Happy NanoWrimo

Hello writers, do you know what today is? It’s November first which means, it’s National Novel Writing Month. It’s your chance to write 50,000 words in thirty days. I’m not participating this year but I am currently editing my young adult novel that I began writing two years ago during Nanowrimo. My story goes like this; I was in the midst of writing a middle-grade fantasy novel. I had it completely outlined. The characters were in place, settings were created and ending was known, when I received a challenge from my sister-in-law (who also happens to be my writer bff). She had recently decided that she wanted to get back into writing and thought Nanowrimo was exactly what she needed to get her fingers typing. But, she wanted someone to do it with her.
I kicked the idea around for a few days but knew I wasn’t going to use my wip (The middle-grade fantasy) because that would sort of be cheating. Ironically the night before November first I had a crazy dream. As I was writing the details of the dream into my journal, it hit me. Use this dream to base a new novel on. And so, my young adult novel was born. I don’t think I achieved the fifty thousand by the end of the month but I did finish a novel which I’m super excited about. Yes, it’s two years later and I’m just now getting it ready to query. It was the first novel I wrote organically. I let it evolve naturally and the result was better than I could imagine.
My dream inspired the novel, but I could have never dreamt of what it would become. I just hope that an agent likes it as much as I do, which is why I am taking as long as needed to get it as close to perfect as possible. Without, the challenge from my sister-in-law or Nanowrimo, this novel wouldn’t exist which is why I say, “Go for it!”
Ten tips to help you with Nanowrimo
1. Just start writing. Don’t worry if you think it’s junk. Get the words on the paper (or keyboard)
2. Put a motivating quote in front of you each day.
3. Let everything around you inspire you. Did you notice someone in the grocery store that would be great for a character? (Perhaps the teenager checking you out.)
4. If you aim for seventeen hundred words a day, you will meet your goal.
5. Surf the web for others who are also participating. It’s great to have a cheering section.
6. Read about Nanowrimo success stories. Every time you feel like quitting, remind yourself it worked for someone else.
7. Keep repeating this sentence- By the end of this month I will have written a novel.
8. Crank up the music. Music helps you get into the groove and may spark an idea.
9. Listen to the small voices inside your head; they are your characters dictating the story to you.
10. Search for your congratulatory gift to yourself and when you complete Nanowrimo, go buy it.

Good Luck everyone! Leave me a comment telling us whether or not you’re participating. If you’re this year, have you ever?