Ready, Set...Go!

NaNoWriMo 2007 begins today!

I am sure most of you know what NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is; for those who don't, let me try and put it here in as few words as possible: NaNoWriMo is basically about writing a 50,000 word novella in the 30 days of November.

If you, like me, have always believed that you have a book in you, and all you are waiting for is the right time, then I can assure you that NaNo is something you should try. Needless to say that I am participating. I participated last year too, and was able to win it i.e. complete my 50, 000 word novella in one month. I have put bits and part of what I wrote for NaNo last year on my other blog, and you can check that out if you like.

NaNoWriMo started in 1999 with only 21 participants, and it grew to have 79,000 participants in 2006. This year, I am sure, the number of participants will be even higher. Though it is not easy to be a winner in NaNoWriMo, especially with all the other things in life we usually have to do, it is not that hard either.

Last year was my first year at NaNo, so I made many mistakes. If this year is your first, then I would like to share some tips with you that, I think, might help.

• The most important thing to do is plan out the whole novel well in advance. What I did last year was write one chapter at a time, and then sometimes, in the middle, I lost my way, and in the process of finding my way back I lost some precious time.

• Another thing to remember is that if you write 1667 words every day, you will end up a winner. I am sure many of you blog every day and write more than that, therefore, sometimes it is easy to get complacent. One might think I haven't written anything today, but I can always make up for the lost writing tomorrow. But 1667 multiplied by 2 is 3334, and 1667 multiplied by 3 is 5001. The numbers add up pretty fast...don't they? So, whatever you do, stay ahead of schedule.Last year, I did not and as a result on November 30, 2006, last day of NaNo, I ended up writing about 10,000 words.
  

• Third, forget about editing. I know you like your writing to be perfect, but this is a race against time. Don't bother to look back at what you have stepped on, just keep running and you can always come back , once the month is over and you have won the race.

• Lastly, have fun. Don't let the target of 50,000 words bother you, at least not for the first fifteen days. Just enjoy writing and maybe, if you like, keep a track of some friends that might be doing NaNo. You can even challenge a friend; a little competition never hurt anyone.

With that, I wrap up this post. I have a busy month ahead, so I am not sure if I will be able to win the NaNo this year, but I will try. For all the curious ones out there, I am going to try my hand at writing a love story this year.

I wish the very best of luck to all NaNoWriMo 2007 participants.