Lessons Learned from National Novel Writing Month
Prepare, plan ahead, go easy on the edits
Years ago, I took part in National Novel Writing Month. It’s a global initiative to encourage people to get their first drafts done. The idea is that you reach 50,000 words in the month of November.
I reached 38k. Now some might consider that a failure since the aim is to reach 50k, but I was pleased with myself. By the end of November, I was 38,000 words further ahead than I’d been at the start of the month, and I was well on my way to completing the first draft. Of course, it grew bigger as I carefully edited it too.
What did I learn?
I learnt that I should’ve planned better first. It was quite hard-going in places trying to keep the daily word-count up. I was still working out mini plots and doing research to establish what is, and what isn’t, realistic.
My whole plot almost fell apart when I discovered that clinical trials can take ten years to complete. Ten years! That messed up my whole plot entirely! Then hubby pointed out that they manage to bring out new flu vaccines very quickly, so I figured there’s some flexibility around that figure.
However, the aim of National Novel Writing Month, to complete 50k words, does assume that you’ve already done your research and you’re not too far off working out your plot. So perhaps my lack of preparation was my downfall.
What else did I learn? Stop editing perhaps? Editing while I wrote probably didn’t help either. If you decide to edit, then you probably won’t ‘win’.
I realised this early on but decided to edit anyway. I figured that if the earlier plots weren’t right, then continuing on a theme that was wrong, was just going to end up with a rubbish manuscript. I was keen to get it right, rather than just do it fast, so I took time out for a little editing too.
Will You Do National Novel Writing Month this year? We are literally weeks away!
Here’s the end result of my National Novel Writing Month experience!
Shout out to Leonard Tillerman who’s taking part this year…
Duncan Klein gives advice on writing a novel in 30 days…
Mason Monteith also has some good advice for getting the most from National Novel Writing month…
And did you know there are actual publications dedicated to it?
© Susie Kearley 2022. All Rights Reserved.
More from me…