If you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s short for National Novel Writing Month, held every November since 1999. The goal is to write 50,000 words – which is the “average” length of a novel – and be able to say “I wrote a novel.” Yes, that’s about 1,667 words a day, which, for some people (me included) is a LOT. I know I can handle it – I could crank out 2,000 words a day for an essay in university a few years ago – but here’s the thing: I only have 12 days out of November to truly complete this challenge, which are the days that my daughter is in school. 

Yes, that’s 4,166 words a day. To be honest, I think I can achieve it. I’ve prewritten about 7,100 so far (all trash, lol), and I might be able to squeeze in 9 MORE days to write. Let’s do the math: 42,900 / 21 = 2,042 words a day. If it works in my favour, I might be able to finally complete the novel I’ve had floating in my head for the past two years. Who knows what the future holds from there? If I know anything about my writing style, it’s that the best usually comes from the editing stage – not the drivel I spew out at first. So, while it’s probable I can feasibly write 50,000 words in November, I’ll likely take another year editing it. 

But, writing is the hardest part, isn’t it? This is something I’ve wanted to participate in for YEARS. Every November, I say, “This is the time. I’m doing it!” Only to – for one reason or another – not take part. 

The best part: I’ll be blogging during my whole stint! If you’re NaNo-curious, or want to participate but are not ready to commit, you can visit my blog during November and get a play-by-play of how I’m doing. Or struggling. 

But I can’t do it alone! I’d love to see you other writers join me and get the book out of your head and anchor it onto a page. You can follow me on their website, https://nanowrimo.org at ericablackcz. Let me know and reach out, we can be writing buddies. Can’t wait to see you there!