LOW-COMMITMENT IDEAS FOR NANOWRIMO

November is known to all writers as NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month). The challenge, which is taken by thousands of writers every year, is to write 50K words in 30 days, thus finishing the first draft of your novel.

I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo several times, and while I never finished a proper novel, I do have several short stories to show for it and even met the 50K goal in three years. In my experience, NaNoWriMo is great for those of us who are trying to develop the habit of writing daily and who struggle with motivation and dedication. Writing consistently every day is difficult because there will always be periods of time when you can’t stand the thought of putting down another word. Taking this month-long challenge allowed me to learn how to use my time better and how to push through the times where inspiration escaped me.

This year, though, I won’t be participating. I have a new job that I’m still trying to figure out, as well as thousands of different ideas I can’t seem to focus on. My stamina and my mental health have also taken a blow since March of 2020 (do I really need to explain why?) and failing at something that I previously succeeded in will only be a blow to my self-esteem.

Instead, I will try my hand at some low-content and low-commitment writing challenges that can keep the creativity flowing and might one day turn into a more elaborate piece. If you’d like to join me, I’ve compiled a list of projects you can resort to if you’re feeling creative but unmotivated to focus on anything long-term.

1. Two-Sentence Stories

This Reddit group allows authors to post two-sentence horror stories and some of them are quite effective. The goal is to tell a complete story in no more than two sentences. I also find that this is a good challenge to practice effective punctuation in storytelling.

Here’s an example of something I wrote last year that I still hope to turn into a proper story one day:

Our driver said she left the car in the middle of the road because her passenger started screaming at her for going in the wrong direction. I understand her reasons but still, hearses are expensive.

2. Six-Word Stories

Two sentences too much commitment for you? No problem! Try to write an entire story in only six words. You can find a long list of examples here, but I believe this is one of the best-known ones:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Generally attributed to Ernest Hemingway

3. Haiku and Limericks!

Poetry is always valid. It doesn’t have to rhyme and it doesn’t have to be good. I’m someone who loves poetry, but I struggle a lot with it because English is not my first language. These can be a good starting place to practice.

A haiku is a three-line poem that originates from Japan. You can find the rules for it here, but here’s an example:

The first cold shower

Even the monkey seems to want

A little coat of straw

By Matsuo Bashō

A limerick, on the other hand, tends to have a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA and it is often humorous. They’re a good way of practicing your rhyming and meter, as well as a way to have fun with words.

The limerick packs laughs anatomical

Into space that is quite economical.

But the good ones I've seen

So seldom are clean

And the clean ones so seldom are comical.

Unknown Author

4. No plots allowed!

Make a character. It doesn’t have to be a good or a complete character. Focus on the essentials, on the things that make you happy about them. Whenever I create a new character, I like to start by writing down the five things I know about them because these are the things that are going to keep me engaged in them.

If you’re not sure, you can fill in the basics:

What is their name?

What do they look like?

What is their wound?

What is something that they need to learn to heal that wound?

There are also several character creation templates you can find for free if you get lost.

5. No characters allowed!

Are characters too complex? Then shelve them and focus on the plot instead. You can write down everything that should happen in your story in six lines or less, or you can be a little more detailed and use the Save the Cat beat sheet to get the essential parts down.

6. No fiction allowed!

You can spend time researching something you’re interested in and write your thoughts down. This could be true crime, the function of the different DND dice, the realities of buying BitCoin, or a long, detailed list of low-content NaNoWriMo ideas.

7. Fanfiction

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that there aren’t some excellent, complex fanfiction out there. I have spent many nights wide awake reading slow-burn romance on my phone, or scrolling through my favorite tags on AO3.

However, fandoms tend to be a lot more welcoming of low-effort content, from 100-word drabbles to 1000 words of unedited smut. If you’re feeling stuck, fanfiction can be a safe place to discover or even go back to and get something silly and fun down. There is always someone who’s waiting to read some good, old-fashion Destiel fluff.

8. Letters and Diary Entries.

I find that writing your feelings and frustrations down can be quite cathartic. Even if you have nothing to say other than “I did not write a word today and I am mad!!!”, that can do wonders for your mental health. You could also simply write down a happy memory to the best of your ability.

And if, by any chance, you’re still holding on to the angry, witty words you wish you had said to your boss before quitting, writing a capslocked email giving them a piece of your mind is another way to get some words down while making yourself feel better. Just make sure you don’t hit send!

9. Titles

Write a whole bunch of titles that sound interesting to you. They don’t have to be attached to an idea and they don’t have to lead to a novel, but it might be fun to come up with strange titles for stories you haven’t thought of yet.

When in doubt, try the YA route:

The NOUN of ADJECTIVE NOUN

Such as The Rose of Burning Bushes, or The Shoes of Lost Children, or The Titles of Unwritten Stories.

Be silly. Have fun.

10. Make Progress on Old Work.

If you don’t want to create something new, you can always go edit something you’ve already finished. I know I have a long list of projects that need that final scene, or just one more edit before they're finally done.

You could also write a follow-up or a prequel for a story you’ve already written. Where are your characters now? Where did they come from? What was the moment in their childhood that defined them? Did they ever go to the beach with their friends to do absolutely nothing other than avoid responsibilities? You can find the most interesting things about your characters asking the dumbest questions.

11. Legends, Myths, and Bedtime Stories.

If you grew up with a fairy tale or local legend, you could write down the story exactly as it was told to you. You don’t have to change it or make it better (though you can); if you remember it still, that means it was memorable the first time you heard. Do you know any twisted legends from your hometown? Or maybe Hansel and Gretel were chased by an angry harpy instead of a witch in the story your mother told? Share your favorite tales with the world.

12. Let the dice decide!

If you have a basic idea and you’re not sure where you want it to lead, you can let the dice decide the fate of your characters. If you know any RPG systems, they can be excellent guides for this kind of writing. My personal favorite (and the one I’ve used in my own writing) is Ten Candles, where you start with a set of ten dice and remove one at the end of each chapter. It can make for some really tragic stories.

13. World-Building

If you already have an idea in your head, or maybe a few words written down, you could use the month of November as a way to develop the world of your story. There’s no need to come up with new characters or plot points, but here are a few ideas that can help you improve the world you’ve created:

Draw a map.

Come up with a creature.

Come up with a magical item.

Create a spell or a curse.

Write an invitation to a magical world.

Write letters from one character to another.

14. No writing allowed!

Do all of my ideas sound complicated, overwhelming, or just dumb? That’s okay! You don’t have to write a word in the month of November. Here are a few things that you can still do to stay creative and motivated in the month of NaNoWriMo:

Make some sort of art for an existing work in progress or finished story. This could be drawings, a pinterest board, or even a shoddy cover that you made on Canvas in five minutes or less.

Do a reading challenge instead. Comic books, fanfiction, and audio books also count.

Try writing games, like Madlibs!

Promote books and fanfiction you love and leave reviews and comments everywhere you can to support your fellow writers.

Focus on growing your social media presence by posting behind the scene pictures, promoting old work, or sharing something about your work in progress.

These are some of my ideas on how to have a productive NaNoWriMo without having to commit to 50K. My final advice is this: the shitty, 100 words that you write in 30 days are better than the perfect 50K words you don’t, so lower your expectations and aim for progress, not perfection.