By Johnnie Alexander, @Johnnie_Alexndr

In a few weeks, writers throughout the world will embark on a month-long trek called National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. Participants will write a 50,000-word, no editing allowed, novel during the already hectic month of November.

I joined the challenge way back in 2003 when my writing dreams focused more on nonfiction topics. But after a crazy month of creating a delightful mess, I was hooked on fiction.

The dream of being a novelist, however, seemed too big, too scary to pursue. What if it never came true?

My heart would be broken so perhaps I shouldn’t try.

To calm my fiction-loving spirit, I signed up for NaNoWriMo again in 2005 and created another thrilling mess.

This past January, that story—re-imagined, rewritten, and re-titled four or five times—appeared in the bookstores. However, it wasn’t my first NaNoWriMo-to-publication venture. Where Treasure Hides, first released in 2013, was my 2009 NaNo novel.

Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of National Novel Writing Month.

NaNo founder Chris Baty sums up the freeing creativity of writing an unedited fast draft in two words:

Exuberant imperfection.

“The quickest, easiest way to produce something beautiful and lasting,” he writes in No Plot? No Problem!, “is to risk making something horribly crappy.” He encourages participants “to write uncritically, to experiment, to break your time-honored rules of writing just to see what happens” (p. 32).

A NaNo draft is meant to be messy. It may even be a disaster.

But that’s okay.

In fact, that’s the beauty and the joy of throwing our internal editors out with the trash while we write a fast and imperfect draft of a story that might never otherwise get written.

Once the calendar turns to December 1^st, we can retrieve our editors—believe me, they’ll have escaped the garbage dump and will be pounding on our doors by then. (Though it’s beneficial to let your novel, and your fingers, rest during December. You’ll see your story with fresh eyes come the New Year.)

I’ve officially participated in NaNoWriMo six times. I’ve unofficially participated twice when I tried to write in longhand. Let’s just say that didn’t work.

Of those six times, I quit once because of a few family emergencies. I participated again two years later, but I had only written about 20,000 words by November 27^th. Determined not to “fail” again, I wrote the remaining 30,000 words in three days.

Let me share the truth of NaNoWriMo: there is no “fail.”

Only exuberant imperfection.

And perhaps, someday in the future, a publishing contract.

Participate in NaNoWriMo

Joining NaNoWriMo is as simple as signing up on the website. You can choose to join online forums and you can even meet with other participants in your area for writing sessions.

Prepare for the madness by plotting your story ahead of time. Or not! I begin with only a few vague ideas, but some writers create a thirty-scene summary to keep them on track. Another option is to grab a copy of Ready. Set. Novel! A Writer’s Workbook by Chris Baty, Lindsey Grant, and Tavia Stewart-Streit. This workbook includes brainstorming tips, what-if activities, character charts, and a whole lot more. Get it now so you have about a week to complete each chapter.

Then at a second past midnight on November 1^st, begin! Write at least 1667 words a day every day. And no editing!

[reminder]Will you dare to participate in NaNoWriMo 2016? Have you before? What novel ideas are you playing with?[/reminder]

Johnnie Alexander dreams up stories while raccoons and foxes occasionally pass by her window. Her debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, was a CBA bestseller and has been translated into Dutch and Norwegian. Where She Belongs (Misty Willow Series #1), her first contemporary romance, was a Library Journal Pick of the Month. Recent releases include The Healing Promise (Courageous Bride Collection) and When Love Arrives (Misty Willow Series #2).

Johnnie is marketing director for the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference and president of the American Christian Fiction Writers Memphis chapter. She lives near Memphis with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, the princely papillon who trees those pesky raccoons whenever he gets the chance.

Join Johnnie at www.johnnie-alexander.com to experience the charm of country living, the love of ambling travel, and the joy of treasured memories.

**Images used courtesy of National Novel Writing Month.