How I Can Tell You Wrote Your Novel in November: Common NaNoWriMo Mistakes

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is upon us again, dear writers.  It’s a fantastic event that has permanently welded together my love of fall (warm coffee, muffins, and all things squash) to my love of intense creative output.  NaNoWriMo challenges writers to write The challenge is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  But even if you don’t have novel bursting forth from your… chest or whatnot—you can still participate in spirit.  Last year I wrote an academic article in November instead of something fictional, but it was still intense and I used NaNoWriMo’s encouragement to get me through.

But a word of caution: if you are writing a novel, a script, or anything with a plot, you need to be aware of NaNoWriMo’s dangers.  50,000 is a lot of words.  And while it’s a marvelous achievement, there are some common mishaps you’ll want to guard against.

So here’s a list:  How I Can Tell You Wrote Your Novel in November:

1. Important characters and objects appear exactly two chapters before they become essential.  Earl shows up on page 50 and gives your protagonist valuable information on page 52 then disappears into the ether-- like a wrench you put back in your toolbox instead of a character with his own life and motivations.
2. The first ⅓ of the book is repetitious character development (for example you have a vain character so they keep doing vain things like check a mirror 15 billion times.)
3. Your secondary/tertiary characters have no arcs.
4. Your secondary/tertiary character don’t exist. (Empty world syndrome)
5. All your characters have one emotion driving them from scene to scene.  Yes, you want emotional clarity, but developed characters have conflicting emotions they have to wrestle.  For example they want to go home, but they also never want to go home.  They want to fall in love, but they don’t want to give up autonomy.  These are somewhat cliché examples, but you get the idea.  (See Donald Maas’ Writing 21st Century Fiction for great, simple tips on developing emotionally dynamic characters.)
6. Obstacles are overcome simply by an internal shift in the protagonist.  “He just had to let go.” “She just had to learn to love.” And suddenly the central problem is resolved.  No puzzle.  No deed. No complications.

 
If you read a book like this and you wonder what went wrong, chances are it was written too quickly in a single burst of crazed euphoria.  These are all obvious signs  a writer confused "process" with "complete work."  As you prep for your writing marathon, keep these pitfalls in mind and seek to avoid them so you don’t write flat, predictable fiction.
 
The best way to avoid them?  Don’t believe the lies.  You will not write a complete manuscript in 30 days.  Even if you outline-- even if you obsess over prep work and character studies and fill out worksheets.  You will not have a complete manuscript.  Assume there will be wild tangents and horrible prose and underdeveloped worlds.   As painful as it may seem, assume 25,000 words will be tossed in the garbage, because that’s how much of your thought process will be laced within the other good, usable pages. 

​This does not mean your efforts are wasted-- far from it.  It’s just the reality of the human mind as it works.  Not all your thoughts are good ones, sorry to burst the bubble.  If your goal is to write the draft of a FULL LENGTH NOVEL in THIRTY DAYS give yourself a break and forget it.  Finish 50,000 words with the goal of half a novel in 30 days.  You’ll be happier, and your work will be so much better for it.

---