Nanowrimo 2026

National Novel Writing Month is here!

For this year I am participating in a writing challenge with

a group that I am part of rather than participating in an organization's challenge. Many writers use November to attempt to write a full rough draft of a novel with a goal of 60,000 words. I will be trying to finish a manuscript that I have been restarting far too many times. I am currently 20,000 words into the draft, so I will be aiming for a final word count goal of 80,000. However, if the draft is completed after 60k and before 80k, I’ll still call that a win.

For challenges like this preparation is key and so I have —

done nothing. In past years I made a very solid plan before November rolled around. This time, I was so busy with helping edit work for an anthology in the process of publication, writing, work, and helping launch my writing group’s challenge that I didn’t take care of my plans. Heh heh, oops. Well I made a hasty draw up on October 31st that I hope will be enough of a map. With my goals, I have a steep daily word count that I may struggle to reach, but I’m going to try.

The other key besides preparation is grace. I have many

other things on my plate and I still have my health to contend with on the daily. So, my additional goal is to not overdo it. I will do what I can and if I don’t meet the goal, I’ll have grace for myself.

It is interesting trying to balance having grace for myself

with the feeling that I’m being lazy. Letting myself rest is not natural, and more often than not, it's frustrating. Often rest means choosing to let go of things that I want to do to be able to care for myself. It is an exercise in patience and will that doesn’t come across in the term “rest.”

Stay tuned for progress updates, and if you want more of

the specific details join my newsletter where I am far less vague. If you are participating in the challenge this year, happy writing! I’m off to start on today’s word count goal.