NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 1: Getting Started

NaNoWriMo 2009 will be my 5th year at NaNo. So far I've had 4 years and 3 wins and this year I'm going for my fourth win.I signed up in 2004, but than didn't really ever get started.

I failed my first year (2005) ...did like 2,000 before I got bored with my plot.

In 2006, NaNoWriMo had a server failure, lost lots of accounts, including mine, so I had to start the year with a new account. I did 183,000 my second year (2006) ... kind of to make up for failing the first year, but than never went back to edit it.

I reached 75,000 third year (2007), but I never finished the story!

In 2008, I did the unthinkable and changed my goal from 50k to 200k. YOW! But I did it and finished out the month with my biggest total ever: 238,153 words in 30 days!!!! (spaced out over 5 different book btw - none of which I totally finished, but one of which has since been nearly finished and at the time of this writing had just finished going through it's 4th draft! YAY!)

In 2009 I got off to a slow start after a stroke in October and than N1H1 the first week of November. But still, I was able to finish out the contest with 135,000 words.

Buddy me here.

Well, finish the story or not, the goal was to write a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days and I did it and here on this lens, I'll tell you how.

Why Write 50,000 Words In 30 Days?

Every year in November, thousands of writers gather at NaNoWriMo united with one goal in mind: to write a novel 50,000 words long and to do in in 30 days or less.

The secret to achieving this goal is to write each and every day and to write at least 1,667 words per day for 30 days. That is the bare minimum. If you can write 2,000 words per day you'll do even better.

Why do it at all? Because if you have a book you want to write, the only way to get it written is to actually write it. Getting a book out of your head and onto paper is the hardest thing for writers to do. It's much easier to talk about your book than write it down. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to get that book out f your head and onto your page.

This article was originally published in October 2006, under the title The 13 Step Method To NaNoWriMo. The second edition was created on: April 22, 2007 and last updated: September 22, 2009. is copyright to Wendy C. Allen and The Twighlight Manor Press, and is reprinted here with permission.

To read the complete article: NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods (The Complete Article - All 26 Pages - Including the 13 Step Method)

NOTE: If you would rather read each section individually, you can follow the links below:

NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 1: Getting Started
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 2: Write Every Day
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 3: Don't Quit!
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 4: Write it YOUR Way!
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 5: The Dangers of Word Padding
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 6: The 13 Step Method
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 7: Love Your StoryNaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 8: December and Beyond
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 9: 50k in 3 Days!
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 10: But I've Never Written Anything Before
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 11: Remember - You Are Writing a Novel!
NaNoWriMo: Reaching 50,000 Using EelKat's Methods: Part 12: Where to Find More Info