How to write a book in a month this November
You may know this challenge by the name of NaNoWriMo, but in an era where people are terrified of AI being the death to creativity, and consumers not just accepting what has been previously available to them when they are empowered to do better, writers are looking to implement their own systems to hit their goals this Novel Writing Month.
Enter the birth of Novel November, or NOVELber, as I was calling it prior to me needing to pronounce that word in my YouTube video and failing utterly.
The concept is the same: set a writing goal and get serious about achieving it, but the execution can really be whatever you want it to be. Which is so freeing! Unless, of course, you have no idea where to begin.
That’s where I come in. It’s actually a lot easier to kick off your writing process for November than you would think. Let me give you the breakdown!
Choose a concept / Create a plot plan
Leaving space for both the plotters and the pantsers here, you need to know what project you are actually working towards for the month. It may sound like an obvious first step (which it is!) but you’d be surprised how many people get bogged down by decision paralysis. They have too many ideas. Too many directions they can take their favorite idea. Too many subplots they want to plan out. Next thing they know, the month is halfway over, they never actually started writing, and they might as well just wait until next year.
It’s me. I am “they.” Or at least I have been in the past, but NO MORE!
You should not be spending more than 1, 2, or at MAX 3 days on plot planning. And if you do, be sure to take account of that in your goal-setting, otherwise you will be kicking off your writing already three days behind. This is not the time to be hyper-diligent about employing the snowflake method or building out a world building bible. It’s just not the point of Novel November. All of that can come later, once you have already gotten your ideas down on paper.
Once you’ve figured out the what youre working on, let’s move on to the how.
Decide on a writing plan
Let’s take a look at your calendar. What can you realistically do this month? For me, I can’t commit to a word count of 1k a day. That’s the key. I can’t commit to it. That is what you’re deciding to do here, commit to a plan to achieve your goals. Sure, I’m capable of writing 1k a day. I’m probably capable of 3k even, with enough coffee, inspiration, and free time! But that is not a feasible expectation to hold myself to for an entire month.
So maybe we cut this down to 500 words a day, make our goal 15k for the month, and celebrate endlessly when we blow that out of the water.
Or maybe, like me, a word count is never going to be the target (numbers make my brain hurt even if I’m not actively adding or dividing them) and instead a block of time would better suit your needs. Add a meeting to your calendar app and come ready to work for the duration you set. Uphold it like a meeting with an important client. Take yourself and your goal as seriously as you take your 9 to 5.
Start writing (and don’t stop!!)
Alright, we have the what sorted and the how set, now we just need to focus on the do-ing. Debatably the hardest part, especially for those decision paralysis folks. But you made it to this point! You bought the entry ticket, put on your running gear, and now you’re just waiting at the starting line for the race to commence. So commence.
It really is that easy.
No, I get it. It’s hard. You’re nervous. You’re tired.
What if it sucks? What if you don’t have the discipline? What if little Betty gets a cold next week? Or your in-laws surprise you with another long weekend visit? All of that is valid. It’s also a pretty lame excuse for not at least giving yourself a shot.
And here’s the thing, you already have the details set. Your plan is in place, and you made it something that works with your routines, meaning it is easy to come back to even if you are derailed for a day or two. The last thing left to do is to do it. So do it.
You’re going to hit plot holes. You’re going to forget how to string words together for that big scene that has been playing in your head for weeks and feel dejected. You’re going to have no idea how to connect chapter 5 and 6. You’re going to accidentally slip into present tense because your spouse is reading an email aloud to you. That’s all okay. That’s all expected. And to be quite frank, that is all a problem for Future You to figure out.
You will figure it out too. I swear it. Even if it means you need to set it down for 6 months after November ends to get your thoughts together. Even if it means getting second and third opinions. Even if it means hiring an editor to point you in the right direction. All of that is normal, but let me be extremely clear about one thing.
You cannot fix a book that is not written.
You cannot edit a manuscript that does not exist.
So be brutally honest with yourself about what you can achieve this November, put a plan in place, and then put your fingers on the keyboard and WRITE ALREADY!!
What if my goal isn’t to write a book?
Amazing! Mine isn’t either this year. I am working on one round of self-editing for my book. The BIG content edit. I have 30 chapters to work on in 30 days, but my game plan isn’t as simple as “do a chapter a day.” Instead I am adding two hour-long writing blocks into my daily schedule. I know 90 minutes is typically enough time to edit a full chapter, so I should be ahead of schedule. However, I know life pops up and eagerly gets in the way. Going about my plan like this should accommodate my goals and my history of being spectacularly derailed, so I can keep right on track.
This entire practice is about finding out what works for you.
What if I want to keep working with NaNoWriMo?
It’s always a personal choice! Just like my personal choice has never been to use them. (I tried in the past but was never successful!) I personally find their system unnecessarily rigid. I also do not encourage the use of generative AI in any capacity in the writing space or art space, and do not want to support a company encouraging their users to do exactly that (which defeats the entire point of NaNoWriMo, if a system is generating those word count, but I digress.) That is not the only criticism facing the company at the moment, but all I feel confident enough to speak to in this forum.
TLDR: if it works for you and you don’t mind some of the recent discourse, then do you boo! However, maybe do a little search on Google or TikTok to see what you’re dealing with before you commit to using them for a full month!
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