Now that November is well under way, a lot of the writing community has been discussing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and whether it is worth doing. For those unfamilar with the organization. It is a 501(c)3 that encourages people of all ages to try and see if they can write 50,000 words in 30 days during the month of November. NaNoWriMo is for those 18 and older, but they also have a separate site for those under 18 as a part of the Young Writer’s Program. They run writing sprints and events all throughout the month as well as fun stuff throughout the year.
NaNoWriMo can seem pretty daunting for writers regardless of where they are in their journey. 50,000 words is a lot! And everyone has their own writing process. It is definitely a challenge, but many amazing books started out as NaNoWriMo projects, whether the author completed their goal or not. For example, Cinder by Marissa Meyer started out as a NaNoWriMo project and that’s created a wonderful series, graphic novels and more! But there are many people who think the idea of writing that much on a short deadline adds pressure and isn’t feasible. That’s valid of course. As I mentioned before, all writers have their own writing styles. Some writers may be able to write 50,000 words in half that time, others need three or four times as much. The great thing about NaNoWriMo is that they encourage authors to work at their own pace.
But for those that feel NaNoWriMo isn’t reasonable, in recent years acclaimed author Claribel Ortega has began her own fall challenge via Twitter. It is called #FinishUrBookFall. It’s even gained traction on TikTok as of late! It’s a bit like NaNo in that it challenges writers to write, however, this initiative gives you all of fall, September to November, to work on your project. The time constraint is lessened but it is about finishing your entire manuscript while NaNo only asks for 50,000 words. (While that may seem like a lot, most novels are between 75,000 to 110,000.)
Both of these challenges ask participants to write and work, both are super interactive as well. There are online and in-person write-ins for NaNo as well as social media challenges that encourage authors to smile, take breaks and share some of their work. There are also affinity groups via the forums and their various Discord channels. It’s a lot easier to write when you’re not writing alone, after all.
Claribel Ortega herself spearheads some great interaction via Twitter and I believe that there’s an easy way to find other participants via Twitter Lists and Discord so that virtual group writing can be done and new author friends can be made.
Overall, NaNo seems more organizes, but it is ran by a small staff of people who’ve been honing its sites for years, while #FinishUrBookFall is a fun initiative started by one person that has not yet become an organization. But, no one knows what the future holds.
So, which should you do?
I wish I could give you an answer. It depends on you. NaNo poses a challenge, but the great thing is that regardless of if you “win” at NaNo they have great sponsor offers and videos to help your craft. And #FinishUrBookFall is great for aesthetics as participants share mood boards, quotes and more from their own projects. You could always be like me! I’m doing both. I started working on a current WIP (work in progress) this fall and decided that while my goal is to add 50,000 words this month, I am giving myself the freedom to finish by the end of the year. After all, self care is important and I know that there are so many other things packed into my calendar. So what if I’m not starting a new project? Those at NaNo would call me a NaNo Rebel. And that’s perfectly okay. So, whichever you choose, enjoy the process and write.
Which sounds more promising for how you write? Are you doing either this year?
Written By: Chyina Powell
Women of Color Writers Circle 