Colette Marie Murphy

Happy November! And, if you’re a writer or have writer friends, you know that this means it’s the start of NaNoWriMo! 

Now, I’ve known of National Novel Writing Month for years, and I have even made some attempts at it in the past. Those attempts usually fall apart/die out somewhere on day…two? But in 2015, I hammered through and ended up making it…well, almost halfway to 50K. (That’s the goal, if you’re unfamiliar with it – 50,000 words in 30 days.) I blogged about that particular attempt here and here too.

Then, I sort of stopped. I didn’t attempt NaNoWriMo in 2016 or 2017; I’d attended “Camp NaNoWriMo” a few times, which is in April and July where you can write any sort of writing project, not just novels, but…let’s face it, I didn’t make it through those either.

So why is it, after so many “failures,” that I would wake up excited on November 1 to try again?

Well, first of all, because I’m nothing if not stubborn.

And second of all, because every time I have attempted and “failed,” I’ve learned something. And every time, I get a little bit better. And I believe – really, truly believe – that this year is the year I can earn my first “win” on or before November 30.

So, I did it! Here’s my first “badge” to prove it, too! And in just about 90 minutes this morning, I managed to hammer out 1,083 words. BEFORE COFFEE! Don’t worry, I’m drinking my coffee now as I write this blog.

In order to hit 50,000 words by November 30, you need to write a minimum of 1,667 words per day, so I’m clearly not done yet. I actually am planning to try, at least in the beginning, to go well over the minimum word count in order to give myself a buffer for days when I might be busy/tired/not full of the right mojo to hammer out more than that. For example, I know I’m headed to Disneyland again this month, and I have a few holiday parties and guests from out of town already penciled in on my calendar. It’s entirely possible and plausible that I will still write 1,667 words on those days too, but just in case, I like making sure I have a bit of a safety net.

Oh, and, in case you’re curious — no. Blog posts (like this one!), Patreon deliveries, tweets, and Facebook updates do not count towards my NaNoWriMo word count. Only words that go into the novel. And yet, here I am, giving you all 450 extra words because, well, that’s just what I do.

Well. My coffee cup is now empty, which means it’ll start kicking in any minute here, so it’s time to head back to the novel!

If you want to be NaNoWriMo buddies, I’m “ThatColette” on the NaNo official site/forums. Come find me and let’s cheer each other on!