Salaam everyone and happy November! I’m sure you’ve already heard this elsewhere, but it’s truly wild that there are only two months left in 2020. I’m sure I don’t need to explain how tough this year was for everyone. While I’m sure the world isn’t magically going to back to normal on midnight January 1 (what even is normal anymore), I’m excited to bid 2020 adieu! While I’m excited for the new year, I recognize that there are two whole months left, which means two months of endless possibilities. So I decided I’m going to end 2020 on a strong note. As many of you know, I’m in the process of writing my first book. My goal is to finish my manuscript by the end of this year and publish next Spring. To reach my goal, I am participating in NaNoWriMo. What is NaNoWriMo?NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place during the month of November, starting the 1st. The goal is to write 50,000 words of a novel or other writing project in the span of 30 days. Since its inception in 1999, hundreds of thousands of writers participated and some even went on to publish their works. In fact, one of my favorite novels, Cinder by Marrissa Meyer, was written during NaNoWriMo. After a couple of personal complications, imposter syndrome set in and I found myself in a writing slump. Luckily, I discovered (well, actually, rediscovered) NaNoWriMo just in time. I found a new surge of inspiration and excitement for finishing my novel. The CommunityI joined NaNoWriMo in October to start prepping for my 50,000-word dash. I didn’t realize just how massive this community is. It was a little overwhelming at first because I had no idea where to begin. But the NaNoWriMo website is very easy to use and I pretty much immediately found a community. Along with subgroups for specific niches, there are hundred of groups for geographical regions. For example, I’m in a group for WriMos my county and in a group for Los Angeles WriMos. The Los Angeles group has hundreds of members and is very active across various platforms. Some regional groups even offer calenders full of writing events so members have folks to write with at almost every hour. Other groups that I’m a part of include a group for women of color and a group for South Asian women (hosted by the folks at The Little Brown Diary). Something else that’s been helpful for me is being a member of various writing groups on Facebook, even ones that aren’t affiliated with NaNoWriMo. I cannot stress enough how helpful it has been to be a part of these communities. I’m someone who constantly doubts my own writing more often than I would like to admit. Through these groups, I’ve been able to connect with writers of all ages and experience levels who are more than happy to talk me through my insecurities because they relate to my concerns. These folks help me reassure myself that I am exactly where I need to be, and that I’m doing just fine. My Progress So FarIt’s been a little over a week since NaNoWriMo officially began, and I have reached a little over 10,000 words. I’m not gonna lie, I got off to a pretty rough start. Though I’m happy with where I’m at, I haven’t been meeting my daily word count goals. However, I’m not beating myself up over it. It was a pretty stressful week for everyone due to the election. I am confident that this week will be much stronger. Are any of you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, let me know how you’re doing, and add me as a buddy on the NaNo website. Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. This is where I will be updating you all the most on my writing project. If you’re not participating in NaNoWriMo, what are your plans for the rest of 2020? Are you as excited for 2021 as I am?
As always, thank you for joining me on my journey towards publication. I will see you all in my next post, InshaAllah!
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