I’m Going to Force Myself to Write an 80,000 Word Novel in 30 Days

Like many authors and writers, I sometimes leave a project half-finished… if I had even bothered to start it in the first place.

When I was cleaning my desk the other day I came across a notebook I made when I first read the writing guide Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. I had filled almost every page of this 130-page notebook with notes from the book and more than two dozen complete novel outlines.

That has been left to gather dust for almost two years now.

I have decided that I am not going to sit on these anymore, and with no ongoing projects for the month of March I have decided I am going to finish one of these outlines, and the whole novel start to end in one month since I have a project scheduled to be started April 1st, I really have no choice but to have the novel completed by then.

My goal is to write a minimum of 2,700 words every day of the month of March and celebrate on the 31st before beginning April's project the following day.

I have seen many attempts to write a novel in a month, especially for the rational NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which the end goal of those 30 days is to write a 50,000 novel. I myself have taken part in NaNoWriMo for the past 7 years, sometimes winning and sometimes losing, but the novel is never long enough for me to feel it has any real potential. My goal of 80,000 words gives me the space to really tell a story and push my fast drafting limits.

The Goal:

80,000 words in 30 days

The Plan:

Fast draft and don’t look back. No re-reading paragraphs or hitting the backspace key because I didn’t like the way something came out.

I'm even going to the extreme and writing this entire novel on my Neo Alphasmart. A no-nonsense writing aid that is nothing but a small screen and a keyboard I received as a gift from my wonderful partner after completing my first novel.

At the end of each week, I'll connect it to my computer and import the document into a Google Docs file just for safekeeping and future editing.

My favorite thing about writing on an Alphasmart?

No internet distractions and editing as you write is a big pain since there is no cursor to move through the story easily. It's writing in its basic form, other than handwriting and if it wasn't for the fact my handwriting is atrocious I would have considered it.

Am I insane?

Yes, probably. Although no matter what, at the end of this challenge, there will be one less page in my notebook filled with an unwritten story and maybe I'll have the drive I need to complete more if all goes well.

However, with an outline in hand and a cup of coffee ready and waiting for me it’s time to start day one.

Wish me the best of luck!

I'm going to need it.

With love,

B. K. xo

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