What you can learn from NaNoWriMo

nanowrimo.org/">National Novel Writing Month kicked off last week with a flurry of fingers on keyboards, and the first seven days ended with some participants still going strong, while others flagged and floundered with meandering plot lines and unruly characters. NaNoWriMo (as it is affectionately dubbed) is one of the largest international writing events of the year, with hundreds of writers committing to write fifty thousand words of fiction in just thirty days. It's a lofty goal, but one that is made more manageable by focusing on tangible aspects such as word count and a schedule rather than quality.

And this is the true beauty of NaNoWriMo: that the goal is simply to write. Write rubbish, write beauty, write eloquently or write a rambling mish-mash of disjointed incidents, but just write. It is a well known fact that most writers are procrastinators, and unpublished writers are the worst culprits... putting off finishing (or even starting) a novel for any number of reasons, the number one of which is that they don't have time. NaNoWriMo challenges writers to make the time, and by doing so commit to making writing a part of their daily routine.

If procrastination is a recurring theme in your writing life, then being part of NaNoWriMo can help you beat this bad habit once and for all. Their website has a section dedicated to getting your creating juices flowing and your fingers typing. The writing prompts are fun and frivolous and follow the ideology of not taking yourself too seriously while you write... after all, although this is a big challenge, you should be enjoying the process of writing your novel, otherwise what's the point?

Knowing that you are not alone is another great feeling for writers during NaNoWriMo. There is no escaping that for most of the time, writing is a lonely past time or occupation. Huddled over your keyboard, staring at the neon glow of your screen, absorbed in a world that no one else even knows exists can make even the most hardened hermit feel isolated. NaNoWriMo participants can turn to the forum or pep talks article bank for advice and to swap experiences. You can also touch base with other participants on Twitter by following the hashtag, or using the new lists feature.

Sharing your writing experience with others doesn't just offer support and encouragement, but accountability. This is an another area that writers struggle with. Working a 9-5 job you have a boss, a manager, or a supervisor peering over your shoulder to make sure that you get things done on time. Writing at home there is no-one to watch you but your dog, or a long suffering partner who knows enough to only pop in to drop off coffee rations, kiss you on the cheek and leave quietly. NaNoWriMo encourages writers to tell everyone about their goal. Shout about it on your blog, post updates on Facebook and Twitter and tell all of your friends and family that in thirty short days you will have finally finished your novel. As one of my close friends, and NaNoWriMo participant said after day 7, "Who knew I could write so much? It's amazing what fear of embarrassment can do."

The challenge may only be thirty days, but I am willing to bet that the writing habits learned during this month will have a lasting impact on all writer's habits well into the future.