So, I’m jumping the gun a bit early this year, but let’s dive in! Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) is November 1-30th of every year. The goal is to write 50k within that month. It could be part of a novel, or short stories, or even just musings. There isn’t really any limit. The only real ‘rule’ is those words need to be written in that month, and you have to hit the 50k goal line to win the official Nano. Of course, you can set your own personal goal if you’re not up to it- 1667 words a day is a LOT to get done.

Personally, I’ll be working on a novel idea that 15 year old Emma conjured. While my main goal is to hit the 50k, I aim to get 80-90k done on the book; which would mean an average of 3000 words a day! That’s a very big goal, and I won’t beat myself up if I don’t make it.

I won my first ever nano last year, and sort of got lazy.

There are two kinds of Nanowrimoers; planners and pantsers. Pantsers fly by the edge of their seat, writing on a whim, whatever their heart fancies on the day Nano begins. Planners, on the other hand, usually go all out; outlines, character profile sheets, specific scene plans, you name it! I’m somewhere in the middle; I like to plan, but I know stories are a lot more liquid than we think, and to now go with the flow if it changes mid story. Sometimes it sucks to have a meticulous outline change on you, but what can you do.

The beginnings of my Nano board this year! I put all the main information I need on here- mostly to motivate myself. The rest of my notes go in a binder.

This year, seeing as it’s an older story I had made some notes of and want to tweak a lot, I’m ripping the backstory of this bad boy apart. My bestie/graphic designer/illustrator Adara (shameless plug goes here https://www.instagram.com/aillustration/) will be creating a map for me, potentially some creature designs, and a few other bits and pieces that my wallet will allow! Along with that will be some severe research and backstory design.

If you are planning to do Nano, tell me a bit about your story! Are you excited? Have you got a plan? Are you pantsing? I’d love to hear about it- and if you aren’t planning to do Nano, perhaps you should be changing your mind! Feel free to befriend me and work on Nanowrimo with me this November. Click on the Nanowrimo link on my site and add me as a buddy. Let’s support each other to write!

Happy writing,

Emma-Kate xoxo