A Rundown of NaNoWriMo

If you've been a part of any sort of writing community for very long, you've probably heard of NaNoWriMo, or as some people call it "NaNo".

You may also be wondering what this illustrious NaNo is and why there's so much talk about it—especially during certain months of the year.

If so, you've clearly stumbled onto the right blog post.

What is NaNo?

It's a website for writers, used to track word counts and reach certain goals.

It can also be used as a social outlet, where writers can find other writers and cheer each other on as they create their stories.

It can be used to track your word count at any time on any project you want.

But that's not all NaNo is.

National Novel Writing Month.

This is what NaNoWriMo stands for: National Novel Writing Month.

Every November, NaNo hosts a challenge. To win, you write a novel in a month.

Now, you don't actually have to write an entire, completed novel that month to win. You just have to write 50,000 words, which may not be your entire book.

While this sounds daunting, it's a great encourager and definitely pushes all writers to write the most they can that month. Last year, I made it to 25,000.

You don't have to win NaNo to benefit from it.

Nomatter if you reach 50,000 or barely get to 15,000, you've still written something, and that's progress.

Camp NaNo.

November isn't the only month NaNo hosts writing challenges. During the months of April and July, Camp NaNo takes place. Unlike NaNoWriMo in November, during these months everyone's word goal is set by themselves. You get to choose how many words you want to challenge yourself to write.

It's another fun event that can inspire and encourage writers to write.

Even if you don't reach your goal, you still benefit from it. Something I didn't mention before that applies to both NaNo and Camp NaNo, is that there are badges you can earn along the way. These vary from writing every single day of the month to even something as simple as updating your word count. You don't have to win to earn badges. You simply have to participate.

I took part in Camp NaNo both last April, and reached my goal of 20,000 words by the end of the month, nearly finishing the book I was working on. For July, I made the same goal with the second book in my series, and I successfully completed it. While 20,000 is far from 50,000, Camp NaNo was still beneficial to me.

The website is more than just a word count tracker.

There's lots of advice that can be found on NaNoWriMo, and during the months of NaNo, there are usually special write-ins you can attend online and even writing sprints on YouTube.

It's a tool that helps with more than just counting words.

Even if you choose not to take part in NaNo, this website is still a useful option to have.

You can find it here at nanowrimo.org.

And if you decide to sign up and would like a new buddy, you can find my account at LivingOnTheWriteSide.

I hope you found this post helpful! If you have any questions about NaNo or anything else, feel free to ask them in the contact box below.

Happy writing!

-Jocelyn