NaNoWriMo 2013

I've been doing NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, for few years, starting to feel like I have somethings to say. I don't want to say wisdom, because I feel like I've been doing it for such a little time compared to some others. My first year was 2009, I'd just started high school and was looking for something to write something other then Harry Potter fan fiction. Kristina Horner's video that year convinced me. (She's done one every year for a while and at the bottom of this post you'll find links to all of them and to some others!) I've been doing it since 2009 and did every Camp and Script Frenzy (rest in peace) since then.

And if you're staring at this post going 'great, but what the hell is it?' Well, my dears, it is a insane month where so, so many people try to write 50k! Or less or more. Personally, I've been part of the 'overachievers' club for the last couple of years now. It's certainly been an interesting thing to try and write even more then 50k. My goal this year is 250k, but I'd really like to hit 300k. If you're at all interested, overachievers have their own forums this year on the NaNo site, Beyond 50k!

The point, though, about this post is that if you've ever wanted to write a novel or have an idea if your head, maybe NaNo is the right place. If 50k seems too much to write in one months because you have this or that, just - give it a shot. Maybe aim for 30k, 20k, just try to make as much time as you can, cutting out the stuff you don't need and that will be there come December.

Now, my main advice for NaNoWriMo, if you're going to do it, is to know whether you're a pantser or a planner in advance. Also, you might want to check out Chris Baty's book, because it is lovely. Chris Baty, by the way, is the one who created NaNoWriMo in 1999.

Also: writing buddies. Checking in the comments of Kristina's 2013 video can help or you can add me on the NaNo website. If you've got any questions, feel free to just ask them in the comments. Happy writing! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got like four novels I should be planning out.

Now, to try and convince you, some people who can talk about this way better then I ever could.

Kristina Horner:
2009 - Why I Do NaNoWriMo
2010 - NANOWRIMO
2011 - You are a SUPERHERO
2012 - NO EXCUSES (a NaNoWriMo pep talk)
2013 - 5 Ways to Get Your Novel Written
NaNoWriMo (updated) music video (just do it)

John Green's video from 2009
NaNoWriMo!!!

Little Book Owl (a BookTuber who I love) did an awesome video that, if you have no idea how to do NaNoWriMo, has pretty much all the advice I could ever offer you
How To NaNoWriMo

A friend of mine (and awesome author) Robyn Schneider did an official pep talk for the YWP, young writers program, and she talks about suck dragons so....
NaNoWriMo YWP: How To Vanquish Your Suck Dragons