🎧 46. Experiments with NaNoWriMo
National Novel Writing Month starts on November 1—and you don't need to write every day to participate.
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Notes on Episode 46: Every November, writers from around the world commit to writing daily for 30 days, with the goal of generating 50,000 words of a new novel. National Novel Writing Month has enormous potential for helping us make progress, but not everyone feels comfortable with the parameters. If you have a new project you’re itching to make progress on, the concept of NaNoWriMo can be useful, but it’s not one size fits all.
A few highlights:
The benefits of participating in NaNoWriMo
Why poets and memoirists (not just novelists) should consider it as a tool
How to customize the experience to honor your current season
Why writing 1,600 words per day doesn’t work for everyone (and what to try instead)
Public and private accountability ideas
Schedule tweaks that fit into your day
In 2020, I participated in my first-ever NaNoWriMo, then repeated the process a few months later. The practice of a deep writing month, with gentle accountability, can be such a supportive practice if you’re ready for it—and more importantly, if you tweak the guidelines to suit your current circumstances.
Are you in the middle of a writing project that could use some momentum?
Have you been circling around a new idea and want to see if it has legs?
Do you worry about the pressure to write 1,600 words per day?
Are you looking for gentle accountability that takes into account the fact that you’re human?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, here are some scheduling ideas to customize the whole experience.
Write for 15-20 minutes when you first sit down at the computer, before launching into your other wok for the day.
Utilize your lunch break
Write for 10 minutes before bed
Write Monday-Friday, and take the weekends off
Write for less time Monday-Friday, and more time on Saturday or Sunday
Only write longhand in a notebook—before bed (see above), in the school pick up line, on the porch drinking your morning coffee, etc.
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Let’s encourage each other!
Leave a comment sharing how you’re planning to work your writing sessions into your schedule. (Remember, nothing is too small. It’s just as meaningful to commit to writing for 10 minutes before bed every night as writing 2k words a day.)
And if you’d like more public accountability, come back every day and leave your word counts to help you stay on track.
✍️ Nicole Gulotta is the author of WILD WORDS and the literary cookbook EAT THIS POEM. She helps sensitive writers embrace the season they're in, create at their own pace, and care for their minds and bodies along the way.
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I loved this episode + how you recognized perfectionism can make committing to NaNoWriMo difficult/complicated (thinking about word count stresses my brain out). I will be aiming to get into a routine of writing 10 minutes before bed for November instead 🤍
I’m partway into using Nanowrimo in just such a way as you encourage--as a way to change up the writing routine and build some momentum, no matter how small.
Really appreciated listening to the way you wrap words around this, and also around connected issues we may run into along the way such as perfectionism and project dysphoria. I love how you bring the recent guests’ messages full circle to apply them practically in this particular challenge.