Guest Post: Joely Sue Burkhart – “Winning” NaNoWriMo Doesn’t Have to Be 50K

If you’ve never participated in NaNoWriMo before, the energy is contagious.  It’s an incredible community, and it’s so exciting to sit up late 10/31, fingers hovering over the keyboard just waiting for midnight to hit so you can race out to get those first words.

But let’s face it.  50K can be tough to get in a month (and plenty of years I’ve had to work November 1st and couldn’t stay up until all hours of the night writing anyway).

A nice pace for me is about 1K a day, though I can push harder and get more words.  Other days, it’s all I can do to muster 500 words.  We all have jobs, families, and real life crises that frankly couldn’t care less if we’re trying to get our 50K in November.  I even planned out my work schedule for the year so I could take 9 days of vacation in November — only to find out that there’s a good chance I’ll have to take a business trip for the Evil Day Job the week of November 18th.

Great.  Now what?

Well, there are other ways to “win” at NaNoWriMo even if you’re afraid 50K is out of reach.

Set a concrete goal and use the energy of NaNoWriMo to plow your way to completion.  Maybe you need to finish a wip that’s stalled.  Or you have a hard edit pass hanging over your head.  Technically you’re supposed to start a brand new project from scratch for NaNoWriMo, so these goals aren’t going to win you an official winner’s badge.  But if you can set a goal and then FINISH it, that’s a win.  One year I missed the 50K word count, but I finished three outstanding projects.  It was great to clear those things off my plate!

Increase your daily word count.  Say 500 words a day is your normal pace.  If you’re terrified of trying to hit 1666 a day for an entire month, just try doubling your word count.  You’re still going to come out way ahead than if you’d done nothing and I always count several extra thousand words a victory.

Try something new.  Use the excitement of NaNoWriMo to explore a new genre, quick start a new project/series, or just explore something that’s fun.  Sometimes as working writers we get so bogged down in deadlines and series and commitments that it’s nice to write something just for me for one month.  It’s a gift to myself and feeds my creative side.  And who knows, that “something new” might just pan out to be a terrific sale (an inspiring NaNoWriMo victory from Lynn Viehl).

I participate in NaNoWriMo each year with the full intention of writing something that’s publishable at some point, even if I’m starting something for myself with no strings attached.  What’s the value in hitting 50K and “winning” if you’re disappointed in the final project and have no idea how to salvage it?  I’d much rather miss the word count…but have a salable project at the end of November.  I don’t always hit 50K — but I’ve been able to take several completed NaNoWriMo projects and publish them.  Now that’s a win!

So don’t be afraid of the 50K word count.  Set a goal that works for your life and start your engines on November 1st!  Who knows what great story lies inside you just waiting for the opportunity to find its way onto the page?

Joely Sue Burkhart has always loved heroes who hide behind a mask, the darker and more dangerous the better. Whether cool, sophisticated billionaire, brutal bloodthirsty assassin, or simply a man tortured by his own needs, they all wear masks to protect themselves. Once they finally give you a peek into the passionate, twisted secrets they’re hiding, they always fall hard and fast. Dare to look beneath the mask with delicious BDSM in a wide variety of genres with Joely on her website, Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to check out her free reads! Lord Regret’s Price will be available Dec. 17th from Samhain.

Joely is offering an early ARC of her upcoming Samhain release in any e format. Comment for a chance to win!