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NANO WRIMO

Pros, Cons, and Tips

By Sally HollandPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Is NANO WRIMO right for you?

It is that time of the year again. It's NANO WRIMO. National Write a Novel in a Month, Month. It is where inspirations flow and frustration is abundant and a bunch of people try to conquer writing a whole first draft of a novel in a month.

So here are a few pros of trying to pursue this lofty goal, some down sides, and even a few tips on how to accomplish this (or get through the month without pulling your hair out).

Pros

You are one step closer in actual finishing your novel. It won't ever get finished if you do not start writing. So, if you do not obtain the goal of hitting the 50,000 word goal, you at least made some progress on writing your book. Chances are if you pursue it with the goal in mind of writing a novel you might very well write more than you have had before. That has happened to me, in my experience, even if I haven't accomplished 50,000 words I still made more progress in my novel than I previously had.

It helps you get unstuck from writer's block. One of the best cures for writer's block is to keep on writing. Sure it might suck at first (it will suck at some point) but it will get you through the parts of the story that made you scratch your head and feel like you will never write another word again. The pressure of the word count can help just keep writing and eventually find the real point of your story again.

Cons

Some people just do not work well under pressure. NANO WRIMO is not for everyone. If you are someone who freezes under the words deadline and pressure then NANO WRIMO might not be best for you. It can get daunting if you miss days and days and you need to catch up on your word count. You can find yourself very overwhelmed and want to just give up on the book. If you put too much emphasis on keeping up with the word count and put too much pressure on yourself that you end up stressing yourself out, then you can lose motivation and inspiration to continue to write.

Seeing others complete it or making more progress then you can be discouraging. If you constantly compare your progress or lack of progress to others then that can hinder your motivation in continuing and completing the writing goal. When you are constantly thinking about what you are lacking and what others have it becomes harder to keep your spirits up and your dedication begins to dim.

Tips

Stay positive. Keeping positive is very important in accomplishing any goal. When you keep looking at the bright side then you can continue to feel motivated.

Give yourself rewards. The reward system is a great motivator to keep on going. You can do small rewards through out the day or week. Or you can give yourself a big reward if you finish it at the end of the month. Or both. If you have something tangible to look forward to it can help you stay focused and on task.

Do not compare yourself to others. Comparing yourself to others and their progress can impede your progress and take away all of your motivations. When comparing yourself to others it is hard to see your own great accomplishments when you are consumed with that feeling of lacking. Instead, cheer on each accomplishment and only compare your bigger accomplishments with your lesser accomplishments to see how much you are progressing.

Have fun! Writing a book is daunting but it can also be very fun. Write about what you enjoy so you can have moments of enjoyment throughout this grueling process. Write about something funny one of your characters did. Explore something you always wanted to explore and just have fun with it.

So here it is...some pros, cons, and tips about NANO WRIMO writing.

Enjoy writing!

literature
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About the Creator

Sally Holland

I am writer, observer, and a fan. I love to explore the world and to think about deeper meanings of things whether it is in the fictional world or in life.

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