NaNoWriMo: Write a Novel in a Month!

At the WAG General Meeting on October 9, panelists Pat Caren, Kimberley E. Mullins and Wendy Thornton (right to left in photo) — all are members of WAG — described their participation in previous NaNoWriMo events. The panelists summed up how to write a novel in 30 days. The program encourages aspirants to write 50,000 words in the month of November, National Novel Writing Month.

Pat described the challenges she faced. “Due to travel, I had to up the usual 1500 words a day. Accustomed to writing by hand, I was unable to write, then type that much. Slightly OCD, I also had to learn to ignore the red underlines and just upload to the [Nanowrimo] site.” The exercise forced Pat to write three to four hours a day. She said it also improved her typing skills.

Kimberley emphasized to the audience the need for discipline. “I set the goal of writing a sequel to two previous novels, then set the alarm clock. I wrote from 4:00 to 6:00 a.m., before work and got up early on weekends.” At one point Kimberley reached writer’s block. Driven to get words on the page, she jumped to the end of her story and worked back.

Wendy assured the audience, “It doesn’t matter what you write, NaNoWriMo only counts words. It doesn’t judge; no one will steal your work. It is a computer program on a secure website. The goal is to get your draft done.” Wendy has participated in the program four times. “I ‘won’ twice,” she said, “entering with ideas I’d been formulating for years. I was not as successful with new ideas. ”Wendy cautioned listeners: “50,000 words is not a book. Agents are looking for 75-100,000 words.”

Wendy provided attendees with an outline including a one sentence description of a novel: Act 1: Exposition; Act 2: Rising Action; Act 3: Solution; Scenes. She also distributed Caitlin Jan’s Six Month Novel Writing Plan.

A homeschool family attending the meeting described their participation in the youth division, encouraging children to use NaNoWriMo as a learning tool.

NaNoWriMo is an international event sponsored by the nonprofit Office of Letters and Light.  Participants include professional and amateur writers who work toward the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30. In 2015 there were 300,000 participants world-wide, with 1595 members from Gainesville. Forty thousand entrants were “winners.”

Program chairperson Roz Miller summed up the program, saying, “You will be both challenged and encouraged by NaNoWriMo.”

Pat Caren decided to become writer when her third-grade teacher read Little House in the Big Woods to her class. As a youngster, Caren realized that stories are written by actual people. After college, she worked as a teacher and social worker, writing when she could, making sporadic efforts to get published. While raising four children, there was little time for writing. But after retirement, she wrote and self-published a novel. She also dabbles in short stories and poetry. Last year for NaNoWriMo, she wrote a new novel, which she’ll polish once other projects are complete. Her pen name is Marie Q. Rogers.

Kimberley E. Mullins has enjoyed reading and writing since her early childhood. She began her writing career while in the Navy by venturing into poetry. Her first piece, “My One Last Cent,” was published in a literary journal, Amistad, in 2007 at Howard University. Mullins has published a book of poetry, Thinking Aloud: Dimensions of Free-Verse, and a novel, The Friends and Family Connection: Get Unplugged. She was a winner of the 2015 NaNoWriMo, completing just over 50,000 words in thirty days. She has also participated in spoken word venues—the Urban Grind in Atlanta, Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., and at the Thomas Center here in Gainesville.

Wendy Thornton is a freelance writer and editor who has been published in Riverteeth, Epiphany, MacGuffin and many other literary journals and books. Her memoir, Dear Oprah or How I Beat Cancer and Learned to Love Daytime TV, was published in July 2013. Her mystery, Bear-Trapped: In a Trashy Hollywood Novel, was published in February 2015. Thornton has won many awards for her work, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and has been Editor’s Pick on Salon.com multiple times. She has participated in NaNoWriMo four times and finished twice.

Article by Bonnie Ogle