Why NaNoWriMo: A NaNo-virgin gets twice what he asked for on his first go!

Name: Sahir Doshi

Forum Name: Sahier

NaNo #: 1st 

The idea for my current novel project spawned in 2015. Before November, my list of achievements towards completion included a novella-length outline, a twelfth draft of the (now scrapped) prologue, and a ceasefire between Fonts Cambria and Helvetica. Generous word count as of Diwali 2017: under a thousand.

I discovered NaNoWriMo a week and a half before kickoff, and WriMo India on the night of. At the time, I had no expectations, and was moping about how much cooler it would have been had I still lived in the U.S. with its write-ins and crawls and white people to confuse with my 1857-inspired animal fantasy.

Fortunately, the WriMo India Gods and Goddesses shocked that stupidity out of my system with the first strike: an India-wide kickoff sprint in which I wrote more words and made more friends than in whole months before.

For the next thirty days, it was WriMo bolt after WriMo bolt. Most nights, it was a strange kind of collective inspiration. When those wells ran dry, it was the sense of accountability to a greater whole. And when even that flag was too heavy to fly, it was solidarity – the idea that a couple hundred Indians were in this together.

Before, I celebrated 2,000-word months; during NaNo, I found myself logging that in an hour on the intrepid Prakash’s sprint-sheets.

Before, Sundays were for self-flagellation at the altar of the Internal Editor; during NaNo, I was running marathons with the MLs (Chak De, Sonia!).    

Before, writing was a lonely and sometimes depressing thing; during NaNo, I found a real writing community in WriMo India – a tribe of scribes – that I know will last long after.  

NaNoWriMo pushed me to turn out the glorious 50,000… but WriMo India gave me the strength to double that and hit the grand and once-unattainable 100 K. This NaNo virgin got twice what he asked for on his first go, and offers his bashfully triumphant thanks. 

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

About Sahir Doshi:

Sahir Doshi is scrambling to finish his first novel – a radical reworking of The Jungle Book – before the next movie version comes out and steals all his ideas again. A lifelong animal nut, he served as the Wildlife Conservation Society’s first ever Federal Policy Fellow in 2017, and has also worked in the newsrooms of ProPublica and CQ Roll Call (The Economist Group). Follow him at @Sahirzinho, or send an email to sahirdoshi14@gmail.com if you want to help him research cave ecology or 19th century weapons. In return, he can offer animal facts, made-to-order rap lyrics and recaps of Survivor.

Keep Writing. Stay Committed! A Peptalk by Moitrayee Bhaduri

Writers are big time procrastinators and I speak from personal experience. Just when I sit down to write, every other thing seems to demand my immediate attention, except my manuscript. It’s amazing to dream of publishing one book every year. But slogging to make it a reality doesn’t sound exciting, right? As Todd Henry writes in his inspiring book Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day, “We need to fall in love with the process, not just the end product of our work.”

I know it is easier said than done. But hey, come on – you are a Wrimo! The fact that you are participating in NaNoWriMo is already a great decision! Congratulations! Keep going!

For those who have begun writing on the first day of the month, you are awesome! Stay committed and you will comfortably win. Woohoo!

On the other hand, like me, many (or most) of you might not have written even a single word till now! But don’t fret! I scored a hattrick last year when I became a NaNoWriMo winner for three years in a row. And I never wrote a single word in the first week. Honestly, that’s not something that I am proud of. However, I am sharing this with you so that you know that even if you start NOW, you can comfortably emerge a winner.

Here are 5 tricks that you might find useful. These often help me with my writing goals: 

1. Set a time to write: Sit down with pen-paper and/or laptop every day at a particular time, even if it is to stare at the blank screen/sheet. As it becomes a habit, it will help you focus better.    

2. Share your writing goals: ‘Today I will write 2500 words for NaNoWriMo’ – Share this goal with 5 friends or announce it on social media. Since you have told so many people, you will want to make it happen. Trust me, it works 😊.

3. Reward yourself: If your target is, say, 3000 words (it could be more or less than this) for the day, set time-limits for every 500 or 1000 words you write. Reward yourself for each deadline you meet. For example, coffee-break after 500 words.

4. Participate in writing sprints: That’s what our MLs keep motivating us to do. You can always edit later. Set the clock and keep running… oops, writing.

5. Have fun but avoid distractions: Play with your thoughts, juggle your ideas and laugh with your characters as much as you want. But avoid distractions. Ten minutes of mindless social media scrolling might lead to endless wasted hours.  

Finally, even though you are writing for yourself and want to win NaNoWriMo, you never know who will fall in love with your writing! So put your best foot forward and write.

See you at the finishing line then. Good luck! 

About Moitrayee Bhaduri

Moitrayee Bhaduri is an author, screenwriter, and content specialist. She has written two crime thrillers: Who Killed the Murderer? (2019) and The Sinister Silence (2015). She also writes screenplays for television, freelances with IT firms as a content-consultant, and conducts writing workshops. A NaNoWriMo winner for three years in a row, Moitrayee loves books and dogs. Currently, she lives in Kolkata. Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and moitrayeebhaduri@gmail.com

What’s Your Why – A peptalk by Sudha Nair

Did you know that knowing your ‘WHY’ always gives you a better chance at success?

Wrimos, it’s that time of the year again (November) when we gear up to write 50k words. So, what’s your plan?

I still remember my first attempt at Nanowrimo a few years ago. It was the very first time I had considered writing a long piece of fiction. It was an exhilarating and a terrifying idea at the same time.

My two WHYS for doing NaNoWriMo

What nudged me to participate in Nanowrimo was the fact that I wanted to try writing a long piece of fiction, and I also looked forward to the support from the entire Wrimo India community.

The community support, inspiration, motivation, and encouragement, made it the first reason to pick the month of November to start writing my first novel.

The second reason was the 50% discount off the Scrivener software that I would receive on winning.

So, you see, I had two powerful Whys—one was about belonging and pushing through with a group of fellow writers, and the second was about the happiness of receiving a discount if I persevered and achieved the end.

Now, let’s come to your WHY

It’s a great practice to ask and understand your Why before you begin anything. It helps keep you on track and makes sure you don’t slacken when the going gets rough.

When you start asking Why, make sure you dig deeper and deeper to figure out your real WHY. Each why will yield an answer that’s personal and important to you. It’s better to go down at least 5-6 levels to delve into your deeper reasons.

Let me give you an example. This is just an example. Your responses do not have to match.

Why am I participating in Nanowrimo 2019?

Because I want to win.

Why?

Because I want the certificate?

Why?

Because I like to keep up the winning streak.

Why?

Because I like to finish what I start.

Why?

Because I want to focus on the next thing and finish that too.

Why?

Because I want to complete all my projects on time.

Why?

Because I want to practise perseverance and consistency in the face of hardships.

Why?

Because I want to feel good.

Why?

Because I want that feel-good power to do better at life.

Why?

Because I want to be successful.

Why?

Because I want to fulfil my dreams …

You get the drift. The deeper you dig for your Whys, the better motivated you’ll be to finish your Nanowrimo year after year.

So, let’s get started, folks! What’s your Why?

Figure it out, and do read your Whys out every day during November so that you don’t lose track of why you started this in the first place.

Now, here are some more tips for tackling 50k words, because after all the pep talk, it really boils down to logistics and planning.

1. Break up your 50k words into about 30 chapters (1667 words per chapter per day)
2. Finish 500 words in the morning, 500 words in the afternoon, and 500 in the evening.
3. Enhancing each chapter with a little bit of setting, description, dialogue or action, adding about 50-60 words to each section, will help to bring your day’s total to your ideal word count of 1667 words per day.
4. Remember, goals are more easily achieved when they are broken down into bite-sized portions.
5. Find your comfort zone and plan your chapters ahead so that you can jump straight into writing when the time comes.

The Nanowrimo month is the perfect time to start your next novel or write 50k words of an unfinished draft. So, what are you waiting for?

I hope these tips help you hit the ground running this November. Good luck!

ABOUT SUDHA NAIR:

Sudha Nair is the winner of the 2017 KDP Pen to Publish contest for her debut novel, The Wedding Tamasha, a sweet tale about love, family, and traditions. She is also a member of the jury for the 2019 KDP Pen to Publish contest. She is the author of The Menon Women Series books and several short stories. She lives with her family in Bangalore, India. You can reach her at sudhanair.com. She’d love to hear from you. Her books can be found at: author.to/sudhanair