Ronit J

NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month needs absolutely no introduction. It happens thrice a year (one official, two camps), where writers and authors get to challenge themselves by writing a minimum of 50,000 words in a single month.

I’ve done this a few times now, and succeeded every single time. I’m not boasting, just being honest. If you’re curious, I talked about my manuscripts in my earlier post, some of which I wrote as part of NaNoWriMo. In fact, my debut novel was a NaNo novel I wrote in April 2023.

I’m in the middle of self-publishing my book, ‘Help! My Dog is the Chosen One!‘

Why would I decide to do NaNoWriMo in the middle of such a hectic schedule then? Read on!

NaNoWriMo Has Always Broken My Writer’s Block!

You’ve probably heard that said quite a lot. In fact, my April 2023 attempt was an example of just this.

Before April 2023, I was swamped with work. I hadn’t written a full-length novel in over 2 years! Yes, I wrote short stories, and some of them even got published, but my goal of writing novels was still incomplete.

Then, in April 2023, when I started writing my manuscript, the words flowed like a raging river. By the end of the month, I had a completed rough draft. Of course, it took months of hard work to make that draft publishable, but that’s a different matter. The point was that I needed to break my writer’s block, and NaNoWriMo helped!

I’m somewhat in the middle of another Writer’s Block.

With ‘Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One!‘ publishing on December 01, I haven’t had the time to sit and write. Even when I have the time to write, other things in my life occupy my mindspace, making it harder to concentrate on writing.

I almost always break my limits when I participate in a challenge like NaNoWriMo. It encourages me to write daily, even if I don’t meet the minimum word count. And, if I can have another completed rough draft by the end of November 2023, that’d just be a awesome, right?

Returning focus onto my main project!

Okay, so a bit of clarification here.

In 2020, I started working on my main writing project—an epic fantasy trilogy that explores certain ideas that have been cooking in my mind for the past decade. I finished writing a draft when I was 19, but it was a very juvenile and unclear version of these ideas.

Now, with years of experience and practice, I know I’m ready to tackle that story. In fact, I’ve developed that story into something much clearer, bigger, and more mature, realising my vague dreams. But I haven’t written the story. Not yet.

I wrote 12 short stories in 2022 as a world-building exercise for this main project. One of those short stories actually got published in Dark Horses Magazine Vol 22. this month!

Anyway, back to what I was saying. Working on ‘Help! My Dog is the Chosen One!’ took up so much of my time that I had stayed away from the world of my main project. When I saw the post for NaNoWriMo 2023, I thought to myself – ‘What if I use this to my benefit? What if I wrote a story set in that world. A stand-alone novel?’

The gears in my mind turned, and lo and behold — I’m writing a new novel!

It’s a healthy distraction from my anxieties

I’ve been pretty open about my anxiety. ‘Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One!’ is my debut novel, and self-publishing for the first time is a very daunting task. Hell, I just started sending out my eARCs this week and it’s making me even more anxious. My book is now going into the hands of readers and reviewers.

Writing has always been therapeutic for me. So naturally, working on a new writing project is just what I need to keep me occupied in this. I’ve only just started, and I have a long way to go, but I’m excited for this!

I know my plate is full, and I won’t beat myself up if I can’t finish this NaNoWriMo. But if I do, I’m going to have another completed manuscript on my plate.

This coming month is going to be full of interesting turns and events. To whoever is reading this post – I’m grateful to have you on this journey with me.