Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, you’re probably feeling either really proud or completely disgusted with yourself right now. Or perhaps you are simply confused about what NaNoWriMo is, so let’s start there.
Intro to NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is the acronym for National Novel Writing Month. Back in 1999, a challenge was issued worldwide: write 50,000 words of a novel in just 30 days. The challenge began the first day of November. So now, each November, novelists around the world roll up their sleeves and get cracking.
However, the beautiful thing about this challenge is that it isn’t geared exclusively toward published novelists. It’s intended for anyone who has a story in their heart. It doesn’t matter if you are a baker, teacher, nurse, plumber, or retiree. As long as you have a story idea, you are welcome to participate. Come with an idea; leave with a novel. Or, come with a partially completed manuscript; leave with a longer—perhaps completed—novel. No matter what your starting point is, if you write 50,000 words in November, you’re a success.
If you have completed your 50,000 words, I am proud of you. That’s a lot of work, and I respect it.
But what if you don’t write 50,000 words?
Falling Short
Maybe you didn’t reach the daily or weekly writing goals you set for yourself. At this point in the month, it can be hard to make up for a shortfall of words. With Thanksgiving just one day away, maybe your thoughts are more centered on turkey and parades than on the novel you started. Perhaps you have been affected by COVID and, right now, all you care about is your health or your family’s health. Or you’re spending every second trying to find a new job after you were downsized last week. Your novel is on the back burner, and it’s going to stay there for a while. You will not have 50,000 words by the end of the month.
Does that mean you’re a failure?
No.
I’ll say it again, just to make sure you hear me.
No, you are not a failure.
Failing to meet a deadline does not make you a failure. Pausing in the middle of a project to take a break or work on something else for a while does not make you a failure. It means you have had to change your priorities.
Nothing is wrong with that.
Self-Discovery
Or maybe you’ve had a self-discovery. At the beginning of the month, you had an idea. You wrote about it. As you wrote and the story unfolded, you discovered that your story didn’t need 50,000 words. You found out that it was actually a short story. You like it that way. Maybe you have other short story ideas and maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re a poet, not a novelist.
Nothing is wrong with that either.
Perhaps your epiphany was of a different variety. You decided to give NaNoWriMo a try and didn’t enjoy it. In fact, you hated it. You’re not even sure why you signed up. You don’t even like writing.
Again, nothing is wrong with that.
Not everyone is cut out to be a writer. I’m sure someone just fainted as they read that, but it’s true. Not all of us are wordsmiths nor do all of us want to be. Not everyone has to enjoy writing. That would be the same as saying everyone has to like radishes. I don’t like radishes. I know that because I’ve tried them. And when you signed up for NaNoWriMo, that’s what you did; you tried something new. I salute you for taking a chance on a new adventure. It takes guts to take risks. Signing up for a 50,000-word writing challenge is certainly a risk.
What Did You Learn?
No matter why you didn’t complete the challenge, believe me when I say that you are not a failure. You can only fail if you didn’t learn anything, and I am absolutely positive you learned something. Look at the list below please.
Things You May Have Learned
- You enjoy writing
- You do not enjoy writing
- A new word
- A new feature in your word processing program
- A punctuation rule
- A grammar rule
- Goal setting
- A new social networking platform
- Forums are helpful and/or fun
- There are resources to help you write
- Prep work makes a difference
- World-building matters
- Write-ins are a thing
- Backing up your work is important
- People actually create successful novels from this program
- There is a whole community of novelists out there to encourage you
- The community includes famous authors, who will give you pep talks
- Grace or forgiveness
- Self-respect
- NaNoWriMo is more than just a challenge for one month of the year
Given that those were just the first twenty items I thought of, you cannot seriously tell me that you haven’t learned anything from your NaNoWriMo experience. Even if you do try to tell me that, I don’t believe you.
Failure Is Not an Option
More importantly, I believe that you are successful whether or not you write 50,000 words this month. Remember, taking a break is ok. Resetting your priorities is ok. Deciding this isn’t your thing is ok. Learning something from your experience is what matters. That is why you are a success.
Don’t stop learning, friends.
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