The Power of NaNoWriMo
And what other writing challenges can unlock in you.
Last year, I participated in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for those who are “in the know”) for the second time. I made it to the end, and claimed my victory.
Or did I?
In 2017, I wrote the first draft of a YA fantasy novel. It felt revolutionary. I had taken my never-admitted-to dream of writing a book, and looked at fear of failure right in the eye. Thanks to NaNoWriMo, I danced my way to achieving my dream, and staring down my fear.
In 2018, I wrote the first draft of a memoir about how I left a life I love in NYC to build the life of my dreams in rural Portugal. It was so much harder than writing a fantasy novel!
Now, I understand what writers mean when they talk about a “crap first draft”. Oh boy, do I get it.
If you had asked me a year ago whether I thought writing a memoir was easier than a work of fiction, I would have said yes. How hard can it be to find your voice and write a piece of your story?
Ha.
What is Voice?
Voice is the pirate’s treasure of writers, and especially memoirists. Except there isn’t really a secret map where X marks the spot. You need to do the work, go through the flames of trial and error, and dig (ok so that last bit is the same as if you had a map to said treasure).
As Mary Karr says in “The Art of Memoir”, many of her students begin by trying to overcompensate the very character traits that make their voice unique, compelling, and real.
When I read that, I scoffed to myself. Then I read over part of my NaNoWriMo 2018 draft, and my eyes went wide. Uh-oh. Maybe, just maybe, she had a point.
So, here I am. I feel a sliver of a shadow of a hint of invincible (like Mario when he hits one of those stars) thanks to NaNoWriMo, because now I know I can write books. Getting them edited and published is my next challenge, but that’s beyond the scope of this post.
The role of challenges in my writing adventure
Speaking of challenges… I am a sucker for them. Knowing this about myself, I try to use that to my advantage when it comes to my writing.
Whether it’s about writing every day (like the 31 day #my500words challenge by Jeff Goins that begins Monday and that I just signed up for), or making an external deadline (the external bit is key), I am in.
This gives me an excuse — not to say “reason” — to prioritize my writing, both in my head (not to be underestimated, as I am a brilliant and productive procrastinator) and with regards to the rest of the world.
It also nudges me beyond my comfort zone.
In concrete terms:
- NaNoWriMo made me realize that I am capable of writing books.
- Pitch Wars and Author Mentor Match didn’t work out for me, but prepping for submission forced me to write a synthesis and a query. Now, my YA book isn’t ready to pitch (getting there!), but these two elements that would have made me drag my feet once it was… they are good to go.
- The recent Two Drops of Ink Literary Blog Writing Contest showed me I can reach people with my writing.
So, what does that mean for you?
Your writing journey will not be the same as mine, and what works for me may not achieve the same results with you.
That said, I can only encourage you to sign up for some of these challenges and deadlines, even if they seem a bit extreme or so far beyond your comfort zone you don’t even know the rules.
If you want to continue being a writer (not if you want to be a writer, because if you write — published or not — then you are a writer), you’re going to have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Trying new things. Pushing yourself beyond what you thought you could do.
Because here’s the thing: when you’re a writer, writing is the easy part (yeah, I know). It’s what comes afterwards, the editing and pitching and submitting and continuing it all regardless of failures or rejections, that will separate the published authors from the rest.
If there are other tools and techniques you use to push forward on your writing, I would love to hear about them (and try them!). Or, if you try and of the above challenges / external deadlines, let me know how it went and what you learnt from the experience!
You can connect with me in the comments below, or on Twitter.
