#mentemelan

[nanowrimo]

My First NaNo Experience

As Camp NaNoWriMo is drawing to an end, author and NaNoWriMo winner, MenteMelan, reflects upon her first NaNo experience, and gives some tips to people who might not have joined this time, but plan to in the future. 

Excitement. Joy. Fear. Apprehension.

These are some of the numerous emotions I experienced a few days before the 2021 NaNoWriMo began. After weeks of prewriting, seminars, and strategizing, I eagerly sharpened my pencils and cleared my workspace as I awaited the beginning of the 50,000-word challenge.

I first heard about NaNoWriMo during the pandemic in 2020. Before then, I had participated in several writing challenges, written a few short stories, and produced the first draft of a novel. I was psyched by the challenge the NaNoWriMo proposed. 

Since I stumbled upon the creative writing challenge several days after it began, I decided to bid my time and participate in 2021. However, I never anticipated any of the things that occurred in the months preceding the NaNoWriMo.

As the lockdown restrictions gradually eased last year, the world slowly tried to heal from the turbulence which occurred in 2020. Like many others, I struggled to adjust for several months and was forced to come to terms with the fact that the world could never be the same. 

I have never been a big fan of change, so as you can imagine, I battled with so many emotions, never finding the right avenue to vent everything I’d been feeling. For me, the 2021 NaNoWriMo was highly therapeutic. I can still remember how I picked up my laptop on the first day and poured out all the pent-up emotions I had experienced during the year into the different characters I had crafted. 

By the end of the first day, I’d written about 3000 words, albeit with several typos and sentences that eventually needed fine tuning. However, none of that mattered. For the first time in months, I felt relieved. The moment I updated my profile and earned my first badge, it felt like I’d just won a million bucks!

Each day came with a different challenge and every second of it was fantastic. The goal wasn’t to create the perfect novel in 30 days but was to create an undiluted first draft, knowing I would still refine it all at the end. As I unlock each badge, I felt fulfilled and excited, waiting to see how long it would take to finally hit my goal. 

On the last day of the NaNoWriMo, I finally hit 50K words and unlocked my winner’s badge. I can honestly say no words can describe how amazing I felt that day.

Experiencing the joy that comes with being able to meet a challenge head-on is something I believe everyone deserves to feel during their lifetime. Although, there will be moments where the thrill of the chase might fade, and your characters might not speak to you as frequently as they used to. 

To overcome this, my advice would be to surround yourself with fellow writers who share the same goal and vision. If you can’t think of anyone who might be interested in the journey, then you’re welcome to join any of the NaNo regions. You’d receive a lot of support and encouragement from fellow writers and get chances to vet your work.

Finally, always remember you can edit it later. It’s your first draft, so it’s not meant to be perfect. It’s pretty easy to edit the first draft but impossible to edit what you’ve never written.

Enjoy every second of the challenge and take pride in what you’re doing. By deciding to participate in the NaNo, you’re already a winner. So, my fellow writers, sharpen your pencils, raise your pens, clean your typewriters, charge your laptops, and let the creative juices flow!

MenteMelan is a diverse award-winning African writer who believes in communicating her views and perspectives of the world through her books. It helps her foster connections with people across the world, create communities with kindred souls, and spread awareness about mental health.

Link to books: Imprisoned by Secrets: https://www.wattpad.com/story/236039980 The Prophecy of The Black Day: https://www.wattpad.com/story/247485109 The Last Supper: https://www.wattpad.com/story/245502550 Social Media: Instagram: @mentemelan Wattpad: @MenteMelan

Photo by Ilya Pavlov on Unsplash