NanoWriMo 2021

Nanowrimo.org

It’s my favorite time of the year. November means Nanowrimo and awesome food. Books and nibbles. Family and friends leave me alone to huddle with my laptop. I mutter to myself and talk about color coding and scene cards. It’s delicious. 

This year my enthusiasm has been low. Our world is no closer to a solution for the global pandemic. Our family has had some serious stressors. Plus, my dog died. Even though my mood has been blue, I refused not to try. I love Nano so much and didn’t want to skip it. 

Canva.com

So last week, I started a new folder and called it Nano 21. Next, I needed an story. I keep an idea notebook. Often, I see I’ve written down a book idea several times months apart. So, I chose one. Maybe I liked the idea. Or maybe I didn’t. But I had something to go on. 

The idea sat in my brain percolating. After a few days, I had snippets of dialogue, my heroine and hero, and an idea for setting. My notion has several databases for each book I write. Over the weekend, I searched for images and any visuals that resonated. On Saturday, I made an outline of the beats I want to churn my characters through. Sunday morning, I decided to start nano at midnight.  

The first line came to me a few days before I made my outline. I always have the first line before I move on a project. The line may not stay in the book, or I may start at a different point. What matters is I have the line to serve my writing.  

On Wednesday before, I did not know if I could even do Nano this year. I want to stress that you don’t have to have written an epic outline to write. You don’t need to have worked for months on character sketches, googled everything you might think you need to have researched, nor do you need to have fancy software.  

Just Start. 

It’s November third. Even if you haven’t started, you can. Puts words on paper and believe in yourself. You’ve got stories to tell and people who want to read them.  

Don’t think you need fancy things to be a brilliant writer. A great writer writes. That’s the secret sauce. You must write.  

You don’t even have to do Nano. I like it, but maybe you don’t. Make a deal with yourself. Maybe you write a hundred words per day. Or you edit a project. Maybe you want to sprint for ten minutes every day and see where it goes. Honor your creative self. Move forward.

Good luck everyone. Keep the fingers moving.