The Habits and Routines of NaNoWriMo Winners

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. After November 2018, our sponsor RescueTime put together some stats from NaNoWriMo writers who used their platform during the month. Here are a few of the interesting facts that RescueTime unearthed about the NaNoWriMo writers they surveyed:

What makes NaNoWriMo so special is that no matter what level of writer you are—amateur or professional—everyone has the same 30 days to write a staggering 50,000-word novel.

And while the time constraint makes NaNoWriMo a massive undertaking, it’s also an opportunity to see how those who hit their goal effectively spend that time.

With 58% of RescueTime users reporting that they hit their NaNoWriMo goal in 2018, we dug into how they spent their time, built routines, and stayed motivated through the entire month.

1. Winners wrote more during the first days. 

One of the key pieces of writing advice you hear from NaNoWriMo veterans is to hit the ground running. The first few days are an important chance to get ahead on your daily word count and set the tone for the rest of the month.

Every NaNoWriMo winner we looked at wrote consistently for the first four days and hit an average of 1 hour and 30 minutes per day. On the other hand, only 74% of non-winners wrote during the first four days of the month and for an average time of 1 hour and 12 minutes.

That might not sound like much of a difference. However, when you add that 20 minutes extra a day up across the entire month, winners had an average of 10 extra hours spent on writing during NaNoWriMo.

2. Consistency is key: Winners missed nearly 50% fewer days (and almost never missed two in a row).

While everyone we looked at missed at least one day of writing during the month, winners missed significantly less.

Our data showed that NaNoWriMo winners only missed an average of 2.7 days of writing over the entire month. Non-winners, on the other hand, missed 4 or more days.

Again, it wasn’t just raw missed days that counted. Winners seemed more likely to bounce back after missing a day of writing. In fact, only 30% of winners missed two or more days or writing in a row compared to 73% of non-winners.

3. Every single winner had at least one 3-hour+ writing day.

Not only were NaNoWriMo winners more likely to hit the ground running, more consistent in their writing habit, and better at bouncing back after missing a day of writing, but they also were more likely to put in long hours during writing sessions.

Without fail, every NaNoWriMo winner had at least one day where they wrote for 3 or more hours (while only 80% of non-winners had at least one 3-hour day).

Of course, these weren’t the only factors involved in determining who reached the NaNoWriMo finish line. Job obligations, health issues, and taking on too much at once can all get in the way of your writing routine. But looking at traits that NaNoWriMo winners share can help you achieve your writing goals!

Read the full post on the RescueTime blog.

Jory MacKay is a writer, content marketer, and editor of the RescueTime blog.