
The goal is a complete first draft, a minimum of 50,000 words in thirty days or less. That’s less than 2,000 words per day. Anyone can enter. There’s no entry fee, and it’s simple to participate.
• Sign up on the website nanowrimo.org
• Describe your novel – title, genre, brief synopsis. (You can be as brief as you want, and you can change the title later.)
• Start writing on November 1.
• Update your word count after each writing session.
• When complete, paste your full text into the online word-count validator. If you have 50,000 or more words, you win! (It’s a tool that merely counts words. No one reads it. The story remains yours to edit or do with as you wish.)
The site contains lots of support, pep talks from publishers and authors, and resources. You can earn achievement badges and connect with other writers who are participating. There are regional groups and some areas form local groups that meet in person.
According to the website, there are more than 798,000 active novelists registered. And almost 400,000 novels have been completed so far since NaNoWriMo began. Now, that doesn't mean that 400,000 novels have been published. As writers, we all know there is still a lot of work to be done after a writer "wins" NaNoWriMo. But I'd rather have a completed first draft than another brightly polished story-start to add to my collection.
Why not give it a try? Grab one of those ideas you have in the back of your mind, sign up, and start writing. Remember, this is a first draft, so don’t waste time editing and polishing. Just tell your story.
What have you got to lose? It's simple and participation is free. And this is 2020, so what else do you have to do? That deadline and daily word-count goal might be just what you need to get that novel out of your head and onto the page. 

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