No plot? No problem! A review

I wrote a 53,000 word novel in a month by following the steps outlined in No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty.

I first heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) a couple years ago but it wasn't until this year that I learned its creator wrote a book. I tried NaNoWriMo last year without a guide and failed miserably at meeting the word count. I was eager to write and ready to get my story on the page for the first week, and then I slowed down and writing became less of a priority. I did not meet the 50,000 word goal.

When I picked up No Plot? No Problem! earlier this year I knew I had to try to write my novel again.

So, against the advice of the novel, I picked up the 3,000 words I had already written and started building on them. Baty suggests you start with a fresh idea so you never feel like you're doing an injustice to a properly thought-out brain-child. I was too attached to my idea to scrap it and start over. Instead, I started at 3,000 words and aimed to add 50,000 new words to the novel over the course of 31 days in December 2022.

Traditionally, NaNoWriMo takes place in November, but life got in the way for me this year and I wasn't able to focus on writing until December. I waffled over the idea of trying to write a novel at the same time as advocating for Dressember, trying to tackle Advent of Code, and preparing for family time over the holidays. But then I remembered my favourite piece of advice I got from a relative: "The more you do, the more you want to do."

So I decided to do it. 50,000 new words to my manuscript during one of the busiest months of the year.

I read the book at pace with my writing and followed the advice suggested in each chapter. I took breaks, I tried to do a 6,000 word writing sprint (turns out I can't focus for that long and it didn't work), I wrote with the goal of speed not quality, and most importantly I just kept writing.

In the end, I did it. I wrote a 53,005 word novel.

No Plot? No Problem! goes on to explain what you should do after you write your book. The first instruction, which surprised me a little, was: don't show it to anyone! I was excited to share my book with my friends and family, but as it turns out, my writing might not be as good as I think it is. I don't want to burden my family members with my terrible writing as soon as I've written it.

Instead, I'm to wait a month, re-read my book, and present my loved ones with a synopsis for them to review. This makes much more sense to me and as hard as it is to wait the full month, I'm going to do it.

I have every intention of polishing this book up and trying to get it published. In fact, one of the next books I'm going to read is "The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It...Successfully" by Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry. This book was recommended by Baty near the end of No Plot? No Problem!

I would rate this book a solid 4.5 out of 5 and recommend it to anyone looking to write a book fast. The only problem I had with it was that I was meant to read it over the course of a few months, but since I had it on loan from the library, I had to read it a little faster than I would have liked. So some of the advice wasn't as timely as it could have been, but that's not really the book's fault.

Have you read either of these books? Have thoughts about them? Written your own novel? Let me know what your experience was like!