Wow, Congratulations!! You’re basically halfway through NaNoWriMo! Seems like only yesterday we were talking about finishing week 1. No matter what your word count is, you should be proud of yourself! Take a minute to bask in the feeling.
It can be difficult for people who’ve never competed in NaNoWriMo to grasp what a big deal this is. Don’t let their lack of understanding dishearten you or dampen your celebration.
There are over 400,000 participating in NaNoWriMo this year. That’s a lot of people! But that means there’s a good chance that no-one around you is participating. Luckily, it’s easy to find online NaNoWriMo groups.
It’s a good idea to connect with other NaNoWriMo competitors. They’re the only people who will understand the highs and lows of this month. The high of getting to the half-way mark and wanting to boast about how great your story is. The lows of feeling like you haven’t written enough today, like you’re falling behind…like your writing isn’t good enough. These are like minded individuals who will understand you and cheer you on, but they’re also people who are living with the same problems as you are…which means they might have solutions to whatever problems you are dealing with.
The NaNoWriMo website has forums where you can communicate with fellow competitors. Looking through the various discussion threads, you’ll be able to find discussions on a massive range of NaNoWriMo adjacent topics. The website also creates groups based on location, where people from specific places can start their own conversations and arrange meet-ups. Perhaps there is a NaNoWriMo group in your town. Often the focus of these local meet-ups is to provide a quiet space for everyone to get some writing done, and then afterwards chat about how your month is going.
If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea then how about something that takes less work? Reddit has a fairly active subreddit. It’s easy to lurk and there’s no pressure to leave comments, but you’re still part of the community and can pick up lots of great NaNoWriMo tips (and writing tips in general).
Whatever is right for you, being in touch with fellow NaNoWriMo competitors is a great way to keep your spirits up.
Keep writing! You’ve got this.
For all of our NaNoWriMo posts and tips, click here.