As the Communications and Marketing Intern at The Writer’s Center, I spend most of my time writing social media posts and blog articles, and assisting with editing, emailing, and digital marketing. However, for National Novel Writing Month, I decided to branch out from my regular duties. That’s right; I decided to try my hand at writing 50,000 words in 30 days!
The novel I chose to work on
tells the story of a young woman who discovers she has magical powers because
she is left-handed. To date, I’ve written a little more than 7000 words, and I
think that’s great! But, it became clear to me that I won’t be able write an
additional 40,000+ words before the month’s out, so I’m adjusting my original
goal accordingly. #NaNoWriMo Lesson #1: be flexible.
I decided to try out NaNoWriMo
this year because it would be a new experience. Going in, I had an inkling that
I wouldn’t be able to reach the magical 50,000 words. I knew that, with my busy
lifestyle, the odds were stacked against me. But when it comes to writing, are
we really racing to reach a goal? Some of us will pen those 50,000 words by
November 30. Some of us won’t. But in the end, we all win. Why? Because we wrote something. In fact, this was just the kind of push I needed to
start working on my novel. That’s really what this is all about, giving writers
a reason to start.
During my time as an intern, I’ve
found that The Writer’s Center jumpstarts many a writing career. TWC
instructors work to help their students unleash their creative storytelling
potentials. As writer’s, that’s what we need most, people and opportunities to
give us a reason to take that first step.
It’s productive to obsess about
progress and push, push, push ourselves, but it’s also productive to say,
“screw it!” and let our writing take its natural course.
Whatever NaNoWriMo stage that
you’re at right now, be proud of it. Be satisfied, but don’t be complacent.
Keep pushing #NaNoWriMo Warriors, you’ve come too far to give up now!
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