Countdown to NaNoWriMo

Wow, it’s already October 29. Can you believe autumn is already in full swing? The last few weeks have flown by, and NaNoWriMo is coming up more quickly than it should! I first heard about National Novel Writing Month a few years ago, and though I’ve used the concept as an inspiration to increase my writing in the past, I’ve never actually committed to doing it. Until now.

One month.
175 pages.
50,000 words.
An average of 1,667 words a day.
One big commitment.

A new member of my book club recently asked how I’m going to manage our monthly reading and doing NaNoWriMo (my book club reads the classics, and has a tendency to pick the long ones–like Anna Karenina and Les Misérables). I said, “Eesh, good question. Haven’t exactly solved the Life aspect of NaNoWriMo, but I’ll figure it out by trial and error!”

We’ll see how it goes. I’m actually really looking forward to it. I’m anticipating several positive outcomes:

• Establishing a good new writing habit
• Completing a draft–albeit a very rough one–of the novel I have partially outlined, which will reveal weaknesses in the plot and characters at an early stage of the writing and editing process
• A lot of fun!

Have you participated in NaNoWriMo in the past? If so, what advice do you have for those of us doing it the first time? If you’re participating this year, what are you hoping to get from the experience?