(Originally included in a separate post of this article on my NaNoWriMo profile)
What you have just read is now, as of this writing, five years old. I found it while going through some of my old journals. I can't remember if I posted it online somewhere else when I originally wrote it or not, so it's making it's home online now, just shy of one week before NaNoWriMo 2014.
The main reason I'm posting this now is to encourage you to never give up. Why? Because after finishing NaNoWriMo 2009 and writing the necessary 50,000 words to win, I ended up laying the whole project aside. Many things were going on in my life that caused me much trouble and heartache, and I was never able to get the steam back in my sails that would spur me on to complete my novel.
That is until October 2014 when I began again. After much personal success in writing in personal journals, online blogs, articles, etc., as well as studying and researching many of the writing books I retained over the years and various online blogs of popular self-published writers such as Joanna Penn, who has a wealth of information and interviews with other equally inspiring authors in the self-publishing field, I have finally regained the confidence needed to continue on with my original novel and am determined (stubbornly) to see it through to its completion.
Also, after having worked on my Bluegrass Guitar Essentials course for over a year, I'm ready to change directions and have allotted myself the entire year in 2015 to complete my novel. I feel that anything else would be unsatisfactory.
In 2006, I attempted to write my very first novel apart from NaNoWriMo but gave up on it because I didn't really have a direction to take the story. Again, in 2009, I quit my NaNoWriMo novel shortly after the event ended, but, thankfully, I retained all of the files and notes, so I'm determined not to see all my hard work go to waste so easily this time.
Lastly, the discovery of an amazing software I've been trying out for the last month, called Scrivener, has been one of the best things I've found to aid me in the completion and organization of this and other future works of both fiction and non-fiction alike. It's very discouraging and daunting to keep track of all those files in an ordinary word processing program like Microsoft Office or OpenOffice; Scrivener takes care of this with it's own unique filing system.
(Keep in mind, though, that Scrivener has a bit of a learning curve, so if you need help getting started or just want to see how far you can push the envelope, click the External Link to check out the guy who's quickly become known as "The Scrivener Coach": Joseph Michael of Learn Scrivener Fast.)
So I encourage each one who reads this to join along with me this year during NaNoWriMo. I won't be participating in creating a new novel, and therefore won't be entering the competition, but having an entire month dedicated to writing is one of the best motivators I could ask for. Best of success to everyone out there who attempts—and completes—this amazing journey with me.
Eric Beaty
October 28, 2014
YOU ARE READING
How to WIN at NaNoWriMo: A Month in the Life of A NaNoWriMo Participant
Non-FictionDoes the term NaNoWriMo mean anything to you? If you're a writer-especially a young writer-who's been online for the past 15 years, then it probably does. In 2009, I set out to finally achieve my goal of writing a novel. The premise behind Nationa...
