We’re almost one-third of the way into National Novel Writing Month, which means that the plot is thickening and the action is getting intense for your story and characters. How is it going so far? And what’s the wildest thing you’ve found out from this crazy process?
The main idea behind NaNoWriMo is to get a first draft on the page as fast as possible—to force you to just get over your hang-ups and neuroses and overthinking, and just produce. Turn off your inner editor! This is a fantastic idea, but it can actually be kind of stressful for many of us. The notion of producing a lot of words every day for 30 days is liberating—but it’s also a crazy intense goal, and people can put a lot of pressure on themselves to hit it.
But honestly, even if the result of NaNoWriMo is just a 10,000-word document that contains some cool ideas you can mine for later writing. And even if you’re like me, and you prefer to write your first drafts slowly and agonizingly, with lots of second-guessing and rethinking in the middle, you can still get some terrific stuff out of a month of exciting word-vomit.
So what are you getting out of NaNoWriMo this year so far?
Top image: British Library
Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, coming in January from Tor Books. Follow her on Twitter, and email her.