NaNoBlog 1: Riding the High

Awesome! It's November. You know what that means?

That's right, it means that I'm gonna grow a beard.

...No wait, that's not right... Oh yeah, I remember! It's National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. You can find their website at www.nanowrimo.org and can learn more about it there. Basically, NaNoWriMo (NaNo for short) is a challenge for anyone who is or wants to be a writer to write a 50,000 word novel in a month.

Sounds crazy, but it's totally achievable.

Basically you only need to write 1667 words every day for 30 consecutive days to have a first draft of a novel completed. Makes it seem more attainable, doesn't it?

Okay, so now that I've got that out of the way, it still seems insane. Which it probably is. But in a good way. You now have motivation to write that story you've been wanting to write for months or weeks or years. So now is your chance. But what happens when you start?

Oh trust me, you will be pumped. Or nervous. Or both.

Relax a little, everything is going to be fine. Don't get discouraged. You have to remember that NaNoWriMo is about quantity not quality. Just get those words out of your brain. Editing comes later.

So you've started to write your story now. Feels good, doesn't it? If you're lucky, you won't have too many distractions. Believe me when I say that once you start to get those words out, and get those creative juices flowing, you won't want to stop.

Ride that high. It won't last all month. Take this elated time to write as much as you possibly can. Trust me, getting ahead in the first few days will make staying ahead in the next few weeks a lot easier.

Then there are all the support groups online and in person. I live in the YYC area, which is awesome because we have meet-ups to do writing. There is food (because it's always at a restaurant, or sometimes, a library) and friendly people in the same ridiculous boat as you. And we have miniature contests to see who can write the most words in a set amount of time. It's all rather enjoyable.

And then there's caffeine.

You might not feel like you need it yet, but trust me, after a few days you'll want it. (Or whatever stimulant you usually use, like coffee, tea, chocolate etc.)

So I guess in conclusion, I'm trying to tell you to ride the high you'll feel in the first few days. I know I am. It's pretty fantastic.

Happy writing everyone!

Kai Kiriyama is a writer and a generally geeky girl. She likes to read books by the fire and playing Pokemon on her DS. She invites everyone to friend her on the NaNoWriMo forums, her user name is KaliYuga. She also has a blog which she is attempting to keep updated and you can find it at thekiriyamaheir.blogspot.com she also has a youtube channel which she hoped will be updated with a video blog on her life during NaNo, her channel is thekiriyamaheir. Kai also insists that you find her author page on facebook (Author: Kai Kiriyama) and her twitter which is @thekiriyamaheir. There, no reason for you not to talk to at least ONE person during NaNo! Kai Kiriyama sends you all the warmest wishes and good luck hugs.