My First Day of NaNoWriMo

It’s Officially NaNoWriMo

Aka, “National Novel Writing Month”

By joining a community on vocal, I found this wonderful non-profit that globally promotes creative writing. Every November, they host a writing month where users are encouraged to write 50,000 words in 30 days. For most people, this is an overwhelming goal. But for some people, it is just the push they need.

If you want to learn more about NaNoWriMo check out these Vocal stories. It’s what first pointed me towards the organization and ultimately what led to my decision to participate.

The First Day

Though these articles are wonderful, if I’m going to be honest...I kind of forgot today was November 1st. That means that other than a few ideas I had hiding in my “ideas” notes page, I hadn’t planned anything. But that’s okay, I decided to jump in head first anyway. I’m already out of my comfort zone trying to complete a novel, it’s not gonna hurt if I just decide to write...right?

Well actually, yeah. I knew I wanted to take it slow so as to not overwhelm myself so I had no word-count expectations anyway. I tend to be a nighttime writer and a lot of time that means I lose track of time and get to sleep super late. But because I know I have to be awake early tomorrow, I decided it would be best if I didn’t get in a groove. It sounds counter-productive, but I couldn’t get to a place where I was so invested just yet.

Which ended up being perfect. By not putting any pressure on myself, I let (almost) 500 words out with no specific plan or clear storyline, I just wrote.

Although it’s a little underwhelming to write the word count less than what I need to publish this specific Vocal story, I became excited when I saw my stats: “At this rate, you will be done with your novel by early February 2022.” This honestly lifted a huge weight off of me.

In reality, most people who participate in NaNoWriMo do not hit the 50,000-word mark. Props to you if you do, but that just doesn’t seem realistic for me. And that’s okay too, I’ll just go with however much my brain and not-so-quick at typing fingers will allow me. The stats really just made me show that as long as I stick with it I can get real results.

A Push

I tend to lean towards writing short stories and articles, not because it’s “easier,” but because I like it. I love reading other similar works, and some really do stick with me for a while. It’s amazing what a small number of words can do. However, there is a small part of me that has shied away from novel writing because it’s a big project to take on.

The big question that looms over my head is, well what if you can’t do it? What if it doesn’t make sense because it’s so long? What if I get writer’s block on the novel that leads to more writer’s block for my short stories and other writing? What if I get bored? Well, my answer to that now is, how will I know if I don’t at least try?

One of my teachers growing up would make us repeat his favorite word, “try,” every day because it is so important. And, it’s true. Taking on a scary project won’t be as scary once I begin trying. Once I put the hypothetical into reality. It clearly worked for me...once I saw those stats, I thought: “Huh, that actually wouldn’t be so difficult.”

My optimism after the first day of writing isn’t to say it won’t be hard. It most definitely will be. But the challenges I face will only lead to more problem solving and more opportunities to grow. How will I get better if I don’t try?

I was so happy to have found these articles on Vocal to get me exposed to NaNoWriMo and give me the push I needed to simply try.

The Final Takeaway

So if there’s anything you take from this it’s just the single word: TRY.

Want to see more about NaNoWriMo? Check it out here: