I’ve done NaNoWriMo (NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth) for
years, and every year people whine about it being in November. November
contains Thanksgiving – that’s time off from writing at the end of the month
when a lot of people are trying to get caught up. November also contains Black
Friday, and I dare not suggest skipping that to make up for word count loss on
Thanksgiving.
Here’s the thing: NaNo is a global event, and these are not
global holidays. Other participants in other parts of the world have holidays
and events that interfere too. Considering the international reach of the
event, I doubt there is a single month that will miss some type of cultural or
community interference.
Americans, we are not special. Cowboy up, plan around the
kick-off to the holiday season.
I like November for NaNo. Granted, I’m a bit twisted, even
for a romance writer. Or maybe I should say especially for a romance writer.
Writing officially has two food groups: sugar and caffeine. Most commonly you
see these in the forms of chocolate and coffee. I, for one, have stocked up on
bags of Halloween bite-size candy. I already have bags of mini-Milky Ways and Three
Musketeers in the freezer (I like them frozen, they last longer), as well as
other little tidbits to get me through the month. Hubby is kind enough to
pretend I’m just uber-prepared for the onslaught of trick-or-treaters, but we’ve
been married long enough for him to know better. Can you think of a better time
for an event like this than just after chocolate goes on sale? Really?
Coffee is easy. I’ll just say that at least at this time of
year it’s as common to see it iced as hot, and the holiday specials kick in
too. Candy cane and pumpkin spice. If you need that kind of incentive.
I tried a horror novel once (not my thing) but I found
having Halloween just past made for great inspiration when outlining and
starting my NaNo Novel. Halloween isn’t the best inspirational holiday for
romance, but for some of my peers, it’s pretty good. Fall has some gorgeous
colors and scents and I love to see that mentioned in books when I read. Or spring,
depending on your hemisphere.
So, wind around and cater to the Americans who will still
insist on believing themselves special and whining about the holidays in
November detracting from precious writing time: Here’s what I do and I have never
failed to exceed my word count, so listen up.
The goal of NaNoWriMo is 50,000 words in 30 days. That’s
official, it cannot be negotiated (I don’t care about turkey-induced
narcolepsy.) So 50,000 / 30. Most people just round this to 1,667 words per
day. Now be honest with yourself. Will you write that on Thanksgiving and Black
Friday? How about Sundays? Have a birthday, anniversary, or other event? Look
at a calendar and mark off the days you most
likely will not be sitting down and writing. Don’t lie to yourself and say
you probably could. Error on the side of caution and just say you won’t. If you
do, great! You’ll be ahead of the game or at least pleasantly surprised.
Now, count the days you will be writing and recalculate. Let’s
say you’re taking 10 days off. For some that might seem bold, that equates to
2,500 words for the remaining 20 days. Depending on how you are as a writer, it’s
doable. Only 5 days off? That’s 2,000 words a day. And remember, if you do
write on those ‘off’ days, more power to you.
Don’t fear the word count, just be realistic about it. Being honest with yourself is
the best way to prepare yourself to succeed.
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