For NaNoWriMo, word counts or daily habits?

I took part in my first NaNoWriMo challenge in 2014. I was still finding my feet as a fiction writer, even though I had been writing fiction since 2008. But that first NaNoWriMo, I was determined to develop my daily writing routine. Challenging myself to produce a decent word count every day seemed like a good idea.

During NaNoWriMo 2014, I hit the required 50,000 words by day 11. I had finished drafting that novel by day 16, and it clocked in at over 65,000 words—still missing all the action scenes. By the end of that month, I had written in the order of 95,000 words, scenes that formed the guts to three different novels in my high fantasy series (which is still sitting in the metaphorical drawer).

Since then, I have taken part in every single NaNoWriMo and CampNaNoWriMo event, and I am now the municipal liaison for both the Christchurch, New Zealand and the New Zealand Elsewhere regions.

Yes, I am a fan of NaNoWriMo.

But as I've become more comfortable with my writing habits, I've noticed an ethos that seems to accompany many NaNoWriMo participants that can actually be damaging to a long-term writing career.

There are some writers who take the 50,000-word-count challenge to extremes, trying to write 50,000 words in one night. No joke. In my home region of Christchurch, New Zealand, there is always at least one who forgoes sleep to achieve such a crazy feat.

In my opinion, the writers who do this are not simply crazy, but are missing the point.

The focus of NaNoWriMo has become so wrapped up in word counts that many participants seem to have lost sight of the original intention behind NaNoWriMo—to write the first draft of a novel.

It's time to shake up the word-count mindset and give renewed life to the original idea by changing the measurable goal.

Are you with me?

Hard-core NaNoWriMo

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is an annual challenge where writers dedicate themselves to their craft for the month of November. Historically, the measurable challenge has been to write 50,000 words in one month, but the real goal was always something entirely different.

When NaNoWriMo first started back in 1999, it was a small group of writers who banded together in the challenge of writing the first draft of a novel within one month. Chris Baty wanted to prove to writers that such a goal was possible, but because of the wide range of novel lengths (50,000 words to over 100,000 words depending on the genre), Chris Baty defined a novel as 50,000 words.

For over 20 years, the goal of NaNoWriMo has been thought of as writing 50,000 words during the month of November. But many writers have lost sight of what the original challenge was—to write the first draft of a novel.

But there is another aspect of the NaNoWriMo challenge that is often ignored, and that's forming a daily habit of writing.

If you read through the wisdom provided by Chris Baty and countless other writers about writing productivity, the key to a successful writing career is writing every day. While having a word-count goal does help, when we become fixated on that word count, we can lose sight of what it is we are trying to do. And that's write!

NaNoWriMo is about forging sustainable writing habits. The word-count goal works for some writers, but not all. If focusing on word counts is going to set you up for failure, then think about whether that word-count goal is right for you.

Shifting the goals from word counts to time spent on writing-related activities…

During CampNaNoWriMo April 2018, participants were given the option to track their progress in hours. For those working on editing projects or illustrations, or just doing research, a word-count goal made no sense. But when you track your progress in terms of hours, it suddenly becomes freeing to your writing process.

You no longer feel guilty about looking up some random detail to help make your scene feel more realistic. It also gives you the permission to take the time and do some rudimentary editing as you go.

Every day, I keep a diary of how much time I have spent on various activities associated with my writing and editing career. I have monthly and weekly targets defining the time I want to spend on my main project for that month. If I fail to hit my goals, then I go back and look at what was taking up too much of my time.

(FYI, my biggest time sink is not social media like I thought it was. It's fluffing around with emails and fiddling with already edited manuscripts that are being queried. Although, social media does impact on my productivity too.)

When drafting a new manuscript, I do set word-count goals too, but only because I know from experience that I need my first drafts to clock in at approximately 120,000 words. I overwrite—I know this—but it's part of my process. During my first round of edits that over-bloated manuscript is hacked to pieces, bringing it down to a respectable 95,000 words.

But if my main project for that month is the fiddly copyediting (where word counts don't really change) or plotting out a new novel, or doing research for a different project, then word counts are not a good measure of my productivity.

Are you starting to see why measuring time spent on writing activities can be a little more freeing than focusing on word counts?

Going NaNoWriMo Rebel… all the way!

This NaNoWriMo, I declare myself to be a NaNoWriMo Rebel in a BIG WAY!

This year, I'm not aiming for 50,000 words in one month. That's not a challenge for me. Staying focused on the one project, however… There's a challenge.

Oh, look, something shiny!

This year, I'm aiming for a minimum of 50 hours on my chosen project. That's approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes per day.

To make it easy for entering that time into the NaNoWriMo system, one hour equals 1000 words.

This is not a measure of my average writing speed, which can range anywhere between 600 to 2500 words per hour depending on the project that I'm writing. The one-hour-equals-1000-words conversion is just a calculation for the NaNoWriMo system.

15 minutes equals 250 words.

30 minutes equals 500 words.

45 minutes equals 750 words.

One hour equals 1000 words.

One hour and 30 minutes equals 1500 words.

And for those who write in short little bursts:

5 minutes equals 83 words.

10 minutes equals 166 words.

20 minutes equals 333 words.

But let's say 50 hours across a month is too much for you, regardless of the reason. Then aim for a different number that suits you and your daily routine.  Don't set yourself up to fail.

To help you work out what your NaNoWriMo counts would be for your writing sessions, I’ve created an online calculator for you. Specify your target for the month, enter your writing session start and end time (or the total time spent), and the calculator will return your NaNoWriMo word count.