Since I first heard of “National Novel Writing Month” aka NaNoWriMo back in 2013 I have tried, absolutely in vain and pure laziness, to sign up and write barely a day’s worth. So this November, like the others, I will be challenging myself to participate, to write daily, to hit that fantastic number of 50,000 words.

But I have to be honest about why I’ve failed in my past… so I can take that knowlege to change for this time to succeed.

My honest thoughts on why I’ve failed to make a dent in my writing during November

  1. not making it a true priority. If my full-time time job begins to ramp up then it takes over and I don’t try to find new space.
  2. My inner rebel – oh you want me to write now? no way.
  3. Sudden writer’s block/panic/paralysis over the decided subject matter. So to still do some “work” on it I’ll launch into tons of research and then becomes overwhelming. Yet successfully still keeps me away from the keyboard and pens.

So my strategy this year i I am not declaring a project. My official project in my NaNoWriMo is just to write. Write to 50,000 words, however I get there, on whatever one subject or 50 subjects it takes this month. To just show myself I can write thousands of words in one month – I’m hoping that will turn the tide for future Novembers and future projects.

And yes these 238 words are counting.

Good luck to all my fellow challengers out there this month!