Will You be NaNoWrMo-ing Next Month?

I sort of feel like I joined NaNoWriMo in spirit when I wrote How to Archive Family Keepsakes. Under deadline, I wrote 45,000 words from Sept 15 to Jan 15 with two New England trips, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a fractured elbow. Ouch! I loved every minute.

Something happens when I get totally, completely immersed in a project. It’s a Zen sort of experience. The clock stops ticking and I forget everything outside the space where I am working. I’ve felt the same thing working on a big, complicated quilting project or in turning the heel of a sock [knit jargon for “knitting a sock heel” which can be tricky but is always very cool].

NaNoWriMo is for writers what fair isle socks on #2 needles for the entire family are for knitters — a chance to push yourself toward a big goal in a limited amount of time. During the month of November, writers commit to drafting a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. The “rules” stipulate that you can’t include anything written before November 1, and the product must be a work of fiction. In 2012, over 340,000 writers participated.

The Rebellion

Every Crusade must have it’s Rebels. The NaNoWriMo Creed is strict — 50,000 word count valid Nov 1-30, 11:59pm, any language, fiction novel. 

Writers who want to bend the rules to write nonfiction, scripts, academics, or just do their own thing yet still participate in the official NaNoWriMo project, are known as NaNo Rebels. If Clue Wagon Kerry Scott or We Tree Amy Coffin ever join NaNoWriMo, I bet they will be leading the Rebel Pack.

Unlike most official programs, NaNoWriMo makes room for Rebels by giving a space on the official website forum and access to other Rebels. Wikiwrimo notes:

“You’re writing a memoir, a script, a nonfiction book about turtles or something else that’s not a novel. You’re a NaNoRebel, baby! Converse with your fellow outlaws here.”

Writing is a lonely life, and the NaNoWriMo forums are undoubtedly one of the strongest and most valuable reasons to participate in the project. When stuck for words, nothing is better than a whack on the side of the head by a fellow-writer. 

A lot of people argue that NaNoWriMo doesn’t really help produce novels, it just gives writers a push to write a 50,000 words. And, that’s true. What comes out of intense writing sessions is a draft, not a finished polished product. But, a draft is a beginning. 

FamHisWriMo

Genealogists and family history writers are fortunate. We can join NaNoWriMo in November and craft an historical novel or mostly-fiction memoir, or we could be a Rebel and work toward that 50,000 word goal in another form of writing.

OR

 we can start planning our family history writing project now and join The Armchair Genealogist’s Family History Writing Challenge in February 2014.

 

Writer Lynn Palermo organized the first Challenge three years ago to encourage family historians in writing their own family history during the month of February. The project has grown every year, and like NaNoWriMo, Lynn offers a forum where participants can share their ideas and reach out for support. Over 800 family history writers joined the Challenge in 2013. The Challenge helps family history writers commit to their own project, whatever it might be, and their own word count goal.

Just think, if you started planning now for The Armchair Genealogist’s Family History Writing Challenge, by researching, outlining, and organizing what you want to write, by February you might be ready to compile a pretty good first draft of the family history project you’ve always wanted to write.

Think About It

I came across this chart the other day and it made me think about getting into Zen writing again.

The numbers on the left are words per day. Some days I barely made 500 words, but when I was in a crunch I managed to write over 3,500 a day. You can see that I didn’t write every single day from December 12 to January 8; more like 14 days out of 28. I took time off for Christmas. My total word count for the 14 days was 24,465; draft writing, to be sure, but you have to start somewhere. And I had that deadline hanging over my head. Looking back at those statistics makes me realize that IF I could write almost 25,000 words in 14 days, the notion of 50,000 words in 30 days is ALMOST concievable. But, that’s if I don’t break any bones.

I’m thinking about it.