Are you signing up to win NaNoWriMo this year?
It’s a big challenge—write 50,000 words before November comes to an end.
There are a lot of tips out there to help you rise to the challenge, but there’s one thing more than any other that will determine whether you succeed:
the level of desire you have to do so.
How much do you want this?
Determine Your Level of Desire to Win NaNoWriMo
Bill Shoemaker is quoted as saying, “Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete.”
You could substitute “writer” for “athlete” and the statement would remain true. Desire is the engine behind your efforts, and without it, you’ll likely quit before you reach your goal.
“The strength of your desire is what motivates you to press on in the face of obstacles,” writes Louis Chew of Constant Renewal. “It is what enables one to overcome overwhelming odds.”
The challenge of writing 50,000 words in one month is significant. You need commitment, time management, discipline, energy, and more, but if you want to simplify the whole thing, focus on your desire.
Statistically, only 17 percent of participants in NaNoWriMo actually finish. One of the reasons writers fail is because they don’t have a high enough level of desire in the first place. Perhaps they thought the exercise would be fun or would jumpstart a new story, but the challenge is simply too great to enter it so lightly.
How Much Do You Want to Win NaNoWriMo?
If you’re not sure, ask yourself these five questions:
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- Is writing this novel one of your top three priorities in life right now?
- Are you willing to allow your life to be disrupted during the month of November to make it happen?
- Are you willing to write every day even when you don’t feel like it?
- Will you work harder at writing than you may have ever worked before?
- Do you have a deep-down desire to succeed at this no matter what?
If you answered “yes” to all five, your level of desire is probably high enough to propel you to succeed. If you answered “no” to even one of the questions, though, rethink this decision.
It may not be the right time, and what you don’t want to do is fail and then feel bad about yourself or your writing. It would be better to find another way to get your story going.
There are just as many reasons not to sign up for NaNoWriMo as there are reasons to do it. For example, it may be best not to proceed if:
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- The idea stresses you out. Stress kills creativity.
- Your life is crazy right now and this is just going to make it worse.
- You don’t have a fully formed idea or outline for your book. (The task could simply be frustrating.)
- You think after the month is over you’ll have a potential bestseller. (The novel will require a lot more work even after the 50,000 words are completed.)
If you still want to move forward, however, there are ways you can increase your desire to succeed.
5 Ways to Boost Your Desire to Win NaNoWriMo
1. Determine what fuels your desire.
Think about why you want to do NaNoWriMo this year. What’s driving you? Are you frustrated at your lack of progress on a story you’ve had in your head? Are you struggling to find time to write in general and want to use this opportunity to make it your first priority?
“In June of 2014,” writes fantasy author Kristen Kieffer, “I realized that I wanted to take my writing more seriously. I had been dabbling in writing fiction as an escape from school and work and the mundanities of life, but I wanted more. I wanted to write a novel, a complete one. Maybe even to publish it and slowly but surely build a career.”
Kristen signed up for NaNoWriMo and then “tackled my 50,000 words as though my life depended on it.” You could say her level of desire to succeed was high, and she did. The result?
“Participating in NaNoWriMo gave me the courage to tackle the blank page, the consistency of a much-needed writing routine, and the confidence that I could indeed write a novel.”
Once you determine why you want to succeed at this challenge, write it down and post it somewhere you’ll see it often. It could help motivate you on those days when you’re struggling to keep going.
2. Focus on internal motivation.
As writers, we are motivated by two things: external and internal rewards. External rewards are those we can gain from the outside world, like publication contracts, money from sales, and recognition in reviews or rewards. Internal rewards are those we gain from ourselves, such as a sense of accomplishment, pride in our own work, and creative fulfillment.
You’re more likely to boost your desire to win NaNoWriMo if you motivate yourself with internal rewards. Sure, you may eventually publish this novel and win external rewards, but you have less control over those types of outcomes. You have all control, on the other hand, over whether you finish this project and feel a sense of personal accomplishment and pride.
Tell yourself you can do this. Challenge yourself to go farther than you ever have. Imagine how you’ll feel when you type that 50,000th word. That’s more likely to boost your desire than imagining publishing contracts and complimentary reviews.
3. Make a public commitment.
NaNoWriMo is not something to do in private. It was never intended that way. That’s why there is now a nonprofit organization providing tools, structure, community, and encouragement to writers all over the country. Take full advantage of all these resources. Sign up on the site and connect with other writers who are taking the plunge.
Then tell your family, friends, writing colleagues, and social media pals that you’re going for it. Let them all know that you’ll be writing. Not only will this help others in your life understand when you’re not as available to them as usual (because you’re writing), it will also boost your desire to succeed because now all these other people are aware of your goal.
Making a public commitment makes it harder to quit. All these other folks want you to succeed. They’re waiting to hear news of your success. You can’t let them down. In those moments when you feel like your story is no good and you wonder why you should keep going, knowing that you’ll have to reveal your eventual results to others may be just what you need to push through the discomfort and go on writing.
4. Focus on your identity.
Are you a writer, or not?
Maybe you want to be a writer, but you haven’t gotten there yet. Maybe you dream of being a writer, or you’ve dabbled in it here and there.
But real writers write. So as you consider taking up the challenge of NaNoWriMo, focus on that. If you’re a writer, it makes perfect sense that you would write a lot every day—even enough to complete 50,000 words in a month.
To boost your desire to succeed, imagine how winning this challenge will make you feel about your own identity. With 50,000 words written down—no matter how good or bad they are—you will have proved your mettle. You will have managed to put writing first for a full month.
After that, it will be easier to embrace the identity of “writer.” Doesn’t that sound good?
5. Put desire boosters everywhere!
This is the time to pull out all the stops. Decorate your writing nook, home, office, car, and everywhere else you live with affirmations, motivational quotes, statements of will, pictures of successful writers, and anything else that will keep you motivated through the next four weeks.
Then every night, write a list of two benefits of writing this book of yours. Take just five minutes to write down any benefit you can think of, and then post it somewhere you can see it. You may want to keep a running list on the refrigerator. Some examples:
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- It gets me writing every day.
- It’s great practice.
- It gives me an excuse to write regularly.
- It helps me write at a faster pace.
- It creates discipline around my writing practice.
- It forces me to improve my time management.
- It allows me to finally write the story that’s been in my heart forever.
Remember Your Writing is Completely Under Your Control
Finally, no matter what happens, remember that your writing is completely in your control. Whether you “win” NaNoWriMo or not, use the challenge as a reason to dive into your writing and have fun with it. Use it to jumpstart your story, establish a regular writing practice, and serve as a starting point for a long future as a writer.
“NaNoWriMo 2009 changed my life,” says author and podcaster Joanna Penn. “It gave me the courage to write badly and to start writing fiction, to put words on the page and to let the ideas flow. I have spent most of this year reworking those ideas, but that month started the process. Without it, I may still be saying ‘I wish I could write a novel’ or ‘I only write non-fiction.’ If you have a dream to write a novel, I urge you to register for NaNoWriMo and get started on Nov 1st!”
Will you participate in NaNoWriMo this year?
Sources
Chew, L. (2017, March 6). The Most Important Thing That Determines Your Success in Any Endeavour. Retrieved from https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/the-most-important-thing-that-determines-your-success-in-any-endeavour/
Kieffer, K. (2018, October 3). Eight Reasons to Participate In NaNoWriMo. Retrieved from https://www.well-storied.com/blog/participate-in-nanowrimo
Penn, J. (2014, November 16). 5 Reasons You Should Do NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. Retrieved from https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/10/13/reasons-you-should-do-nanowrimo-national-novel-writing-month/