Did you write 50,000 words last November? I did. Several of my clients did, too. Now what? Every year some half million people start writing novels under the excited aegis of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

The challenge is to write a novel, i.e. 50,000 words, in the thirty days of November. Each year about 12% finish their 50,000 word goal (which, for the record, is not quite a novel.) Also for the record, 30% of my clients in the Mighty Writers Club finished NaNoWriMo, last year. (So, nanny nanny noo noo.)

By straight math, that would be 1,667 words per day – if you’re intending to write weekends, Thanksgiving, and generally not miss a single November day.

Pro Tip! I frontloaded my word count expectation, so my early writing goal was 2800 words per day. It takes the pressure off to be ahead of the requirement (for me.) Also, I didn’t want to have to write weekend days, and if I was being honest, I wanted it out of my hair by Thanksgiving. I only had to write 18 days, at that rate. All said and done, I wrote at least a little every single day, and I added 50,000 new words to a novel I had begun 2 years earlier! And yes, by Thanksgiving. I currently have a full first draft that will need editing, of course.

Motivation Movember!

So, NaNoWriMo did its job, and a year later… what?

  • I have heard from many agents that the WORST THING YOU CAN SAY in a query letter is  that this is your NaNoWriMo masterpiece (Lips curl. Eyes roll.)
  • I know that 50K is only about 1/2 a novel, unless it’s YA or a genre novel.
  • And I know that generating words is only HALF the creative process.

It might be the fun half for many of us, but, darn it, there’s editing to do.

Tada! Join me in NaNoEditMo

I’ve edited 1700 words per day, and will continue throughout November, every weekday. At that rate I’ll finish my nonfiction and hand it off to my copy/line editor, and begin a developmental edit on last year’s novel.

Who’s with me? NaNoEditMo! NaNoEditMo! NaNoEditMo!

(It’s hard to make editing feel exciting.) NaNoEditMo! But, nose to the grindstone, progress is perfection and three other clichés later, I’ll have a great book edited, and another taking new shape!

The Motivation Movember tradition continues. Join me in the WWTF fb group, to post your NaNoWriMo or NaNoEditMo word counts and achievements.

I salute you all!

Also, I’m working on a NaNoNowWhat? type course to bring writers resources and info like – editing, self-pubbing, building a platform. It’ll launch in first Q next year! I’ll keep you posted.