If you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which challenges authors to write 50,000 words in the month of November.
During November many people use the online forum and local events where people congregate to write in sprints to spur them on.
When I first took the challenge having a full time job and young children, I didn’t really have the time to indulge in the social aspect of the challenge though, I just concentrated on the word count.
In order to achieve the 50,000 words at the end of the month you have to achieve a daily word count of around 1,700 words. It was this target that I worked towards, knowing that if I did the words every day I would be assured of reaching the end target. If I got behind I would then be playing catch-up so it made me write, consistently.
What I loved most of all was uploading the word count on the progress chart. Seeing my achievement in graphic form was incredibly encouraging especially if I had over achieved the daily amount.
I haven’t done NaNoWriMo for the last few years, mainly because during November I’ve been concentrating on editing, but I have really missed it.
At the moment I’m in the middle of writing Book 2. For a long time I’ve been at the 50,000 word mark. I haven’t been able to move forward on this because I’ve had massive plot problems and I’ve had to go back and cut a lot of text. Spending time working out not only what needs to be cut but also what needs to been done to drive the plot and the characters forward has taken up a lot of my time.
Doing this, though, gave me a sense of purpose and finally I could see the way forward. I’m aiming for at least 80,000 words so that’s another 30,000 to go and I decided that I wanted to achieve this by the end of March.
And that’s when the breakthrough came. I was skimming through some old writing magazines when I came across a recommendation for ‘Pacemaker’. Part of the website is free. (You can pay for an upgrade for all the bells and whistles). But to chart your progress and add in a daily word count, you can utilise the free version of this.
I set up my project with the word count I wanted to achieve in the time I wanted to achieve it and, hey presto, I had my own personal NaNoWriMo in February.
On the first day, after a hard day at work, I didn’t really feel like writing, but the thought of needing to update my progress on the app pushed me on. And there you go, my inner geek was ignited. The need to watch that target being achieved, and often over achieved is really spurring me on. I love it when I go over and the amount of words I need to write daily, decreases. I've missed a few days here and there, but not many as I don't want to see the white spaces between the green progress bar.
And, if I carry on like this, I know I will have an 80,000 word completed draft by the end of the month.
What spurs you on?
