NaNoWriMo As a Full-Time College Student

For many years, since I was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming an author. I used to write stories on whatever paper I could find. However, a lot of that whimsy and creativity flew to the wayside as I began to advance in my educational journey. Essays soon began to take the place of short stories, and discussion posts overtook poems. This was a difficult transition, as I had always felt that God gave me the ability to write for a reason.

Fast forward to my third year of college. In my program, this is arguably one of the busiest years. Still, I could feel the creative void then more than ever. It was at this time that I heard about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I immediately blew it off, thinking that I was too busy and there was no way I could make it work with my schedule anyway. A few weeks later, I found myself staring at the “Join Challenge” button on October 31st (the day before the challenge begins). With little thought involved, I signed up. After all, I could just fail within the first week and forget about it if I wanted to. It didn’t have to be a big deal. 

Another fast forward to the end of November. I had won! The challenge that seemed impossible had been completed. I was able to finish 50,000 words in a month, my first ever large writing project (unless we’re counting the book I wrote in middle school). So, how did I do it?

1. Making a list of priorities

Making a list of your priorities is essential when completing NaNoWriMo. This list can be either mental or physical, but it needs to be something that you reference often in order to stay on track. During NaNo, before choosing what to do with my time I would always ask myself “How is this supporting my goals?” This simple question allowed myself to properly dedicate my time to the things that mattered. 

2. Dedicating time

Being a college student is busy. That isn’t a surprise to anyone. However, I had decided that finishing a novel was important to me. In order to complete this goal, I needed to have time everyday to write. This didn’t look the same all the time. Sometimes, my mornings were packed and my evenings were completely free. Other times, I would be frantically typing during my lunch break. The important thing is to commit to dedicating time everyday to work on your novel, even when it’s hard. 

3. No zero days

This rule was absolutely essential to my NaNo journey. It simply means that, at no point during NaNo, did I allow myself a “day off.” I had to write at least something every day. On days when I was so exhausted I felt like I didn’t have another word left in me, I told myself that I just had to write one sentence. Oftentimes, this sentence would be written on the Google Docs app while I was laying in bed about to fall asleep. Occasionally, it would be the only sentence I wrote. However, most days, I found that a few more sentences would flow as long as I forced myself to start with one. 

4. Writing on my phone

As mentioned above, I used the Google Docs app a ton while completing NaNoWriMo. My phone is always on me, so I never had an excuse for why I couldn’t write. In the past, I only wrote by hand. However, during NaNo I decided that writing by hand wasn’t the most practical idea. Frequently writing from my phone allowed me to always have easy access to my manuscript and helped me focus on writing even when I was tempted to do other things on my phone. 

5. Remembering my “why”

Motivation is key when it comes to getting through a challenge like NaNoWriMo. Figuring out why I was wanting to write and making sure to never forget that “why” throughout the process helped me when I was tempted to have “zero days.” Your motivation can be anything! For me, I wanted to focus on the fact that the novel I was working on was based on the Bible. It has the potential to reach someone for Christ. However, it can’t do that if it isn’t finished. This, along with a few other key “why” moments that I had in mind, helped keep me motivated even when I wanted to give up. 

All in all, National Novel Writing Month is not for the faint of heart. It was so difficult to do while being a full time college student. However, the hours I put in felt like nothing when compared to the happiness I felt when I was finally able to reach that 50,000 words. You can do hard things! 

Happy writing!