Welcome to NaNoWriMo

So you've never heard of NaNoWriMo? Or maybe you have seen the mash up of letters, but have no idea what it means. Or maybe you already know what it is and want to know why I'm writing about it this week.

NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel (which is the bare minimum word count for a novel) in a single month. The focus is not on perfection, but on finishing the (censored) things. The idea is that once the novel is finished, the author is more likely to go back and edit, revise, or get it published later.

So why am I writing about this now?

Do I even have a good story to tell?

Well NaNoWriMo is comprised of four words National Novel Writing Month. That's right. November is the national month of writing a novel. It doesn't matter if the novel is fiction, nonfiction, or a fan fiction. What matters is that it's at least 50,000 words.

My cousin and I are both writers. It doesn't matter that we're not 'officially' published, we write thus we are writers. We're currently competing against each other to finish writing our current novel projects by the end of the month. Whoever looses must treat the winner to dinner.

Technically, we started this little competition back in October. We did this because our schedules at this time are absolutely crazy and we are trying to motivate each other to finish writing that story that has been floating around in the back of our minds for a while now.

But wait, you might be asking yourselves, didn't I already write a blog post about how I finished writing a novel. And you'd be correct. Back in 2014, I spent about six months or so writing a novel. Unfortunately it's been stuck in editor's limbo for two years. Editing is hard, especially when you want to change a good two thirds of the plot.

So what about this novel? Will it be edited, published, and become a best seller?

Even famous YouTube celebrates find time to write

I have no idea. I would love to become the next J. K. Rowling or Stephen King, but I don't have a crystal ball.

It takes a lot of hard work and even more luck to get traditionally published. To become a best seller takes even more luck and really good advertising.

Does that mean it's impossible and that I shouldn't even try?

No, if anything it means I should try even harder. I already do a lot of writing. Some of it is a hit, some of it is just left hanging in cyberspace (or somewhere on my hard drive). What's important is that I keep writing and working on improving my writing.

Do I have any advice for anyone who wants to be a writer?

Sure, just start writing. You might end up being a big hit. What matters is you and I are trying. We're learning. It might take some time, but at least you are enjoying yourself.

I know I am.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, comment, and/or share. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Maybe someday we'll all be reading each others  work.

Until next week!