Have you ever thought about writing a book? November might be the perfect time to give it a try.
Have you ever wanted to write a novel?
I don't mean you've got a detailed outline tucked away in a drawer, complete with character biographies and a carefully plotted ending. Although if you do, you're already way ahead of where I was when I started.
I mean maybe you've had a story rattling around in your head for years. Or you've read a book and thought, I'd love to try writing something like that.
But you never quite got around to it.
I get it. Life is busy. Between work, family, and everything else competing for our attention, it's easy to put something like writing a novel on the someday list.
A few years ago, I stumbled across something called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. The idea was simple, if a little insane: write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days.
I'd written a few short stories and personal essays, but I'd never attempted anything even remotely that ambitious.
Naturally, I signed up.
I didn't have an outline. I didn't have a writing group. I didn't really have a plan beyond sitting down and seeing what happened.
And somehow, by the end of November, I'd written 50,000 words.
Was it a good novel?
Oh, heavens, no.
It was full of information dumps, clichés, awkward dialogue, and sentences that went on forever. I made just about every beginner mistake you can imagine.
But I'd written a novel. Or at least a substantial first draft of one.
And I was ridiculously proud of myself.
If you've ever thought about writing a book, I'd encourage you to give Novel Writing Month a try. You don't need any special training, and you certainly don't need to know a bunch of other writers.
You just need a story idea, a little determination, and a willingness to write some truly terrible sentences.
Here are five things I've learned that might help.
1. Tell Your Inner Editor to Take a Hike
You know that little voice that tells you you're doing something wrong?
That sentence sounds stupid.
Nobody talks like that.
This is terrible. Why did you think you could write a book?
That's your inner editor, and it can be a real pain.
Interestingly, I didn't have much trouble with mine during my first Novel Writing Month. I knew nobody was ever going to see what I was writing, so I didn't particularly care whether it was good.
The second year was a different story.
By then, I'd learned a little more about writing. Unfortunately, that meant I also knew enough to recognize all the things I was doing wrong.
Suddenly, I couldn't get through a paragraph without wanting to rewrite it.
So I made a deal with my inner editor.
I'd let it come back and fix everything later. But for November, it needed to leave me alone.
If you're struggling with perfectionism, try the same thing.
And if your inner editor refuses to cooperate? Lie to it.
Tell yourself nobody will ever read this manuscript. You're just writing it for fun. It doesn't matter if it's good.
You can decide what to do with it later.
For now, just write.
2. Forget Everything You've Heard About Writing Rules
If you've ever Googled how to write a novel, you've probably discovered that writers have a lot of opinions about what you should and shouldn't do.
Show, don't tell.
Avoid clichés.
Don't use too many adverbs.
Don't start with a dream.
Don't write a prologue.
And heaven forbid your main character wakes up in the first chapter.
My advice?
Ignore all of it.
At least for now.
I'm not suggesting those rules aren't useful. They are. But when you're writing a first draft, especially your very first first draft, worrying about every little thing is a great way to make absolutely no progress.
If you need to explain your character's entire family history in one giant paragraph, go ahead.
If you can't think of the right word, put something in brackets and come back to it.
If your dialogue sounds like two cardboard cutouts having a conversation, keep going.
You can fix it later.
One of the biggest lessons I learned from that first November is that a first draft doesn't have to be good.
It just has to exist.
3. Find Little Pockets of Writing Time
This is probably the biggest challenge for most of us.
We have jobs. Families. Houses that need cleaning. Errands to run. People who insist on eating dinner every single night.
Where are we supposed to find time to write a novel?
Well, here's the good news. You don't necessarily need hours of uninterrupted time.
One of my favorite writing tricks is something called a sprint.
You set a timer for 10, 15, or 20 minutes and write as much as you can before it goes off.
That's it.
No editing. No checking your phone. No stopping to research whether Victorian houses had indoor plumbing.
Just write.
You might be surprised how much you can accomplish in 15 minutes when you're not constantly stopping to second-guess yourself.
And you don't need a writing group to do it. You can sprint all by yourself.
Try getting up 20 minutes earlier, writing during part of your lunch break, or setting aside a little time before bed.
You could even make a date with yourself at the library or your favorite quiet spot.
If you enjoy a little friendly competition, keep track of how many words you write during each sprint and see if you can beat your previous record.
And if you'd like some company, there are online writing communities and virtual write-ins where you can participate without knowing anyone beforehand.
You might even make a few writing friends along the way.
4. Plan Around Your Actual Life
Here's something I've learned the hard way.
The November we imagine when we're making our writing plans is rarely the November we actually get.
In our imaginary November, we wake up early, write brilliant prose for an hour, and sail through the month without a single interruption.
In real November, somebody gets sick, work gets crazy, the dishwasher breaks, and suddenly it's Thanksgiving.
This is why I recommend taking a good look at your calendar.
The traditional 50,000-word goal works out to about 1,667 words a day.
But that doesn't mean you have to write exactly 1,667 words every single day.
Maybe you know you'll be busy Thanksgiving week. Or you've got family coming to visit. Or work is going to be especially demanding.
Plan for it.
If you have a relatively quiet Saturday, try writing a few extra words to give yourself some breathing room later.
If you know Tuesday is going to be hectic, maybe you only aim for a quick 15-minute sprint.
I like to look at the whole month and identify the days when I'll have more time and energy, then use those opportunities to get a little ahead.
And if you fall behind?
Don't panic.
Seriously. Don't.
Missing a day doesn't mean you've failed. Neither does missing three days.
Just pick up where you left off.
Remember, this is supposed to be fun. Nobody is going to show up at your door demanding to know why you haven't met your word count.
At least, I certainly hope not.
5. When You're Stuck, Try Something Ridiculous
Sooner or later, you're probably going to hit a wall.
You'll sit down at your computer, open your manuscript, and realize you have absolutely no idea what happens next.
Your characters aren't cooperating. Your plot has wandered off somewhere. And that blinking cursor is starting to feel a little smug.
Here's one of my favorite tricks for getting unstuck.
Make a list of 50 things that could happen next.
Yes, 50.
Not five. Not ten. Fifty.
And here's the important part: don't worry about whether they're good ideas.
Your main character discovers a mysterious letter.
Someone shows up at the door with a baby.
A long-lost relative leaves an unexpected inheritance.
Your protagonist gets into a fight with a ninja.
She eats a cupcake and shrinks to the size of a mushroom.
Whatever pops into your head, write it down.
The point isn't to come up with 50 brilliant plot twists. It's to get your imagination moving again.
Most of those ideas will probably be ridiculous.
But somewhere around idea number 27, you might stumble onto something that actually works.
Another trick is to start a fight.
Not necessarily a physical fight, although that works too.
Have two characters argue. Let somebody reveal a secret. Create a misunderstanding. Make something go wrong.
Give your characters a problem and see what they do about it.
And if none of that works, skip ahead to a scene you're excited about writing.
There's no rule that says you have to write your novel in order.
So, What Does Winning Actually Mean?
Traditionally, winning Novel Writing Month meant writing 50,000 words in 30 days.
And I won't pretend it wasn't exciting when I reached that goal for the first time.
It was.
But you know what? Looking back, the word count wasn't the most important part.
The important part was discovering that I could do something I'd never done before.
I'd always loved stories. I'd always enjoyed writing. But until that November, I'd never really thought of myself as someone who could write a novel.
Turns out, I could.
Maybe you've got a story you've wanted to tell for years.
Maybe you haven't written anything creative since high school.
Or maybe you're just looking for something new and interesting to try.
Whatever your reason, I hope you'll give it a shot.
You don't need to write the next great American novel.
You don't need to find a publisher.
You don't even need to finish.
If you write 50,000 words, wonderful!
If you write 10,000, that's wonderful too.
And if all you accomplish is discovering that you enjoy writing fiction, I'd call that a pretty good month.
After all, there's something rather wonderful about reaching a point in life when you can try something simply because it sounds interesting.
So grab your laptop, open a blank document, and see what happens.
Who knows?
You might surprise yourself.
Have you ever thought about writing a novel? Or is there another creative project you've been putting off for someday? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!