i want to do STUFF this november (welcome to nablowrimo and all the rest of my fake promises to the universe)

Posted on by iamanolive

i have this two-year streak of failing nanowrimo where i start the month convinced i’ll ace it this time but end it screaming. and i kind of want to keep it going.

it’s the thirty-first of october, my email is doomed with more ‘this is how you win nano’ messages than i can possibly read in a lifetime, and so am i because i don’t have an outline yet. or like. anything resembling, no matter how loosely, a coherent-looking story idea. i haven’t blogged about any of it either. AND WHERE’S THE FUN IN NANOWRIMO IF I CAN’T SCREAM ABOUT IT ON THE INTERNET AND EVERYWHERE I GO?

in 2022, i pulled an all-nighter and wrote up ten pages worth of notes, most of which were made up of all-caps screams. but i used gel pens and at least they looked pretty.

i wrote stories in clothes shops and on my phone in moving cars. in restaurants when i was bored and while walking down the street. but all of it only amounted to a 6.5K total so we’d still have to call it a fail.

in 2021, i pulled up all the documents worth of notes i’d written in online phys ed lectures (i’m aideen cleary and i hate P. E. but my teachers are worse than ms. devlin and they won’t let me search up eccentric diseases to get out of doing jumping jacks every time. ALTHOUGH IT ISN’T FOR LACK OF TRYING) (HA i’m not even kidding. i got my mom to write me notes before every compulsory swim class in fifth grade and the teachers glared at me. i failed P. E. that year) and i tried really freaking hard.

i had exams in november and school sucked and i gave up sleep. i wrote on the moving school bus even though it made my writing look trashy. during every single pause in the lectures and every minute that i wasn’t being taught something.

i wrote 21K words and it’s one of my proudest achievements in life.

but back to 23. i haven’t written a single word of story since early may and the last time i thought about a novel was exactly a year ago. during nanowrimo the last. i have no ideas or outlines or documents with screams. i haven’t spent all my evenings thinking excessively about every single grain of the magic i want to write about.

but, like i said. i want to keep my streak going. because THREE YEARS alright.

and also because nanowrimo’s just plain fun. i love the entire process. every single smollest little bit of it. of rushing through documents, none of which are the one you’re searching for, and of spending all your spare time thinking about words and running around the house screaming about plot holes and how you’re out of ideas and your characters are unruly and won’t listen to you. the challenge of writing more words in a month than you’ve ever dared let yourself dream about writing before.

of screaming too loud and having the neighbors come and shush you every time you write something that’s beautiful, and of laughing on the 30th of november. because you’ve failed, but you’ve also had so much fun.

i want to do it. i want to do all of it again this year.

so i am. i’m going to. albeit a little differently.

welcome, to na-blo-wri-mo: anoushka’s special creation. national “BLOG” writing month. because she isn’t ready to write a full novel yet.

the rules remain the same. but instead of magic spells, she’ll come up with titles. and she’ll write about someone else’s characters, stolen from all the books she’s ever loved.

i’m going to write 50K words worth of blog posts before november ends. and this time, i’m going to win.

(but if that turns out to be a blatant lie, then we’re forgetting i ever promised you anything)

i’m going to write nanowrimo like no one’s ever written it before. i’m going to type more words than i’ve typed in every single month in the whole of 2022 combined. i’m going to be ambitious and screamy and an excited little glob made of chaos. just like i always am when november begins.

because in my experience that’s always so much more fun than winning. and i want to have fun.

i’m going to be wild and i’m going to take the most common advice anyone’s ever given on the 31st of october emails, and i’m not going to care if my writing’s good enough. i’m not going to spend an hour wondering if my humor is weird or awkward or just plain dumb. i’m going to write and write and write like it’s my first draft and there’s no one watching.

i’m going to participate in nablowrimo and it’s going to be SO much fun.

i want stories. tales of every single nanowrimo you’ve ever attempted. how you’ve succeeded and of all your hilarious fails. what were you writing about? what were you thinking about? what were your characters named? and are you going to be brave and do it all again this year?

Published by iamanolive

I’m Anoushka (formerly known by a couple of other random names, but I currently like this one better, so that is what you shall remember). Welcome, human, to my little corner of the internet, my blog – Dipped in Ink, a cozy (or sometimes not) little place where I share my opinions on books, rave endlessly about my terrible writing skills and my busy, chaotic life, and, most importantly, a place where I can escape from this horrid old reality that seems to be my very worst enemy. Oh and I also talk a lot about my hatred of time, so that’s important.

13 thoughts on “i want to do STUFF this november (welcome to nablowrimo and all the rest of my fake promises to the universe)”

  1. Omg, to answer the questions you asked at the end is worth a whole blog post- that indirectly gave me an idea- so all the answers by this weekend.
    This is so cutee, I mean I love the way you chronicle a time period. Like a story. ❤️😭
    I’m SO EXCITED to see you reach 50k but more excited to see your postssss🌻🌻
    Happy novemberr💛

  2. I’m, like, crying laughing at this blog post. And I absolutely love the challenge you’ve set for yourself. It’s fresh and fun and quirky. I like it and I can’t wait to read your posts 😁

    I am now attempting NaNo for the fourth time. Is it a mistake? Most likely. However, as of yesterday (Nov 3) I was at a little over 8k words so it’s probably going to be more like NaNoWri3Weeks. If I keep going at this pace that is. Who am I kidding, I’m going to hardcore burn out in a week 😂🥴

    BEST OF LUCK!!!

  3. That was lovely to read, omg did you actually search up diseases to skip PA?! 😂 Man.. why didn’t I never thought of that? That being said, i’m sad we mever had swimming classes, now THAT I wouldve had loved! Most probably the only sport I do like doing; imstead we had pingpong & pool ?!

    I like that idea ❤️ keep writing, but don’t force yourself for a full novel

  4. Ooh I absolutely love that idea! I think it’s a fun twist on NanoWrimo and a brilliant one too – super excited for you! I cannot wait to see you ace this challenge! 🥳❤️

  5. Na-Blo-Wri-Mo sounds like a brilliant idea, Anoushka! Best of luck tackling all that writing – you’ve definitely got a very invested reader here, so trust me, I will provide motivation! 😁🤗

    I have, unfortunately, never attempted NaNoWriMo myself, though – not unless you count A Sunrise of Serpents and Evaporation, which is still available on my blog in all of it’s glory. My Novembers have just always been so busy that I could never squeeze writing in 😥 I do have several horrendous novel attempts from my summer breaks, though…

  7. Best of luck with Na-Blo-Wri-Mo, it sounds so much fun! I can’t wait to see all your blog posts and I have complete faith in you!! 😍 I think the monthly challenge is fun and even if you fail, you usually write more than you would have anyway, so it is really a failure?!?! NO! Plus, the community aspect and shouting about it is a bonus!
    I am doing a lowkey nanowrimo this month where I try to write 30K instead of 50K. I did camp nanowrimo in July and I don’t feel the need for the 50K, but the daily motivation to write I will happily enjoy!
    Best of luck again, you got this!! ✨🥰

  8. I wanna do a nanowrino SO bad but November is just such an inconvenient time for me always. November is always when school was trying it’s best to put me 6 feet under, 1st year of uni I was too preoccupied trying to figure out what the hell life is, 2nd year I was in America and now 3rd year I’m juggling assignments, writing my dissertation, working part time, preparing for Christmas and trying to still have a life with friends haha.
    I’m also so indecisive I feel like I’d switch which WIP I want to work on a million different times. Maybe that can be a new years/after graduation resolution for me lol.
    Wishing you all the best of luck with your wiritng!!

  10. I’ve never attempted NaNoWriMo.

    Character-Greg graduated a week ago, so it’s time for a planned hiatus. This one will almost certainly last for the rest of 2023 at a minimum. I feel like I need to do a lot of planning for season 5, and I just want to rest. I’m trying to juggle too many creative projects online while still having a full time job, and I haven’t found that balance yet. I also have another non-DLTDGB story that I’ve started (set in 2023 in the same universe, a couple hundred miles away).

  11. my my my this sounds SO exciting!!!!! my last and first nanowrimo went well, actually!! it was called the star-crossed kingdom lol. but i have zero time or inspiration to do it again. I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOUR POSTS!!! happy november :)))

  12. I’d love to do NaNoWriMo one year. I always put it off though because the idea of planning is terrifying to me. Writing is fine but plotting? I have no clue where to begin 🙈

    Good luck with your blogging plan though. I hope its going well and that you’re managing to get things typed up . I also hope you’re enjoying whatever you’re writing. Hopefully November is going wonderfully for you.

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