Why it’s okay to be in a reading slump in November (or, my history with NaNoWriMo)
This month, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo, which is a month-long writing challenge to write a 50,000-word novel (or part of a novel) in the month of November (The name stands for National Novel Writing Month). So while the library books stack up (and oh, how I want to read them), I’m trying to do more writing than reading this month as I draft my new YA novel. It’s a currently-untitled YA rom-com, and I’m really excited about it.
As October wrapped up, I realized I was feeling like I was in a bit of a reading slump because I had started two books that were on the bigger side but that I was slow getting into. Well, I’m still wading through those, and while I like them both, I still feel like I’m slumping a bit (we’re eight days into November and I haven’t finished a book yet!).
But I’m okay with it because if I want to meet that crazy word count, it’s better for me to get sucked into my own project right now than a book that I can’t put down, right?. (On the other hand, I keep starting new books, probably because I can’t help looking for the next book that I can’t put down. I can’t help myself.)
NaNoWriMo pairs well with drinks of all kinds!
In 2007, despite a cross-country trip home for over a week, and a 6-month old baby, I “won” NaNoWriMo, writing my first quasi-complete novel. I had always wanted to write before that, but that was the first year I actually finished a work of fiction (that project had lots of plot holes, and not much substance but hey, I did get to the end!). I feel nostalgic thinking back to the house we lived in (in another state) that year where I wrote that story.
Eight months later, I started blogging and dove headfirst into a different writing world. Nine years, and two more kids later, with blogging having slid a bit towards the back burner, I decided to try my hand at NaNoWriMo again with a middle grade book idea. I didn’t win, but I did finish it later. I gave it to Gigi for her birthday and queried it a bit, which was a good learning experience. For the next two years, NaNo kickstarted me into finishing another manuscripts (the YA one I’m currently querying), and now here I am again!
One of the best things about NaNo is connecting with other writer friends who are putting their heads down to try to cram in as many words as possible. In 2007, I met a writer friend who is one of the few people I’ve kept in touch with from our time living in Colorado, and this year, I have been connecting with fellow Bookstagrammers who are also doing NaNoWriMo. This project is such a unique writing experience that it’s fun to celebrate the high days and lament the low ones with other writers.
NaNoWriMo’s an endeavor that I recommend for every aspiring novelist to try at least once. For me, it’s been a special project, because it’s really what got me back to my dream of writing fiction, it gave me the gumption to go for it, even if I felt like I had not clue what I was doing.
It’s been a long time since I used an affiliate link here, but that’s something I’d like to bring back to the blog in small doses and I wanted to share that as far as writing goes, I’m completely in love with the Scrivener platform. This is the program I use for all my writing projects (pictured above next my holiday red cup). If you click my link and purchase it, I simply receive a small commission.