NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month (and all the wannabe authors of the world went – WOOHOO!)

It is a non-profit literary program that challenges aspiring novelists to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.  The idea is that you bash out the complete rough draft of your novel in November, and with a complete novel finally out of you, you can sit back, relax and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

With the deadline of 50,000 words in 30 days – gulp – you have no choice but to shush those self doubting and procrastinating voices within and finally just throw all caution to the wind and write that novel that has been sitting within you for decades.

As you may have guessed, I am jumping on the literary band wagon and am attempting a novel in a month (I have started in October and have written 1305 words; is that cheating?)

I, along with many other fledgling authors out there I’m sure, hold no delusional hopes that my novel will ever be published. Even so, would it not be fantastically wonderful if, sitting on the tube one day, someone opposite you takes out a novel to read that happens to be one you’ve written?

I hope you join me for NaNoWriMo. (You can even be like me and get a head start on things by starting this month) If you do want to give it a go, I’ve listed some links to helpful websites for new writers.

National Novel Writing Month – The Challenge!

Starving novelist – Fantastic blog for all aspiring authors. She has great tips and helpful ideas.

Procrastinating writers – Offers guidance for writers who struggle to get started. Latest blog posts offer some advice for NaNoWriMo.

Writers online – Great resource for all things writing related.

Struggling authors – Technical and moral support for new and unpublished writers.

Writing excuses – podcasts to help you banish those pesky excuses and start writing!