I’m a day late but it’s November, which means it’s time for NaNoWriMo!

What’s that, you ask? National Novel Writing Month!

That’s right, you have 30 (okay, 29 now) whole days to write that book you’ve secretly been crafting in your mind.

Gasp! 50,000 words in 30 days?

I know it sounds daunting but it can be done! The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen (which became a movie), and Wool, by Hugh Howey (currently being adapted for the big screen) are all NaNoWriMo success stories.

But I’m not a professional writer.

The truth is, there are very few professional writers out there. Many (probably most) published authors have day jobs to pay the bills. Even those so-called “professional” writers are teachers, librarians, doctors, and lawyers, etc. who took a chance, picked up a pen – or typed on a computer, the story they couldn’t get out of their heads.

But 30 days?

Er, no… it’s 29 now, but don’t let that deter you! That’s less than 2,000 words a day! 1,724 to be exact and that’s nothing. I mean, the word count of this blog, at this exact moment is 196 words. 198. 199. How many of you counted? My point is, it’s really not that difficult to write a bunch of words. And they don’t even have to be great words.

Wait? What?

I know, I know. Let me clarify, I’m not telling you to go out there and write a crappy story. All I’m saying is don’t get too caught up in writing the perfect story. I experienced that issue last year and kept re-writing scenes until I felt they were perfect. As a result, I didn’t finish my novel. The purpose of NaNoWriMo is not to write a polished manuscript.

No, not at all!

The purpose of NaNoWriMo is to inspire the creativity in writers of all ages and all levels by providing “the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.”

Well, maybe…

Maybe nothing! Just get out there and do it!

What if I don’t finish?

Well, you’ll never finish if you don’t try. And if you don’t complete your novel, so what? At least you tried. But you have to try. Now don’t get me wrong, I know things pop up in life, I mean, you can’t leave your kids at soccer practice all night and they can’t eat cereal for dinner for the entire month, so some days you may not reach your word count.

That’s okay!

Even if you only have half an hour to write, write. Write in the car loop while you’re waiting for your kids. Write during your lunch break. Write in the bathroom (but maybe not in the bathroom at work – that’s a little weird).

And if you don’t complete your novel, that’s okay, too. There’s always next year.

But if you do finish…I honestly don’t know what to say because I didn’t complete my own manuscript last year, but I’m sure you’ll feel a sense of pride or something amazing like that.

So, if you’ve ever had this idea swirling around in the back of your brain that you can’t seem to shake, maybe NaNoWriMo is for you. You can check it out and sign up here.

Good luck and happy writing (P.S. I’m at 568 words. 570, 571…)!