NaNoWriMo: Pre work

When I first signed up for the National Novel Writing Month I had a lot of doubts. Will I be able to finish it in time? Will I be able to have the discipline to write every day? What if I’m out of town and can’t write every day?

All these doubts stayed in my head throughout the signup process. Because despite everything I knew one thing was certain- I have a story to tell, I’ve visualised it in my head, and I knew that this is my opportunity to finish a novel. This is my shot.

So now that I’ve spent a few days preparing for the 1^st of November, I’ve had several insights during the planning process.

Firstly, the idea I had was a very general one- and to turn it into something that can count as a novel definitely took longer than I expected. But in the end, when I had the plot figured out, I felt accomplished, I know where the story is going from the very beginning, I know how it is going to end. Or at least, I hope it is still going to end that way.

I also realised that while our imaginations can be highly creative, they sometimes make things harder for the writer- I found myself wanting to write the story exactly how I imagined it to be, but along the way when I was planning how the reality and setting of the story would be like I realised that some things didn’t add up and so had to begin brainstorming ways around it.

But I think that at the end of the process, I was really happy with what I got, and I think that I have something good going on here. But before I begin the process, I thought I’d also have a look at some the expectations that I have of this upcoming month.

I expect it to be long and gruelling

I mean, 50,000 words in 30 days? That’s really something- but I shall try hard to stick to a schedule of writing daily. I have never before reached that milestone and so this would be a significant achievement for myself if I do, and I definitely intend to celebrate. Plus, keeping a journal helps to keep me accountable- I know that I have to write something every day.

I probably will try to give up sometime along the way, but hopefully I will persevere.

I expect to finish

Despite my doubts, I’m expecting myself to finish this novel. While it would be great to be listed on the website and/or get published, which of course I doubt, finishing this novel would simply be a dream come true to me. And I’m placing high expectations on myself to cross that finish line.

I expect to face writer’s block

Yes, I know. Writer’s block- the 2 dreaded words of many people. I’m guessing that somewhere along the way, I probably will face this and may be at a loss as to what to write about, but if I can maintain this level of enthusiasm and motivation (as well as a looming deadline) I should be able to get through it.

I expect to understand writers better

I know that for the next 30 days, I will be living life like a writer- having not much of a social life with a pre-arranged time every day to write. Having always pursued writing as a hobby, I’ve never known what it was like to do it part-time, and so, I believe this will be one of the only times where I get to actually experience life as a writer, because let’s face it- I would not challenge myself to complete a novel in a month if I didn’t know about Nanowrimo.

So there you go- those are my initial thoughts on my upcoming challenge. Keep checking back to see how far along I am and to cheer me on! 

P.S. My novel writing journal will be rather text heavy since I'm typing it up on Word beforehand and just pasting it here!