Let’s Talk Writing: I Dare You!

This blog was going to be about overcoming fear for the Story Queens site. My greatest fear is public speaking, so I agreed to be part of a YA panel at Book Expo in the hopes of breaking through it. But the event was cancelled at the last minute, so I haven’t conquered that fear just yet. Instead I thought I’d dare anyone who wants to write a book to do it with me, since that is just as scary for some people 🙂

National Novel Writing Month starts on November 1, and if you’ve ever wanted to write a book, NaNoWriMo could be a great way to do it. All you have to do is go to the website, NaNoWriMo.org, and sign up. It’s free, and there are so many great resources, so much helpful information and so many inspiring author pep talks on there that you’ll probably want to start writing right away!

You can also “buddy” people on the site, which is like friending on Facebook, so you can encourage each other to keep going. And who knows, you might reveal a previously unknown competitive streak like I did 🙂 This November will be my seventh NaNoWriMo, which is testament to how well it works for me. I’ve “won” all six challenges so far, and am excited to start again on November 1st to finish my sixth novel, Into the Air…

I first signed up for NaNoWriMo in 2012, because after publishing five non-fiction books, I wanted to see if I could write fiction. By the end of the month I’d written 51,000 words, received my “winner” certificate and prizes, and had the first draft of Into the Mists finished. The published book was pretty much how I wrote it that November, I just fleshed out some chapters and added a couple more (it ended up being around 75,000 words)…

I thought Mists would just be a one-off, a short stand-alone novel, but then I started thinking about a second book, and came up with the titles for books two and three of the now-trilogy, so in 2013 I signed up for NaNoWriMo again to write Into the Dark – even though I was travelling in Scotland and England from November 1 to 30 (an interesting coincidence!).

By day I crawled into ancient burial tombs, danced in stone circles and wandered through snow-covered fields under a full moon with my hubby, and by night I typed away on a tiny old laptop back in our cute little cottages (one in the Orkney Isles, one in the Outer Hebrides, one in Stratford and one in Glastonbury). I managed to bash out 53,000 words during the month, and “win” NaNo, but I later changed a major plot point and added a totally new character, so by the time it was published I’d cut quite a few of those words and written many many new ones (Dark ended up at 120,000 words). Yet without the discipline of the November writing challenge, and the story I wrote while I was away, it may never have happened.

In 2014 I signed up again, to write the third book, and by November 30 I had hit 54,000 words of the story that became Into the Light. It ended up at 130,000 words, so there was lots more writing after NaNoWriMo finished, but again I got the basic story written and the structure sorted during November.

In 2015 I (just) passed 50,000 words of Rose’s story – which I will continue at some point. There’s lots more to write of this one, but I certainly made a solid start thanks to this awesome writing challenge, and I’m looking forward to finishing it.

In 2016 I wrote most of Into the Storm – again, I thought this would just be a short little stand-alone story, but it ended up being the first book of the Into the Storm Trilogy, and came in at 145,000 words! I was travelling for the first two weeks this time too – which was inspiring, as well as quite challenging! – but pulling out a painful but productive 9000-word day at a Story Queens writing weekend at the end of the month helped me smash my target…

In 2017 I wrote most of Into the Fire, the second book of the Into the Storm Trilogy, and when NaNoWriMo kicks off next week, I’ll be trying my best to finish the third, Into the Air. As my books have become longer and more complex, November’s NaNo isn’t enough to get the whole book done, but it’s still the best way I know to make huge progress and get that first draft written. In the months afterwards I revise, write new chapters, change things around and edit, edit, edit, but I still love the amazing productivity of my Novembers.

So What Does It Involve?

NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That’s 1667 words a day, or any variation that works for you. Some people steadily write the required number each day, some just write on weekends, some don’t start until 20 days in, then have to write 5000 words a day – whatever works for you is perfect.

Of course you can write more than 50,000 words, and if you write less that’s cool too – I don’t know of a single person who started NaNoWriMo who didn’t make good progress on their writing project, even if they didn’t reach the 50,000 word goal.

I’m mostly a slow and steady type – I aim for 1667 words a day, but try to hit 2000 to make up for the odd day that I don’t make time to write. I’m so impressed by those who can sit down and bang out 10,000 words or more in a day though – I have a few friends who are word count fiends, and I am totally in awe of them.

The Best Things About NaNoWriMo

* It forces you to start writing, and to keep writing. There’s no time to edit as you go, or procrastinate, or tie yourself in knots panicking about your storyline or structure. This is perfect for me, since I don’t plot my books before I start – I just keep writing, and it’s through writing that the story comes to me and I’m able to eventually weave all the strands together until it finally emerges as a coherent plot (at least I hope so!).

* It stops you second-guessing yourself. There’s no time to worry about how good your writing is, which can make you fearless. I don’t know a single writer, no matter how often they’ve been published and how many awards they’ve won, who doesn’t experience self-doubt at some point, and it can cripple you if you think too hard about what you’re writing. There are plenty of days that I think my story is stupid and there’s no point going on, but I just shrug and keep going regardless. There’s time to worry about that and start rewriting come December, but for the month of November I put my fears and doubts to the side and just keep writing. (And funnily enough, by the time the book comes out, I have no idea which parts I loved and which I hated, or which parts were the hardest to write…)

* It makes you a better writer. Practice makes perfect, and writing 50,000 words in a month is a hell of a lot of practise!

* It teaches you a lot about yourself. I discovered just how stubborn I am, in that I refuse to accept that I won’t hit 50,000 words, so I make it happen, no matter how tired or busy I am. This process has also revealed that I’m more competitive than I thought – seeing how well my buddies are progressing definitely helps spur me on 🙂

* It teaches you a lot about what you’re like as a writer, and your strengths and weaknesses. I discovered I’m a pantser, and although I planned to be a planner the first three times, I was always flat out with a different project so that never happened, and I’m at peace with that now. I know that NaNoWriMo works for me because I love/hate/need a deadline. I’ve been a journalist since my uni days, and even in high school I’d leave assignments to the last minute then pull an all-nighter or two, so I guess it’s ingrained. And I know now that even on days when I have the whole day free to write, I’ll often procrastinate most of the time away, then write like crazy just before bed. I don’t recommend it, but it works for me, so now I’m more relaxed about it and don’t feel quite so guilty.

Are You a Plotter or a Pantser?

I first heard these terms during my first NaNoWriMo challenge, and was totally puzzled. They refer to two very different writing styles. Some people just dive in on November 1 with no plot or plan, and totally wing it (writing “by the seat of their pants”), while others meticulously prepare throughout October, coming up with a detailed plot and chapter breakdown, so that once the clock ticks over and NaNoWriMo kicks off, they can start writing with a clear idea of where their story is going.

The first year I intended to plan, but didn’t get a chance to as I was finishing up Witchy Magic, so I just winged it. The second and third year I also intended to plan, but it didn’t happen then either, because of deadlines – and now I’m at peace with being a pantser.

There are times I really envy plotters though, because I imagine it could make the writing a lot less stressful, and I must admit that I did tie myself in knots writing my current book, and it took a while for me to find the story and weave it together, which a plotter doesn’t usually have to worry about. Then again, there is magic and spontaneity in pantsing, so perhaps a mix of the two will work best for you…

Are You A Solitary or Social Writer??

NaNoWriMo can be done totally on your own if that’s the way you prefer to write, or you can be part of an online community, either with your friends or through the NaNo website. Each year I’ve done it I’ve been buddies with a group of friends, and we’ve shared our trials and triumphs on Facebook. On average around four in ten of us hit the 50,000 word target, but everyone involved still makes a big start on the book they’ve been dreaming of writing.

But if none of your friends are interested, yet you don’t want to do it alone, never fear – just jump on to the NaNo site and start exploring. There are wonderful forums, on everything from the technical aspects of writing to how to think up great character names to which brew best fuels a writing stint and all kinds of fun stuff, and you’ll also find people near you who are taking part, who organise physical meet-ups at libraries or cafes so you can write together. You’ll get daily inspirational emails from the NaNo site, can take part in online word sprints and webinars, virtual write-ins and many other events. And you can start checking this out right now, since the website is now deep into October’s NaNo Prep Month.

Writing sprints are a fun part of NaNoWriMo – going online, or getting together with a bunch of friends, or turning up at a library or cafe that’s hosting one and making new writer friends, then writing as fast as you can without pause.

There’s also an Instagram challenge for November for NaNoWriMo participants, where you can post each day and meet other writers also aiming for their 50,000 word badge. Just tag author Cheyanne Young at @NormalChey and include the hashtag #IGWritersNaNo and you’ll become part of a wonderful writers community.

So, are you ready to face a fear and write your book? Do you have plans to write in the coming months? Are you tempted to sign up for NaNoWriMo so you can make your dream of writing a book become reality? Jump on over and sign up. And if you want some tips to get you ready, check out my recent blog here. Happy writing!

This blog originally appeared on the Story Queens website in 2016, but I have updated it for 2018…