Do You NaNoWriMo?

What an interesting concept. Write a (50,000) word novel in a month.

Most of you visiting my blog will know what NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is, but for those of you who don't, here is the spiel from their website:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.

I know a lady through scrapbooking who, when we were asked to list random facts about ourselves, said she completed NaNoWriMo. I was intrigued since I am in the process of getting better at writing and wanted to know more about her experience. I was kind of surprised when she said she did it just for fun!

Here is what she had to say.

1. How did you hear about NaNoWriMo, and why did you want to participate?
Yes, I did NaNoWriMo for fun in 2006. I heard about it from friends who had completed it the previous year. One of them has now had short stories published so they had more literary aims than me. I guess I've never thought of myself as being much good at creative writing, so fancied a challenge. 

2. Did you achieve the goal of writing 50,000 words in a month? Or did you have other goals?
At the time my daughter was 3 months old, and it gave me a focus beyond newborn duties. I was still getting used to not working, and this was something I could say I'd achieved. I knew I had to write an average of 1667 words each day, and would write longhand in a notebook while Amy was sleeping, then type it up in the evening. I stayed pretty much on track through the month and completed the 50,000 words in time. 

3. What do you plan to do with your completed manuscript?
I like my completed story, I know it has pretty massive plot holes, and would need a lot of edits, but I just did NaNoWriMo purely to see if I could. I'll probably dig it out at some point, polish it and let my daughter read it. NaNoWriMo was a lot of fun, and I'd recommend it to anyone. The support you can receive is so useful, and I asked a lot of questions on the forums, facts about the period in which my story was set.

I think this lady and I would be fabulous friends. She writes, she scrapbooks, she has a boy the same age as my youngest, she crochets, and is taking a keener interest in her fitness/health. Too bad she lives in Scotland! Hiya Chrissy! When I make a million dollars with my first novel (ha, ha!) I will come visit. :-) 

While I am not participating in NaNoWriMo I am planning on working on a MG verse manuscript. Since MG verse novels I have read so far fall in the 15,000 to 20,000 word range I would have to average about 600-800 words a day to finish. I am not making any guarantees.

Do you NaNoWriMo?

If you have, I would love to hear your experience in the comments!