NaNoWriMo – quantity over quality perhaps?

November is NaNoWriMo month when various organisations from bookshops to libraries come together to encourage us to write that novel which we’ve harboured for years, bursting to get out. The idea is that you write 50,000 words in November, no excuses.

I do support the principal and I know it has led to many achieving their dream of publication so I’m not knocking it. But I can’t help thinking it’s another example of our modern world wanting everything fast and now.

If you have a publisher and a deadline then fair enough, you’ve got to be extremely disciplined and write targeted amounts of words. But the beauty of your first novel, of being an ‘amateur’ is that you can give yourself time for both your writing and your story to evolve. My advice would be – ‘Don’t worry about the time it takes you, worry about the quality.’

Sometimes the best thing you can do with your manuscript is take a break from it, put it down for a few weeks then come back with fresh eyes and ideas. Give yourself time to let the story develop, if the characters are naturally pulling it one way and you’ve written it another, don’t worry – follow your gut and re-write that section, even if that means you’re still at 20,000 words come December.

Keep going, don’t give up but enjoy the fact that there’s no deadline with your first novel – this is your time to learn your craft. Take a deep breath, have a glass of wine and/or a large bar of chocolate, walk the dogs, sleep on it, inspiration will come. But sometimes it can’t be rushed.