Prepare for National Novel Writing Month with the Post a Day Challenge
November marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a project in which thousands of writers around the world work toward completing a 50,000-word novel by November 30th. Sound like something you want to get in on?
Whoa. That’s 1,667 words per day. I’m not ready for that!
We hear you — writing a whole novel is a pretty big undertaking. So why not gear up for the project by starting the WordPress.com Post a Day Challenge this October? It’s a great way to meet others in the WordPress.com community, including writers who have completed NaNoWriMo in the past.
At The Daily Post, home of the Post a Day Challenge, we provide creative inspiration each and every day. You can also find tons of writing prompts at Plinky.com, so you never have to worry about running out of ideas. Participating in Post a Day is also a great opportunity to prepare outlines, character sketches, and research before starting your novel in November.
How am I supposed to complete a decent novel in a single month?
According to the folks at NaNoWriMo, “It’s all about quantity, not quality. This approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly. Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.”
Think of it this way: Would you rather write an imperfect-but-complete novel, or no novel at all? Besides, if you get in the habit of posting daily throughout October, you’ll be well-equipped to start chipping away at a novel in November.
Bring it on! How do I sign up?
To join the WordPress.com Post a Day Challenge, visit The Daily Post. (The challenge began back in January but you can start any time.)
NaNoWriMo 2011 begins on November 1. Visit NaNoWriMo.org for information on how to register (the initiative is not run by WordPress.com). If you decide to write your novel on your blog and want to make it easy for others to check out your writing, tag your posts with nanowrimo2011.
What else should I do to prepare?
To create a brand new (and optionally private) blog for the writing challenge, make sure you’re logged in to WordPress.com, then start a new blog. If you don’t have a WordPress.com account yet, get started here.
If you’d like to make your blog look more like a book, you might be interested in purchasing the Chapters theme. Remember that you also have the option to set up a static front page (in place of your posts page) on your blog’s home page, if you’d like to use it to display a table of contents, for example.
So what do you think, are you up for the challenge?
October 3rd, 2011 at 7:09 pm
I have always had a few ideas for a novel, but I am not that great of a writer. Maybe this is a good chance to give it a shot!
October 3rd, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Last year I took on NaNo, sweating the challenge, finishing with 60,000 words. But I had yet to create my blog.
I want to NaNo again. Any clues how to do it again and keep the wheels spinning on my blog?
Yeah, I’ve read the great advice, “Get ahead by 25 posts.” Not happening here.
Signed,
Clueless NaNo Lover
October 3rd, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Sure, here’s a list of 5 easy ways to blog when you’re busy. Remember that you can also schedule a post on days when you know you’re going to be cramped for time.
October 3rd, 2011 at 9:31 pm
I’m in!
October 4th, 2011 at 12:52 am
As a NaNoer who is going to be blogging throughout November, here are my thoughts: Don’t shoot for 60k this year, and write ahead what you can. See how much of a blogging stockpile you can have waiting by Nov 1st.
And truly? It’ll be tough. But we WriMos are a tough crew, aye? See you at the finish!
October 4th, 2011 at 2:00 am
It’s official, I have signed up for NaNoWriMo. My daily word count has been going up steadily in the few days since I began. Let’s get this party started!
October 4th, 2011 at 5:16 am
I love the concept. I’ll have time to write this winter. So after a life of procrastinating, I’m going to do a book. But it’s won’t be a novel; it will be nonfiction. I don’t know if it will require 50,000 words. (I hope not.) Although I’ve never written a book before, I do know from experience that most writing projects, especially my blog posts, end up using far more words than I planned to write when I started out. And realistically, I’m not going to try to write it all in November. But I am aiming for Spring publication, going the Indie route. I’m going to write a book. Really, I am. Believe it.
October 4th, 2011 at 7:08 am
it seems a nice information..i think i’ll share on it
October 4th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
This year I am taking part in the nanowrimo for the first time.
I hope I finish it off within a month! 8)
And by the way I also atarted off a blog to help the participants of nanowrimo. http://pronovelist.wordpress.com
I was pretty active in that particular blog- made a post every two days. I hope I can continue posting with the same spirit the next month too. Nano’s gonna bite off a large chunk of my time!
October 4th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
this is the right path to share my stories..participating is a big honor for me..!!!
October 4th, 2011 at 4:53 pm
For at least one year now I’ve been telling myself to blog one of my unpublished novels and always got caught up in travel posts. Love the idea to blog a novel. When I used to use an ordinary typewriter I believe i was far more creative…didn’t have the edit button as i do now on my comp. Thanks!
October 4th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
I think this is a great idea! I have been part of the post-a-day2011 challenge since August and I haven’t missed a day. It’s been a struggle sometimes. I am not sure how this challenge will affect my post-a-day work. If anyone out there has done NaNoWriMo before, please let me know about your experience.
Thanks
Shari
October 4th, 2011 at 8:10 pm
I’m gonna give it a go, and in English too even though it’s not my first language. Will be a perfect opportunity to try and write in English without scrutinizing every word. And also to get my fingers going, because if not for NaNoWriMo they would probably just lay still in my lap all November while I’m glued to Grey’s Anatomy.
October 4th, 2011 at 9:48 pm
I Think Im in
October 4th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
I try NaNoWriMo every November and never make it to 50K. Maybe this will be the year!
October 4th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
Hmm, 1,667 a day is a lot but I’m working on other challenges so I will take this on. Video game and a post a day. Let’s do this!
October 5th, 2011 at 4:22 am
This sounds AWESOME. I’m in.
October 5th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Hello, Just want to say this is a great post, as someone like myself who is looking to start writing more and maybe make a living form it, this is a really good Information post and i am glad i came across it. I have alot of ideas,more than my head can manage at times,lol. I mostly write my stories over on HubPages. GoodLuck to all that take part and happy writing.
October 6th, 2011 at 1:04 am
I’m SO in!
October 6th, 2011 at 11:20 am
Hey, I’ve just discovered that WordPress has been running PostAWeek all year. I post every week anyway. Didn’t know I was doing anything special !
In my opinion, if you don’t automatically keep coming up with something you want to say, then blogging is not for you.
And unless you’re always coming up with stories, and noticing people’s foibles, then novel writing is not for you.
I’m always watching people and imagining stories about them. But I never think of a sustained ‘plot’ with a strong story arc, and tension/ relaxation, light/ dark, humour/ serious, to keep readers page turning. Nor would I have good control of any sort of unstructured ‘modern writing’ scheme, or have anything sufficiently interesting to say about life to keep people reading it. There’s no point me even thinking of writing a novel. I’m definitely a non-fiction writer.
But Best Wishes to all who are trying
October 6th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
This is a great idea. I will definitely participate in NaNoWriMo this year. It took me far too long to crunch out my first novel because I allowed my inner naysayer too much freedom. I believe this will be a liberating experience.
October 6th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
I had never heard of NaNoWriMo until a few days ago, and having always wanted to write a novel, here I am. I am still a bit reluctant to tell friends and family what I’m doing, so that at the end of the month I can either a) impress them or b) pretend that it never happened. It was only from blogging today that I have decided to write a novel for children.
October 6th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
I have a friend who has done NaNoWriMo every year for the past 4 years. I watch her with envy as she writes amazing stories like a madwoman and wonder where she gets all her ideas. I like to write just as much as she does. I have the creativity, but no drive, so I never do it. Maybe I will this year just to prove to myself I can. Maybe something great may come from it.
October 7th, 2011 at 2:11 am
I’m doing the young writers program. I’ve set my goal to 25k. I’ve done NaNo 3 times now, but never won. XD
October 7th, 2011 at 8:27 am
To be honest, in previous years my blog posts have been little more than word count updates. But hey, that still counts as a post a day entry, right?
Good luck to everyone going for NaNoWriMo 2011.
October 8th, 2011 at 8:30 am
sounds exciting! i would love to join this time, but still I have a lot of things to consider:) well then, my regards for those who already made their decision to join! take the risk, it’ll be fun that’s for sure:D
October 8th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
I hope to succeed and process my writing in the creation of a new product for my store.
Maybe you can already guess what I’m talking about.
October 8th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Here’s a challenge that we can share with other literacy groups, funding sources and supporters. “Team up” and blog that fiction novel like a story chain, passing it from to another and seeing how the story develops as a group effort. After all, the writing for The Office does pretty good as a team.
October 9th, 2011 at 1:22 am
I participated the past four years and made it to 50k twice! It’s an awesome challenge and tons of fun… I’d encourage everyone to try it. Whether you make it to 50k or not, you still end up with more than you started! And what a cool way to get psyched up for it with a Post a Day!
October 9th, 2011 at 1:56 am
I’ve been wondering how to balance blogging with NaNoWriMo. Thanks!
October 9th, 2011 at 2:52 am
This is an interesting challenge, i just joined another blogging platform like 6 weeks ago & won a contest their for Hubpages, it was called the HubNugget award so I guess why not try it again on WordPress, You never know, the content doesn’t bother me a bit I love typing away into oblivion. “I wish everyone luck & lets get typing.”
October 9th, 2011 at 10:04 am
Woop woop..looking forward to it..definately taking part
October 9th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
I’m in!
October 9th, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Someday I’ll write a novel, but I’m sticking to smaller things for now.
October 9th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
I’ve written two books. One, to get my feet wet, an autobiography which went absolutely nowhere. And my second, a mystery novel, which basically was self published and is going nowhere due to my publishers who are really the world’s worst. So, with that in mind, I still write each and every day but do so in a daily humorous blog on current events or whatever else pops into my demented mind. It’s good therapy for anyone who loves to write but does not want to deal with sleazy publishers, rejections, and the rigors of spending months writing a novel only to get rejection letters up the kazoo or unreasonable fees for self-publishing their work. I get great satisfaction at what I do, and if it were not for the great people at WordPress would not be able to express myself through my writing. misfit120.wordpress.com
October 9th, 2011 at 10:58 pm
This will be my first year participating in NaNoWriMo! It sounds like so much fun! Plus, it’s a great experience, especially for those new to writing. I hope I can hit the 50, 000 mark. The post a day challenge seems like a good way to practice.
October 10th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
If I wasn’t tied up in my own online book I’d be all over this!……………..what you mean shameless plug? Alright but a man needs to attract readers somehow
October 10th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
wow this is a great idea, i just dont know if im ready! Then again I’d love to get a push to start my book
October 10th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
What a challenge! I’m publishing pieces of a short story on my blog, and I’m barely making it. I guess this is possible if you don’t have a full time job or are a really good at multitasking. All the best to those who’ll attempt this.
October 10th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Thanks for the heads up. I usually remember or hear about NaNoWriMo well after it has begun. I am thinking of finally doing it, if a story idea manifests in the coming weeks. Good luck to everyone who will participate.
October 10th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
200,000k, here I come. (:
October 10th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
Oops. 200,000 words. Stupid k.
October 11th, 2011 at 12:42 am
Last year was my first year, and somehow I made it to 50K despite the workload of schoolwork. I actually already created a blog for NaNoWriMo before I found this, but hey, I’m still game for the post-a-day challenge.
October 13th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
The topic is very interesting
October 14th, 2011 at 7:05 am
Gah! So excited for this! This is what I live for, writing creatively when I need to be working on a speech project! That’s the life.
October 14th, 2011 at 7:06 am
The awkward moment when you realize you’re a month late…