NaNoWriMo 2020, Off To a Great Start

I’ve mentioned NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) before—the national endeavor by authors around the world to write 50,000 words on their novels during the month of November. I’ve always had excuses for why I shouldn’t participate. The timing never seemed right. I’ve never written more than 20,000 words in a month. Plus, there’s Thanksgiving and our anniversary in the mix. It just seemed like I’d be placing an inordinate amount of stress on myself.

But this year I’m going to try. I’m starting a new book, and the timing is good. I spent most of October planning this next historical novel, and I could start writing right out of the gate, with sixty-six chapters all scoped out.

Plus, what else is there to do in the middle of a pandemic? I can’t travel, and Christmas shopping will mostly be done online.

I’m trying to strip everything I can off my plate this month. I’ve given up piano lessons, at least for the next few months. I’m limiting my Zoom and in-person meetings. I’m restricting my reading. And I’m not going to write regular blog posts during November.

Instead of blogging, I will use my website as my accountability partner. Each Monday during November I will post my word count month-to-date on my new manuscript.

Here’s the official NaNoWriMo pace by week, just so you see how daunting this is:

Through Sunday, 11/1: 1,667 words
Through Sunday, 11/8: 13,336 words
Through Sunday, 11/15: 25,005 words
Through Sunday, 11/22: 36,674 words
Through Sunday, 11/29: 48,343 words
Through Monday, 11/30: 50,000 words

My personal goal is to average 2,000 words/day, at least in the early days, so that I have a cushion if I run out of steam. Plus, if I can hold to 2,000 words/day, I’ll reach the 50,000 target by Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, I wrote 5,800 words! Almost three times my daily goal. So I’m starting strong. I had cleared the day of all distractions, and I was able to spend most of the day just writing. At the end of it, my neck hurt, but I’m well into my Week 1 goal.

But I needed to start strong, because Tuesday is Election Day, and I don’t know how long I’ll have to stand in line to vote. And Thursday I have four Zoom meetings. So I need to sprint through words on the days I can. These 5,800 words might have to substitute for words I don’t have time to write later in the week.

Wish me luck!

P.S. Oh, by the way, I will be participating in a virtual Local Author Panel sponsored by the Mid-Continent Public Library’s Story Center on November 5 at 6:30 p.m. If you’d like to hear some Kansas City authors talk about their writing, register to get the Zoom link here.