I recently spoke with a couple of writers who were both eager to jump start their creativity with new projects. One has been dominated by editing work recently and so her own creative writing had taken a back seat. She had six different ideas for stories and was tempted to try NaNoWriMo but didn’t know which idea to pick. Another just went out on submission with her latest novel and was considering NaNoWriMo as a distraction to the waiting game.
Both were unsure about whether NaNoWriMo was the right thing to try as they weren’t necessarily looking to complete a novel in a month. But I encouraged both of them to do it anyway!
Why?
- They are both itching to be creative. Committing to writing every day for a month would be a great way to scratch that itch.
- They both wanted to mix it up when it came to their writing. What better way to play with a new idea or genre?
- They both seemed to be craving the community, support, and excitement that comes with this large event.
Technically 50,000 words of a novel is the ultimate goal of NaNoWriMo, but if you’re tempted to play this year and that isn’t where you are right now, there are a lot of different ways to play. NaNoWriMo can be a perfect way to jump start a writing routine or give a jolt to your creative muse.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Pick 30 words (or better yet, ask a writer friend to pick 30 words), write them down on separate slips of paper. Put them in a jar and every day in November pick a random word to riff on for 1,700 words (the daily pace to hit the 50k mark). You could use the same character and simply include that word in the day’s scene. You could write 30 very different short pieces every day based on your word. Imagine the possibilities at the end of the month? Maybe that content is the basis for your next story or maybe it’s 30 short pieces to be polished and submitted to journals or tweaked to become fodder for your newsletter or blog?
- Pick your top 4 ideas (you know, of the ones you scribble down in a notebook or save in your phone?). Now, assign each idea one week in November. For one week, write 2,000 words a day on that one idea. The next week, 2,000 words a day on the next idea. And so on. Use this time to play with each of your ideas, flesh them out more fully, and at the end of the month you can better compare which project to pursue next.
- Have a vague idea but aren’t sure where to start? Spend the first week in November writing character sketches of your characters. The next week, outline major plot points and setting. The third week, write your opening scene a different way for each day of the week. The fourth week, write your closing scene a different way for each day of the week. At the end of the month, you’ll have a plan for writing forward.
- Write a flash fiction story every day.
- Write a blog post every day.
- Write a poem every day.
- Write a letter. Handwrite a letter every day to a family member, friend, favorite author, special teacher, or mentor. This is a fun exercise to do for your characters, too. Pen letters from them to a few people in their lives or from their past and see what new details emerge. I figured out the entire backstory of an antagonist once doing this. While that information never landed on the page, it gave me empathy for why he was so cruel and allowed me to write him with more depth.
- Journal every day. Whether it’s Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way* or just sitting in a café and making up stories about the other patrons as you sip a latte, allow your imagination the time and freedom to run free.
The possibilities are endless. Tap into your creative mind and use the constraints (time) and community (writers in the same boat!) of NaNoWriMo to shake up your writing routine.
Which idea(s) will you try? Share in the comments or come back in December and let me know if any of these ideas worked for you!
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Featured Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash