My Unconventional Plans for NaNoWriMo 2023

NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, is an annual challenge to write a 50,000-word first draft of a novel during the month of November. I want to participate in the festive writing atmosphere of this event, BUT writing a first draft of a new novel is not a high priority for me right now. So, here's what I'll be doing instead...

My Goals

Instead of writing a first draft of a novel, I want to accomplish the following writing objectives:

1. Write and post on Vocal Media 9 times this month. When I first started writing on here, I said I was going to post twice a week. I then proceeded to get somewhat far behind schedule... I now am planning to post only once per week, but I also want to catch up on posts that I "should have" posted earlier (mostly because I have so many ideas I'm excited about! :) Starting in December I will actually cut back to posting only once per week). In addition to a variety of other reading/writing themed posts, I plan to post weekly updates on my NaNoWriMo progress.
2. Set up an email newsletter and design + order bookmark "business cards" (I'll let you know when this is ready!) This is more of a writing business goal than a writing goal per se, but it would be very ideal if I could accomplish this in the next 2 days (i.e. before my free trial of Canva Pro expires...), so I'm adding it to the list.
3. Re-plot my novel. I currently have a completed first draft of a murder mystery. However, I have realized that many of the events and plot arcs need to be rearranged in order to create a better flow and structure for the story. I will be doing this in preparation for the next step...
4. Write/create my second draft! I plan to create a second draft out of both chunks of text from the first draft and new text that is needed to fill in the gaps. I am very excited about this! The first draft is kind of total chaos, so I am really looking forward to getting it into shape as more of a real book manuscript! I'm pretty sure I won't be able to finish this during November, but I think I'll be able to make good progress, and I'll continue working on it in December and January if needed.

Daily Habits

One of the best things about NaNoWriMo is that it strongly encourages an atmosphere of focused writing intensity. Normally, this means striving for the 50k word count. Instead, because my goals for the month are so varied, I plan to have a time-based goal. My goal will be to write 4 hours per day on weekdays and 1 hour per day on weekends. (Note: if you're wondering how this is possible, it's because I am not currently working another job. After (mostly) recovering from a couple of years of serious medical issues, I am now focused on getting in business as a writer/content creator/novelist!)

I will keep you all updated on my progress throughout this month. And good luck with your own NaNoWriMo adventures! :)

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Will you be participating in NaNoWriMo or another writing challenge this month? Let me know, and then we can cheer each other on! :)

If you're feeling discouraged about your writing, you might like my posts You Are a Real Writer and No Views? No Problem!. And/or feel free to comment your stresses below, and I will try to help! (As a former severely depressed person, I have a lot of experience with self-doubt and bad self-esteem.)