What Writing a Novel in 30 Days Taught Me

This past November, I became a 4-time winner of National Novel Writing Month. Participants earn the title of “winner” for NaNoWriMo, as it is affectionately called, by writing 50,000 words of fiction over the 30 days of November. It’s pretty much as simple as that. (Please note that I said simple… not easy!) Winners are awarded a prize of a PDF certificate that you can write your name on, some snazzy digital images of winner badges, an amazing clip of the people from NaNoWriMo headquarters clapping for you, and an extreme sense of accomplishment.

But winning NaNoWriMo has taught me more than that I can write 50,000 words of fiction in thirty days. It’s taught me a whole lot more about myself than I ever expected.

The Feeling Of Completing Something That You’ve Always Wanted To Do.

I was first introduced to NaNoWriMo while teaching at a high school in 2010. I was rereading The Great Gatsby with my students for the first time since I had read it in high school myself. I remember being awed with an appreciation for the beauty of the writing as I reread the pages — much more than I had been when I first read it in high school.

I happened to comment to a friend of mine that I would love to write a book as artistic as that someday. Without missing a beat, she promptly informed me that, as it so happened, National Novel Writing Month started in just one week. Thinking that I had pretty much blundered my way into a verbal contract without realizing it, I felt like I had to say yes. So I did it. I committed to the process.

Over the next 30 days of November 2010, I went from thinking that it would be impossible to write 50,000 words of my own fiction to actually accomplishing it. I still have a picture of myself at 10:12 pm on November 30 with my laptop open to my 50,350-word document and a ridiculous grin on my face.

Chris Baty, NaNo’s founder, says that writing a novel is a “one-day” activity. As in, “One day, I’ll do it.” I’ve discovered that it’s an amazing feeling when you can say that you actually did that “one-day” thing you’ve wanted to do for years.

The Importance Of Giving Yourself Permission To Be Bad At Something.

One of Chris Baty’s philosophies about writing is that you need to give yourself permission to write a bad novel before you can write a good novel. I have fallen in love with this idea, and it has really shined a light on an insidious misconception about art that I have struggled with for a long time.

When we pick up a really amazing novel, we tend to have a subconscious thought that the author just sat down and typed it out on the first go and then shipped it off to the publisher in all of its shining brilliance. The same goes for when we see a really talented performance artist. We tend to think that they just walked on stage with their 15-minute set, which just came to them. That they didn’t have to work at all at getting as good as they are, and that they must have just been born with their ability.

But the reality is that things are never really good the first time around for anyone. That writer labored for hours over every word in that manuscript. That standup comedian has performed that same piece hundreds or even thousands of times before that one time that you saw them do it. You are only seeing their finished product, not the countless hours or years of stumbling, toil, awfulness, and emotional turmoil that it took for them to get there. Then you unwittingly compare your first attempt to the brilliance of their 1,000th.

Often, the first time you try things, they are going to be awful! But it is only in pushing through the awfulness that we can create amazing art. One of my favorite quotes is from Ira Glass, where he talks about this.

Over the course of my NaNo experiences, there were so many moments where I produced horrible and clichéd writing. I wrote things down and cringed at how awful they were as I was writing them. But there were also moments where I looked back on what I wrote and thought to myself, “Wow! That’s pretty darn good… I wrote that!?” I would never have been able to get to the really good passages if I hadn’t given myself permission to first write the really bad ones.

Little Goals Consistently Followed Land Major Results.

I also forced myself to write (almost) every day, even if I didn’t feel like it. Writing 50,000 words is hard. But writing 1,667 words a day is surprisingly doable. And to be honest, it wasn’t always 1,667 words a day. One day I wrote 45 words, then promptly went to bed. One day I wrote over 4,000 words and felt on top of the world. There were even a couple days that life got in the way, I wrote zero words, and I had to remind myself to forgive myself for not being so perfect. But for the most part, I showed up every day and wrote.

Don’t be fooled. I do not always have this level of dedication, though. That novel I wrote in 2010? It also sat unedited for close to a decade because I felt the task of editing a 120-page manuscript would be impossible and not very enjoyable. I recently picked it up, though, and decided to dedicate just 10 minutes a night to editing it. 10 minutes frequently turned into 30 or 90 minutes without my realization, and in the span of just 3 weeks, I had most of it finally edited.

I think this speaks to so many things in life. A few steps turn into a great journey after a long enough time. If we first wait for the inspiration to do something, more than likely, that day will never come. Write even when you don’t feel like writing. Go for that run even if you don’t feel like running. Work out even when you don’t feel like working out. Eventually, you’ll look back on how far you are from where you started and be grateful you committed to the practice.

Community Is More Valuable Than You Might Realize.

One of the great things about NaNo is the sense of community the organization has built. Some people who participate have won ten times, others are just trying it out for the first time, and there are some people who have participated for ten years and haven’t won yet. The point is that hooking into this community can give you a sense of belonging and support when the chips are down, and you are struggling with your art.

Often, when I have shared my struggles and was vulnerable with the NaNo community, it has made other people feel like they could come forward with their struggles too. Often, they were going through the same issues with their writing that I was, and it felt wonderful to be able to connect over our struggles and help each other out. It made us feel less alone and that there was a deeper meaning and a sense of purpose behind the things that we all going through.

And What Looks Impossible To You Might Just Be Possible.

I honestly thought I would not be able to do this before I tried. But I did it. Four times! The fascinating thing is that now I have this little piece of evidence that what I legitimately thought was impossible actually isn’t. Now I have the ability to call into question everything else that I think might be impossible for me.

I never thought of myself as a novelist before. If I can win NaNoWriMo, then what else might I be capable of? It makes me wonder what other things I might be able to achieve if I really try my hand at them.

My question to you is…

Is there something you’ve wanted to do “one day?” Are you longing to do something but are too afraid to try because you think it’s impossible? Are you not trying something because you fear that you might be bad at it or were actually bad at it the first few times?

Find a support community for guidance, commit to small actions, set challenging yet attainable goals, follow through with consistency, and give yourself permission to not be as perfect as your idols. You might just end up with a piece of evidence that you can use to prove to yourself that what you thought was impossible is actually quite possible.