NaNoWriMo 2016 Draws Near

It’s getting close to November.
 
That means NaNoWriMo.
 
That’s National Write a Novel Month for those who don’t know.
 
It got started in 1999 and last year more than 231,000 people took part, many of them finishing a 50,000-word novel…or at least a good start to one.
 
Wow…50,000 words.
 
That’s like 200 pages…maybe more!
 
How in the hell do you do that?
 
I’ll be honest – you have to make yourself…and we’ll discuss that more in a bit.
 
I’ve made myself do it since 2013 and looking at my NaNo stats I see that I’ve written 198,162 total words in that time.
 
That’s produced 3 books.
 
I’ve published all of those books and each year they do better in sales.
 
Here’s a look at my NaNo results:
 

• 2013: Tarot Card Killer, 50 total sales
• 2014: Dulce Base, 176 sales
• 2015: Colter’s Friend, 461 sales

 
So each year I write a better book…if you go by sales.
 
Those sales have translated into $1,700 of income for me.
 
So really, I cannot complain – 687 sales on books I’ve written in just one month.
 
Oftentimes I finish in 3 weeks.
 
Typically I take the approach of doing 1,667 words a day, though I usually get closer to 2,500.
 
I keep myself doing that by using a daily counter. People on my site can see that, and while I don’t think anyone cares, I like to pretend they do.
 
It keeps me in line and keeps me writing. It holds me accountable, and when you’re doing NaNo, that’s one of the hardest things.
 
If you want more tips, check out this detailed post called NaNoWriMo Strategies for Finishing a Novel in Less Than a Month
 

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So…back to those 50,000 words.
 
It’s a lot, isn’t it?
 
Many on November 1 start writing but not as many finish at the end of the month with those 50,000 words written down.
 
So how do you do it?
 
How do you keep going?
 
Lots of the time we write fluff, or boring scenes that are primarily meant to get us to our daily word count…which in this case is 1,667.
 
I’ve done this a lot, trying to get my NaNo word count goal for each day.
 
I’m not sure I want to do that this year…write fluff and boring scenes and filler until the next fun part that readers like.
 
That’s the problem with pushing yourself each day when you might not have ideas.
 
One of my weaknesses is writing boring characters, or lots of characters that are the same. Readers can’t tell ‘em apart and I often can’t remember ‘em.
 
So that’s something to watch out for.
 
Still, if you don’t push through each day…perhaps the story will never get written.
 
So it’s a constant struggle, with yourself and your writing and that damn clock and calendar telling you that time’s a wastin’.
 
All of that makes me wonder…do I want to do NaNo at all?
 
That thought’s going through my head (as it does each year around this time).
 
Still, I’ve went ahead and declared my new novel on the NaNo site and given it a synopsis.
 
It’ll be “Manuel’s Money,” the book I’ve been working on off-and-on since August.
 
It’s Book 10 of the Mountain Man Series and I have about 20,000 words on it now, or around 90 pages.
 
I hope to get it up into the 50,000-word range, which might be 230 pages on Kindle.
 
That’s the goal and I’m sure I’ll do it.
 
Don’t ask me how, as I have no idea where this current story is going at the moment.
 
Perhaps you’re the same way.
 
Any NaNo plans this year…or just November as usual?