NaNoWriMo is just around the corner.

Have you ever participated in the National Novel Writing Month? Do you have dreams of writing a book?

If you write and have aspirations of completing a big writing project like a short story, a memoir, or a novel, joining this creative movement might be just what you need to do that. Finding the time and motivation to tackle such a big task is tough, especially if you’ve never done it before. And since writing is a solitary endeavour, it’s easy to procrastinate or avoid getting started completely.

We need accountability partners. Fellow writers or creatives who will regularly check in on our progress and hold us accountable. That’s what’s so great about NaNoWriMo. It’s a collective of accountability partners who are all on the same mission as you.

NaNoWriMo’ers prepare together, slog together, cry together, and celebrate together. They’re always there to offer encouragement and support. That’s the beauty of this movement. For writers, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Every year I consider joining NaNoWriMo. But I’m always late to the game. I completely forget about it until November is well underway and my Twitter feed starts filling up with #NaNoWriMo updates. By then I’ve missed out on valuable writing days and I have no novel idea. Not a winning combo.

This year is different. I finally have my book idea. It’s been forming slowly since the beginning of the year, vague at first. But now I’ve started to get mental images of scenes and ideas for chapters. It’s go time!

I wrote this Medium post to help you prepare to participate in NaNoWriMo next month.

If you’re on the fence about participating, I wanted to remind you that NaNoWriMo is like a huge, temporary writing group that comes together once a year to make a big push towards making writing dreams a reality. Take advantage of that.

Honestly, it doesn’t really matter what you write during NaNoWriMo. Use it to connect with other writers and feed off of the creative energy that surges during November as hundreds of thousands of writers dedicate themselves to their big writing projects en masse.

It’s a unique and free creative opportunity. It’s also a chance to make some writer friends to see you through the rest of the year and onwards!