According to the dictionary, “challenge” is a call to take part in a contest or competition. But for some of us who will be or haven’t yet made a decision, the coming November writing challenge means something more. For us, the determined or on the fence, the “challenge” is to start and finish a piece of writing. Whether you can master yourself and reach your writing goal to build the story living inside you. It’s your chance as a writer to stop thinking of writing a book and actually sit down to write it. It’s your chance to make a commitment to yourself and your story.
Last year was my first time participating in NaNoWriMo. Unfortunately, I did not reach my 50,000 word goal. I only made it to 29,905 words. I got stuck in the middle and didn't know what to do with the story line. Thinking back, I'd made the 50k word goal if I'd had written the story at the height of the climax. It would've kept the momentum as the story came full circle. It'd also helped if I didn't info dump in the beginning, making me lose valuable information I could've embedded in the story. Then there's the week of Thanksgiving prep. Where it's nothing but shopping, cleaning and preparing the meat for Thanksgiving dinner. Nonetheless, I’ve continued writing the novel as a book blog (Nadia, the Hidden Fire Witch).
In April 2014, I participated in the Poem A Day Challenge in honor of National Poetry Month. Although I trailed behind in the daily poetry prompts during the middle, I managed to catch up and complete 30 poems in 30 days.
This coming November, I’m foregoing NaNoWriMo and the November 2014 Poem-A-Day (PAD) Chapbook Challenge. Instead I’m taking the National Non Fiction Writing Month Challenge, NaNoFiWriMo. Although I won’t be with you for NaNoWriMo, I’d still like to share some important tips. Tips learned from my own writing challenge successes and failures.
Are you ready to arm yourself?