Why Writers Should Participate

I first learned about National Novel Writing Month in 2018 when I had more ideas than discipline. In those days, I had no idea that there were so many other aspiring writers. It was as though I was on this lonely island where published authors were unicorns instead of ordinary people like you and me. Everything changed when I clicked on the NaNoWriMo website and delved into the beauty of the writing world. That November, I wrote my butt off and “won” National Novel Writing Month. It was incredible. I’d never written 50 thousand words of a single book before, and even though I still haven’t finished that book, it gave me the motivation and belief in myself to finish the book of my heart. Now, I’m about to publish it and have an entire series outlined and ready to write.

NaNoWriMo set off a domino effect that began my writing career.

What’s the Difference Between National Novel Writing Month and Camp Nanowrimo?

The official month for NaNoWriMo is in November. You can use whatever writing project you want. Traditionalists like to start fresh and use October (or Preptober) to plan and outline, research, and even make playlists for their book and Pinterest boards. The first of November is typically when you begin the process of fast-drafting a completely new novel. It used to be that to “win”, you had to write 50,000 words, but I think it’s changed over the years to be more relaxed about whatever goal YOU want. I like to stick with 50K because it’s challenging. Have I mentioned that I’ve only won once? And I don’t even care! It helped me get farther than I would have gotten without it.

Camp NaNoWriMo is different in the way that you can use whatever project you want. You can draft, edit, revise, etc… and use whatever word count goal that you desire. For example, I like to use Camp NaNoWriMo to edit my drafted books. I may have a word count goal of over 100,000 words, but those are already rewritten, and I sail through them quickly depending on if it’s a developmental edit or a proofreading edit.

Camp NaNoWriMo is held in April and July of every year. The cool thing about it is you can create or join new writing groups. This brings us to our next topic.

Why Should Writers Participate?

There are a few things that stand out to me personally that I enjoy.

There are like-minded people all around.

Over a million writers participate each year, and they chat in forums, form groups that are similar to your genre or goals, and become buddies that can last a lifetime.

It helps establish a writing routine.

Since you’re supposed to enter your daily word count goal, it’s great motivation in getting you to write every day, thus establishing a routine. I like to set up my writing space, make coffee or tea, put on my robe and fuzzy socks, and place a writing tracker near my computer. Once I’ve finished for the day, I enter my word count into the website. Ta-Da! Daily routine.

Wordcount goals are fun.

Well, usually. Sometimes they’re stressful, but only if you let them be! This is why I don’t take camp nano so seriously, and also why it’s more fun for me. When you put your word count in, you’ll find that the line in your stats tracker climbs. It’s a nifty little tool for your visual learners, and I wish I could use it for more things, like cleaning the house or catching up on college homework.

It encourages the love and joy of writing!

Let’s be honest, surrounded by other writers, having a website and profile JUST for writing projects, is so inspiring and motivating! There are so many clubs and groups for other people and their popular activities, like runners and their 5Ks, music lovers and concerts, golfers and their country clubs: I could go on. Now, writers can communicate and share their goals and dreams with the knowledge that we’re not alone. Together, we can share the love and joy of writing.

My Plans

For fun, I’ll let you in on my own plans. This year, I plan on publishing my debut novel, Letters to Dogwood. It’s almost finished! I’d like to do two more drafts of it before hitting publish and releasing it to the wide world.

For Camp Nanowrimo in July 2022, I’m going to complete the fifth (and maybe final) draft. It’s a huge manuscript of 160K words, so it will definitely take me the whole month to do a good job of it. That means over 5,000 words a day to edit.

It’s Okay not to Reach Your Goal!

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve only won once in November and once in a July camp. And that’s okay, I promise. Some months you’ll do better than others. Camp NaNoWriMo is meant for fun and inspiration, and I personally find it more relaxed than in November. It is mostly a way for you to establish your writing habit, create and reach writing goals, and connect with other writers. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be a published author that will look back fondly on old projects that NaNoWriMo helped you with.

Happy writing, and don’t forget, you can do it!

-Tanya