(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)
By the time you read this, writers across the world will be biting their nails and watching the clocks, waiting for midnight. Not in fear of Halloween haunts! But because at the stroke of 12 on November 1st, NaNoWriMo begins!
If you're unfamiliar with the phenomenon, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, where writers are challenged to complete a 50,000-word project in the month of November. That means about 1,667 words a day, every day, all month long. It's not difficult to write 1,667 words in a day, but it's a pace that can be tricky to sustain, especially with the demands of work and family and life in general taking precedence. The point of NaNoWriMo is to give a chunk of time where you put art first. It's a focused dedication to meeting a specific writing goal, and it can be very rewarding.
All sorts of folks participate, from working writers to dabbling storytellers, to the person who decides on October 31st that they've always wanted to write a book, so why not. Everyone is welcome. The point of NaNoWriMo isn't to write the next Great Novel, it's just to write. And, because they're written very quickly, most NaNoWriMo projects are pretty awful. At first. That's kind of the point--to stop worrying too much about how every sentence sounds and just get the story down, so you can clean it up later. You can edit a book, but you can't edit the book you haven't written yet.
Of course, you can make editing a little easier on yourself if you prepare for NaNoWriMo. Lots of people plan the details of their project well in advance, so they can focus just on the word-slinging come November 1st. I prepare as much as I can. A basic outline, some research and notes are all part of the plan. But, as a pen addict, the main focus of my preparations--what tools do I use??? Sometimes I think I participate just for the sake of filling another notebook and using as may pens as possible.
I hand-write all my books. Partly because of my love for stationery, sure, but also for convenience (I can write anywhere and anywhen), and partly because my brain just works better on paper. Some of my favorite notebooks to write novels in are the Barnes & Noble Italian leather journals. I've written a few books in them, and they always work fantastically. We don't need to talk about how many empty ones I have waiting for me on my shelf... coughsevencough. (This is why I have to do NaNoWriMo. If I don't write fast, I'll be buried alive in empty notebooks.) They have enough pages that I can fit 50,000 words in them, they're very sturdily built, so they stand up to being carried around and used intensively for a few months (or years), and the paper is excellent. I can use any fountain pen in them and I get no feathering or show-through. There are dozens of designs, and I always try to pick one that fits the theme of my book.
This month, I'll be writing a prequel to my first novel, The Bone Weaver's Orchard. I picked a journal that is covered in lovely butterflies. If you read BWO, you can probably guess what happens to the butterflies. My planning notebook, where I keep notes and lists and any random thoughts or research, is a Field Notes Dime Novel edition. I adore those books, and I bought as many packs as I could carry when I visited their headquarters in Chicago.
But what pens!? That was an easy decision this year, fortunately. Often, I agonize over that choice. But just a few weeks ago, Brad sent me the Colorverse Apollo 11 set of inks to review, and I had to ink up all five inks for the review. I decided to put them in my favorite acrylic pens from indie pen makers, because why not. So I've had five more pens than I'm used to having inked, and that ink needs to be used! I noted in that review that the colors are about perfect for writing and editing, so I'm going to put that combination to good use. Of course, it will take many fills of many pens to reach the goal, and I'm hoping I'll get to air out a goodly portion of my whole pen collection before the month is through. For the starting lineup: A Newton Pen in black with subtle sparkles that I picked up this past May at the Chicago Pen Show, a Carolina Pen Co. in Primary Manipulation that I grabbed at the Chicago show last year, a Kanilea that is also from last year's Chicago show, another Newton Pen... er... also from last year's Chicago show (I should not be allowed at that show, good gracious), and another Carolina Pen Co. that I got secondhand off of Instagram. These pens bring me a lot of joy, and they all scream, "Pick me up and write!" which is exactly what I need to kick off NaNoWriMo.
I'm currently in the busiest year I've ever had in my whole life. That's really saying something, considering how busy I usually strive to be. The very idea of writing a new book right now is, for me, madness. But I'm doing it anyway. Partly so that the book will get written, or at least started. Partly because I have friends and writing students attempting it, and I want to offer my support in solidarity. And partly to use my pens (and to save my family from the crushing weight of an empty notebook avalanche). The secret to winning NaNoWriMo is that you always win, no matter what. Was your goal 40,000 words but you only got 20,000? Congratulations! You wrote 20,000 words in a month! That's fantastic! I'm looking forward to writing words in November--any number of them. And I know I've got a great kit for it. I'll be documenting progress on Instagram! Follow along @inkwellmonster and tag me in your NaNo posts so I can cheer you on!
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
