How #NaNoWriMo Changed Me as a Writer

Last week, I discussed how fan fiction writers can more easily make the jump to writing original fiction, from flash fiction to full-length novels. Through the fan fiction world, I had heard of NaNoWriMo, but never participated. That is, until this year.

The abbreviation stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it occurs in three months: the official challenge in November, and Camp NaNoWriMo held in April and/or July. With Camp NaNoWriMo, you have the option to set a word-count goal for a new project or add a new goal to a project you've already started. The official challenge in November is more straightforward: write at least 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days.

Since I've gone full-time as a developmental editor and proofreader, I've spent hours with my nose in different writing craft books. With this growing understanding not only of the mechanics of writing in general, but the techniques to put together engaging, addictive story has come a spark of motivation to dive in writing my own full-length fiction novel(s).

Draft One of Book One is nearly done, and Camp NaNoWriMo is ending four days from today. Not every day of writing this month has been easy, but it has reinforced three lessons I'd like to pass on to you.

Daily Writing Sessions Are Overrated

*clutching pearls* Le Gasp.

Yes. I said what I said. I understand the rationale behind writing everyday, especially when it comes to fiction. But I don't subscribe to it, and I don't recommend it to authors I work with. Writing sessions in and of themselves aren't bad; forcing a writing session when your brain will not cooperate is detrimental to your creation process.

Of the 27 days of July thus far, I've probably written on 20 of them. And I'm not promising to write in the next four days. For self-publishing authors, I don't believe in forcing yourself to do something you're not in the right mindset to do. I do recommend that you consider starting a daily journal. Write before you start anything else, even before you turn on your laptop. Getting those initial thoughts and worries out of the way leaves you with much more mental space to dedicate to writing, creating, or managing your novel's progress and schedule. That is what will lead to more productive writing sessions, no matter how often you have them.

Self-Editing is Going to Happen

The first draft is known to be the worst one. That's a fact. Over the past four weeks, though, I have found myself more often than not in editing mode. I'm not editing for consistency, structure, or any of the things developmental editors look at during their reviews. I'm looking at the strengths and weaknesses of my scenes as they exist in the moment. The major overhauls of structure framework choice, character arcs, and plot/subplot development will happen later.

To me, this is okay so long as the ratio of writing to editing is roughly 85% to %15. This equals out to about fifty minutes of writing and ten minutes of editing. That's just enough time to get the messy info-dumping out of the way, and just enough time to make sure my punctuation and sentence structure are copacetic.

Outside Support is Everything

Most of my cheerleaders for my writing endeavor have come from TikTok. My audience on the platform is slowly growing as I create more educational content. More importantly, I'm connecting with other self-publishing authors actively working on their own novels. We keep each other accountable, encourage each other, and offer reference recommendations or craft advice when one of us is in a writing slump.

Though writing is an isolated venture, it doesn't have to be a lonely one. Writing friends and critique partners, the joy that is #BookTok , and those positive affirmations I love sharing make the book creation process more enjoyable and more productive.

I plan to write "The End" to my first novel on July 31st around 11:59 p.m. That will mark the end of my participation in Camp NaNoWriMo 2023. The month of August will be a rest period where I don't touch the manuscript at all. This gives me a break from the story world and allows me to approach the first round of edits with a fresh perspective.

Naturally this means a story idea jumped me while I wasn't looking. And by story I idea, I mean premise, conflict, and resolution. The makings of my second novel. There will be a ton of preparation needed before I start writing it, but I'm hoping to be done by the end of October so I can take on the full challenge of National Novel Writing Month in November. I'll be taking the lessons I learned from Camp NaNoWriMo along for the ride.

Shannon Scott is the founder and owner of Shannon S. Scott Editing Services, where she works tirelessly to deliver top-notch service through fiction developmental editing and proofreading. Shannon opened her business with the intention of working with self-publishing and independent authors in the LGBTQIA+ romance genre. She also is experienced in business communication, proposal, and technical documentation editing. Shannon offers free consultations for each of her editing services. You can fill out a?Client Interest Form ?here!