Motivational Minute with Racquel Henry #161: Don’t Fear NaNoWriMo

Happy Preptober, writers! On this first week of the semi-official planning month before NaNoWriMo, our founder, Racquel Henry has a one-minute pep talk for us on Writer’s Atelier TV!

Lately, Racquel has been hearing some concerns from writers vis-à-vis the word count. If you’re not already familiar with National Novel Writing Month, the challenge is to write 1,667 words a day during November for a grand total of 50,000 words at the end of the month—a full novel.

For some writers, this is a little demanding, but not overly so. For others, it may sound nigh-impossible.

Regardless, Racquel encourages you to try NaNoWriMo, but to reframe your thinking first. If the sheer volume of words feels intimidating, you could write in short bursts multiple times throughout the day to give yourself a break. Or you can be what’s come to be known as a NaNoWriMo Rebel and set your own word count goal for the month—800 words a day, 500 words a day, or even 250 or 100 words a day. You may not have a complete novel draft at the end of November, but the point of NaNoWriMo is to just practice getting the words on the page consistently.

So, set a word count you think you can manage with your busy schedule, and join in on WA’s fun and free events during this NaNo season! Coming up on Sunday, October 9, Racquel Henry is giving her updated Tips for a Successful NaNoWriMo talk, and who couldn’t use some of Racquel’s mindset-shifting magic? Then, our administrative assistant, Megan Fuentes is hosting a Preptober Day on Saturday, October 15, which will be an hours-long virtual write-in with writing sprints and with ample breaks to talk through any novel-planning speed bumps you may have! Both events are available through our private network.

Can’t make it day-of? Don’t worry—you’ll have access to the replays!

Happy writing!

If you enjoyed this free video, check out our new, FREE community, the Writer’s Atelier Online Community. It is officially the way to keep up with all things WA!

Also, be sure to check out our YouTube channel and subscribe if you haven’t already! It’s a great, easy, FREE way to support all we do here at WA.

If you want inspiration offline, have you heard that Racquel has written a mini book of affirmations for writers? It’s available in our shop!

We’d love to have you involved in our writing community! Thanks for everything!

Racquel Henry is a Trinidadian writer, editor, and writing coach with an MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is a part-time English Professor and owns Writer’s Atelier. Racquel is also the co-founder and Editor at Black Fox Literary Magazine and the Editor-in-Chief at Voyage YA. She is the author of Holiday on Park, Letter to Santa, and The Writer’s Atelier Little Book of Writing Affirmations. Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared in various literary magazines and anthologies. When she’s not working, you can find her watching Hallmark Christmas movies.
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