Today I'm going to tell you all about my Nanowrimo experience! If you're reading this, I'm assuming you know what Nanowrimo is. If not, type it into google, and you'll be up to speed in about 30 seconds.
I only remembered about Nanowrimo a couple of day before November. I'd come across it months ago, and always thought it would be great to do, but I'd pretty much left it at that. So, there I was, one day before November 1st, knowing I wanted to take part but having no idea what story I wanted to tell.
And when I say no idea, I mean, none, zero, absolutely nothing.
Luckily for me, on October 31st I ended up being stuck in a car for an hour. During which time, I planned my entire novel in the notes on my phone. It wasn't an eloquent plan, there was no punctuation or even complete sentences, but hey, it was a start. When I got home, I wrote it out on one sheet of A4 in a flow diagram, with each event described in literally just two or three words. It was the bare, bare basics, that's for sure.
Before now, whenever I'd tried to write a novel I'd always planned extensively first, so this was completely new to me. I had no idea where my novel would start or end, just a vague idea of the plot arc. In fairness though, I had never actually finished a novel before, so I tried to convince myself that this tactic would work better for me.
I was right!
Not having a detailed plan meant I never knew quite what was going to happen next, which made writing so much more exciting! It also meant I felt free to change the plot as I wanted. Several big events and twists which I threw in to the narrative on a whim, I've ended up loving, and I feel it was only because I didn't have a plan that I was able to do that. I know a lot of people who are fans of planing will tell you that you don't have to stick exactly to the plan when you're writing, but I had never been able to do that once I had a plan in front of me, I just felt restricted.
The downside? November 1st came and I didn't write the 1,667 words I was supposed to. I had no idea where to start, what the tone of my story would be, or even what my main character would be called (she's actually called MC for the first 10 000 words). Also, 1,667 words is a hell of a lot more than I thought it was, especially when faced with the prospect of writing that much every day.
It was draining to say the least, but it was doable. Every night after I'd finally written the 1,667th word, I'd feel exhausted and convinced I'd never want to write again. Every morning, I'd be thinking about my characters and ready to pick up the story where I left off.
It still surprises me that I can actually sit here (in truth I'm lying down) and tell you that I won Nanowrimo! Somehow I managed to push on and write those 50 000 words by the end of the month. It was definitely hard, writing for at least a couple of hours every day after school whilst applying for medicine at university, but I did it, and the feeling is amazing!
My main Nanowrimo tip?
DO NOT FALL BEHIND!!! You will regret it.
Everything was worth it though, and now I have 50 000 words of a novel which I'm actually really proud of and still in love with. I still have probably around 20 000 words to go, and my next goal is to be able to write "THE END" by the time the Christmas Holiday has finished. My novel journey is not over yet, but it's definitely begun!
I have to say, what got me through it was the Nanowrimo forums. During any writing break, when I needed inspiration, thet's where I'd be. Somehow reading through the endless conversations was inspiring, and the sense that everyone was in it together really made me push forwards. I honestly don't think I would have made it without that feature of the site.
So, let me know what you think of Nanowrimo, I'd love to hear from you!