NaNoWriMo

November has come around again and NaNoWriMo has begun once more. I have 'won' NaNo three times now: when writing my very first drafts of Fire and Air and when working on a dystopian story, Amber & Ice, which you can read some of on Wattpad. 

I'm not taking part this year though. Between my daughter, editing Air, getting back to Amber & Ice and working on a few new ideas, I've decided I won't have time to work on a completely new novel. I do hope to write 50,000 words this month, they just won't all be for the same project.

I cannot emphasis enough how amazing NaNoWriMo is and how much fun it is to take part. Here are my top five reasons why:

1) No more excuses. For anyone who has ever expressed an interest in writing a novel, NaNoWriMo provides the perfect opportunity to stop thinking about writing and start doing it.

2) Peer pressure. Or maybe peer mentoring. NaNoWriMo will give you plenty of support to keep writing once you've started. Pep talks and writing sprints will have your word count soaring in no time. 

3) Time Pressure. The thirty day time limit forces you to stop stressing over every detail of your plot and the nuance of every sentence. Instead, it encourages you to get words on paper. It's amazing what you can come up with under these conditions. And even if you're certain it's rubbish, you just have to remember that editing is what December is for.  

4) Social media is going to be saturated with mentions of NaNoWriMo over the next thirty days. Don't watch from the sidelines feeling envious or wondering what's going on. Take part and join the fun!

5) The sense of achievement you will feel when you make it to the end is immense.

http://nanowrimo.org