10 Reasons Why Joining NaNoWriMo Will Help With Your Writing

Currently, I’m attending a summer camp of sorts. It brings back all the old feelings of sharing a cabin with a bunch of people I just met and it’s all awkward at first because you’re not sure if you’re going to like each other or get along; then by the end of the first day or two you’re all practically inseparable. Over the lazy summer days of camp you’re swapping ghost stories over flashlights after lights out (or sneaking out), telling jokes, singing songs around a campfire and eating gooey s’mores that are making your fingers sticky. By the time summer is over and it’s time to go home, you’re crying crocodile tears over having to be parted from some of the best friends you’ve ever made. Being part of Camp NaNoWriMo this month has been a little like that. I’ve been in a virtual cabin with a bunch of other amazing female romance writers and we’ve been swapping stories, sharing tips and even talking about our lives. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to enjoy s’mores since this is all online, but it’s been a blast.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The website offers resources, forums, writing camps/challenges and a competition where you can win prizes. If you’re a writer looking to connect with other writers, get feedback, find resources, help with writing daily, or want to fall back in love with writing, then NaNoWriMo is the place for you.

Photo by Mike Erskine on Unsplash

1. Camp NaNoWriMo inspires you to get in the habit of writing daily.
When you join the camp, you decide how many words in your novel you want to attempt to write that month (Tip: Most people aim for 50,000 because it’s how you can qualify for the competition; plus, it’s a little ambitious, but doable). This can be especially helpful if this is something you’re struggling with.

2. You can grow your passion for writing by creating a writing space in your community.
Use the organization to help create a writing space in your local community, library or college/university. You may ask how does this help my writing, but think about it. Often when we are teaching or leading we learn just as much from those we’re instructing or sharing with as they do from us. Plus, I’m a true believer that sharing your love and passion for something, in this case— writing, will help your work grow as well.

3. You receive tips from experienced/published writers.
These tips can range from writing tips, to productivity or just life advice. These tips and advice can often come right when we need them or be something we tuck away for when we do need them. Either way it’s always nice to learn from people you respect, who’ve been there, done that.

4. You get the opportunity to meet other writers.
You may or may not collaborate with these writers, but having a community of writers to associate with can be beneficial and important for support, encouragement and growth. Not to mention writing can sometimes be a solitary existence. It’s nice to have other people who understand this life that you can call on as needed to commiserate with, bounce ideas off of and learn from. (If you want more than just an online community and want to find people in your area, the site offers that as well.

5. For a month you get to develop new habits that will aid you as you continue your journey as an author.
They say it takes 21 days to develop a habit. Camp NaNoWriMo is beneficial if you just started writing and you’re trying to create habits or hone your skills since camp lasts for a month. If you commit and your consistent, you can develop skills and habits that will last long after camp is over.

6. It helps you establish setting deadlines with your writing.
This is going to become a skill you definitely want to master if you’re a writer interested in eventually working with publishers or becoming a writer for hire and working with clients.

7. It helps you learn how to start establishing writing with a daily word count in mind.
If you’re currently someone who writes without knowing exactly what amount of progress you’re making each day, starting to become aware of how much you write in a day will help you learn more about yourself as a writer and what kind of writer you are. It also helps you know what’s realistic for you to accomplish in a day and how quickly you may be able to complete a draft of your novel. For some writers 2000 words in a day may be a piece of cake, while 500 words may be all some writers can produce. One is not better than the other, but knowing this is helpful.

8. It helps establish discipline.
We all know the muse doesn’t always strike us everyday, but as a professional writer you have to learn how to push past the writers block often.

9. If you’ve completed your book it can help you with what comes next.
Maybe you’re done with your book and need help with marketing or knowing what to do next. NaNoWriMo has great forums that are broken down by category so you can find help with exactly what you’re looking for, from other writers. Maybe you need help with a grammar or punctuation question, maybe you’re looking for a good editor; use the forums and get the answers you need.

10. It’s fun.
In my opinion, this site reminds me why I love writing. It makes the process fun. Taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo does kind of feel like being at a summer camp. You get assigned to a cabin and you can even request to be in a cabin with other writers of the same genre. You can get to know them and their work, talk about your favorite books, share and swap stories and also for that month you fall in love with writing all over again.

If this article made you nostalgic for those summer camp days of sharing camp fire tales, meeting your cabin mates or even the silliness that only camp can create then become a member of NaNoWriMo by visiting the website: https://nanowrimo.org.

#writing #amwriting #writingresources #writerslife #nanowrimo