One goal that people always say they would like to do is “write a book one day”. This seems to be a fairly standard item on people’s bucket list and yet, not everyone actually puts in time and effort to writing that book. Perhaps they don’t know what to write about or just never got around to doing it. That’s where NaNoWriMo comes in – or “National Novel Writing Month”. Every November, thousands of writers get together to draft that novel they’ve always wanted to write. As Nanowrimo gets bigger, more and more writers have flocked to it. These days, there’s even a category of “Nano Rebels” that are writing anything but novels. That’s the section that I think can really be useful for bloggers. So today, I wanted to share why more bloggers should take up the challenge of blogging for Nanowrimo!
In a way, this is kind of similar to Blogtober but also allows bloggers time to focus on drafting the posts only – rather than writing, editing, adding pictures and publishing posts every day. I see using Nanowrimo, perhaps combined with other challenges such as Blogmas, as a way of “getting a headstart” rather than a rush to complete everything.
Blogging for NaNoWriMo:
NaNoWriMo challenges people to write 50,000 words in the month of November. That is a lot of words. It’s not easy but it is definitely possible. With dedication and effort, it is doable. Some writers choose to plan out their novel in October, whilst others just wing it. Either option works. You can even do a mix of the two. Now pause for a moment and just think about it. If you are blogging for NaNoWriMo, this means that you are aiming to write a total of 50,000 words in drafts.
50,000 words. That could equate to 25 blog posts of 2,000 words each. 25 potential drafts for the coming months. Depending on how long your posts usually are, it could even be more:
- 25 blog posts of 2,000 words.
- 33~ blog posts of 1,500 words~
- 50 blog posts of 1,000 words.
- 66~ blog posts of 750 words~.
- 100 blog posts of 500 words.
~ amounts are ‘around’ that number. You may need to write a little more than that in some posts or do an additional post to compensate.
I, for one, would love to have even 10000 words as many drafted posts that I could use. Hell, I would love to have even five posts drafted. I average around 1000 or so for each blog post, which would make me aim for around fifty new posts to draft up this month.
Alternatively, you could challenge yourself to write one blog post a day, every day for thirty days. This would equal to 30 new blog posts. Honestly, you do not need to actually hit 50,000 words. You do not win anything, per se. But what you do get is an arsenal of drafts that you can use it when you need to – and a
I don’t know why more bloggers don’t do it! If the numbers aren’t enough, just think of how many likeminded people you can meet and connect with.
How to Win:
The idea behind the writing is to just focus on writing. Not editing, not adding pictures or making it pretty. Just writing. December is the month where you go back and start editing over the written words to make sense of everything.
The posts do not need to be the same length. If one post requires three thousand words and another only requires six hundred, that’s completely fine. It’s the total word count that matters.
Get writing buddies to help inspire you to stay on track. Sharing word counts with each other can help you to keep accountable and see where you need to be. It can be quite inspiring. You can also do word sprints or writing challenges with each other.
Many regions also hold ‘write ins’, where you meet up at a cafe and sit and write together. Everyone works on their own project but you have each other’s company!
For some people, planning in advance can be quite helpful.
Combine it with other challenges:
I also mentioned that you do not have to edit the posts, but rather just focus on writing them. So, one idea is that you could plan posts for the coming months. For example, if you’re doing Blogmas and you want a headstart, why not join in on Nanowrimo? That will help you draft some – or perhaps even all – of your Blogmas posts in advance so that when December rolls around, you’re ready to edit and publish them!
How to Join:
Joining in on all the fun is easy. Just sign up to the new nanowrimo website and announce your project. If you want to ‘buddy’ up with me, please drop me a message! I would love to be writing buddies with you.
Is it too late to start?
It’s honestly not too late to start. Whilst the goal might be to do 50000 in the whole month (30 days), if you are starting late, be lenient with yourself. Give yourself a challenge of 1,667 words a day for the reminder of the month (which is roughly how much you need to write to get to 50K in 30 days).
At the end of the day, pushing yourself to writing even a few more words than you usually do can have a big impact on your blog. I know this has helped me to draft a few posts in advance for December. If you plan on taking part in Blogmas then this is a great way to motivate yourself to writing a few drafts for it now!
If you do manage to get to 50,000 words in the remaining days of the month then I for one will be incredibly impressed. Though if you did want to aim for fifty thousand, remember that every blog post you wrote since the first of November would also count. So you are definitely able to go back and count the number of words you’ve written since then, adding them to the total!
If you decide to join – or you are already taking part – do let me know!
I would love to meet more bloggers that are writing blog posts for NaNoWriMo. If you decide to join the challenge or you are already doing it, please let me know! I would love to have more of you as writing buddies, so we can help motivate each other. I often find it more difficult to write blog posts or articles, as they are a little more “serious” than fiction for me. Sometimes, I write fictional pieces for fun, with absolutely no intent to ever do anything with them. Whilst I do enjoy writing for my blog, it does come with the intention of actually publishing them online. So I hold myself to a certain standard – I cannot just write 50000 words of garbage if I actually plan to post it somewhere that people can read. Especially somewhere that can make me money!
You can find me on NaNoWriMo as ‘reemofpaper’. Alternatively, leave a comment below and let me know if you want to buddy up!