Like many of you, I have no idea how we got to November already. I am still grappling with the thought that 2020 was only a few months long, not the full 12. I certainly cannot figure out how we are in November of 2021.
But it IS November, and November means it is NANOWRIMO!
For those of you not used to torturing yourselves the entire month of November, NANOWRIMO is National Novel Writing Month, all mashed up to fit into a small space. Why? Because that is what you are about to do with your soul!
I hope you guys know that I’m joking. NANO is intense, but not torture.
If you are not familiar with the event, Let me introduce you. Dear Reader, this is NANO, NANO, this is my dear, dear reader. Be nice.
To start with the basics. National Novel Writing Month is not a very accurate name.
- This is actually an international organization and event. People all around the world, in every country imaginable, and every language with a written alphabet has participants in this month long event.
2. Novel Writing is not the only acceptable goal. Certainly many people work on novels during this month. Some very well-known novels have been drafted (as a rough draft) during NANO. But novels are not the only form of writing you can do. You may label yourself a NANO Rebel if that helps, but any form of writing is allowed. We have the afore mentioned novelists, non-fiction writers, poets, short story writers, bloggers, and fan fiction writers. If you write words, you are welcome.
3. It is actually month long. There you go, that part is accurate.
What do you do during NANO?
I know, I linked the main page, but who wants to leave this lovely site and go read that. You have me here as your guide! This is what I am all about. To put it simply, NANO is getting 50,000 words written in one month. How you do that is up to you. I frequently use the writing prompts I post here to help me over a slump of a tough patch during the month. But I have also written a couple of novels (My novel Bloodlines was written during NANO in 2016), some novellas, and a lot of short stories.
Do not let the end goal scare you off. 50,000 words in 30 days breaks down to 1,667 words a day. That is only 2.5 to 3 pages. And you are not alone on the journey. Once you go to the site, you find your home area and join your “Region”. This is a group of people in your general geographic area that are also participating. YOu can add people as buddies, join chat groups, read message boards, and more.
In normal time, before the plague, we would meet several times a week for “Write-Ins”. We would meet at coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, Starbucks, you name it. EVeryone would all sit together and spend several hours working on our projects. We focused part of the time on getting words onto the paper and the rest talking, connecting, asking for help or giving help. (If you go sign up Add me as a Buddy! I’m AsylumFarm and in the USA :: ARKANSAS :: FAYETTEVILLE & NWA Region.) t is not too late to start!
These days we have to remain virtual another year. In my region, we have a new Team Lead (Called a Municipal Liaison or ML for short) and she is setting us up with online activities and meetings to keep the feeling of support alive. My local writing group will have some events at a local cafe in person, but due to safety reasons, these are not official NANO events.
Now to answer the Great Question, what does all this mean for me?
It means more writing prompts for you! Starting tomorrow, I will give you guys a new writing prompt every day for the rest of the month! I hope to see you all around!
21 thoughts on “It’s NANO Time!”