Last year I was intimidated by the word count that the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo demanded. It’s hard enough to come up with a ten-sentence essay for a midterm test but when you come across the requirement to win this annual feat, you’ll surely have second thoughts. Fifty thousand words. One must need to muster up the fortitude to come up with fifty thousand words to complete the NanoWriMo challenge and have that sparkly purple thingy in your NaNoWriMo profile. A fifty thousand word novel (or more) is an uphill battle even for veterans especially when you’re going by the awesome tagline ’30 days and nights of literary abandon’ but it sure comes with its perks:
Going to meet-ups or ‘write-ins’ as they call it is a good way to get to know other NaNo writers. I’ve been to one in Gateway and it was a unique experience. You don’t get to meet these kinds of people every day. Some of them are really peculiar and others are just those that are fun to be with like the two MLs or Municipal Liaisons for the Philippines. These guys are kind of like the heads for your country that keeps everyone updated with the activities about NaNoWriMo. You get to interact and share stories, plots and characters while having fun in a homey environment in the confines of a café.
Another fun perk is that even if you’re not really a good writer, there are lots of people that would and will help you whenever you’re in a pinch. The forum is a hotbed for a lot of veteran writers that are more than willing to help you out. From characters to storylines to expanding your initial plot, people will surely help you out though sometimes these guys could be meticulous and nosy so be prepared.
Lastly, you’ll learn to be more responsible when it comes to grammar, story flow, time, and above all, the word count among many other things. Aiming for that elusive 50k isn’t really that hard if you keep your eye on the prize and focus in getting the job done. Last year I only got to thirty thousand words and gave up because I thought it would be impossible. This year’s win for me was bittersweet, not only did I reach seventy-two thousand words (my stories aren’t finished though) but I also realized that I really have the juice to go toe to toe with big guys. For me besides reaching (and exceeding) the 50k word count, the main prize is the chance to have a personal published copy of your NaNoWriMo novel. This year winners have the option to have five free paperback copies of their novel. I really wanted to opt for this but sadly, my novel is far from complete and I don’t really wanna publish a spinoff of a television series. Next year for sure I’ll be aiming for publication.
I don’t really know what will happen next year’s NaNoWriMo but one thing is certain for me, I’ll keep on winning and finish that elusive trilogy that I cooked up, thanks to NaNoWriMo. Because of it, I finally figured out the second and third book that will succeed ‘The Harlequin Wench’s story. I look forward to the next thirty days and nights of literary abandon and see what adventure and characters are going to be born from my delusional mind. By the way, this is a five hundred eighty-one word article.
