NaPoWriMo · 3:06am Nov 8th, 2015
I'm sure most of you have seen the site post (or at least the headline) talking about NaPoWriMo, or National Pony Writing Month. That's not actually a thing. It's wordplay on an actual real thing, though: National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo or simple NaNo.
The goal of NaNo is to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. It seems like a lofty goal, but consider the daily goal: 1667 words per day. In a Word document, that's approximately two and a half pages each day. No sweat!
The purpose of NaNo is discipline, not accuracy. A lot of writers can have trouble writing, sometimes being unable to write for days on end because they can't figure out what to put next. With a daily word count requirement, this inspires creativity in reaching that goal. One method I found particularly funny when I read an article on NaNo many years ago was "plot ninjas": if you've got writer's block and haven't reached the daily goal, bring in a group of ninjas to get the plot going somewhere.
The goal of NaNo isn't to produce a high-quality novel in 30 days; it's to produce a first draft that you can then proofread and edit, change a few things around and replace the ninjas with something more suited to your genre. If you've reached 50,000 words in 30 days, but still aren't done writing, there's another goal for December (National Novel Finishing Month, NaNoFiMo): 30,000 words in 31 days, or 968 words per day.
Once again, Bit Bridleheart will have to be put on hold in favor of a writing style that comes easier to me. Bit Bridleheart will require several plots and a bunch more; the new book, The Personal Files of Dr. Mindwell, will be primarily description, exposition, and psychology. As a result, I realize this story may not be received well because the way I'm currently writing it, with close to no plot. On the other hand, if it is received well, I believe it will be because people are genuinely interested in a psychologist's perspective on the show.
Possible topics I'll write about include post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, multiple personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, culture clash, reckless behavior, developmental disorders, and more. Who knows? I may even include a certain brony analyst sometime.
