NaNo Goals

Well we are down to the last few days before NaNo. There are officially 2 more days before the madness begins. So instead of worrying about last minute planning, character sheets and outlines, I have actually had something more important on my mind. My goals for NaNo.

You see, a lot of people see NaNo and sign up, without any actual idea of what they hope to achieve from NaNo. Then, when they don't succeed at the 50,000 word count goal, they get frustrated and discouraged. Don't get me wrong, if I don't make it to the word count goal, I'm going to be disappointed for sure. But having goals set out and knowing what you expect to achieve from the experience can really help you keep your thoughts organized and not be too hard on yourself. I have actually never participated in NaNo before, so I'm what you would call a "NaNo Newbie". But here are my goals for this year's NaNo.

Have Fun- This one seems so simple, but a lot of people can easily forget that the entire experience is supposed to be fun. They get all stressed out and actually cause themselves more stress then joy. This year, I want to have fun and enjoy myself as I take on this new writing challenge.

Grow as a Writer- For me, this goal simply means that I grow in the area of writing. Writing everyday is a good way to grow as a writer, and that's exactly what I'll be doing. Writing, pushing myself, and growing. I want to be able to have a writing experience that I look back on and say, "You know, I think that experience really made me the better writer I am today."

Just Write- For one month, I am going to attempt to just write and ignore my inner editor. This means no editing anything during the month of July. Instead, I need to focus on getting my ideas down and writing. Anyone want to help keep me accountable?

Reach 50,000- I want to cross the finish line, so to speak. At the end of the month, on July 31st at Midnight, I want to be able to officially say I reached 50,000 words on my novel.

So for this year's NaNo, these are my goals. Personally, I don't think these goals are too hard or not achievable. In fact, I believe I can succeed at every one of my goals I listed. Sure, they will be difficult to achieve at times. But I know that if I try hard and I want this bad enough, I can do it. :)

If you are participating in Camp NaNo yourself in the month of July, I strongly caution you not to be too hard on yourself. Writing a novel in a month is hard! I mean, I don't have to be a NaNo Veteran to know that. Everyone says it is difficult, and no one said it was easy. But we can do this! People all over the world, every year, accomplish it. Who said we can't be one of the people to cross the finish line? :)

2 more days until NaNo begins!