How To Write 50,000 words in 30 days

©2010 Horia Varlan

We’re 10 days away from Contentpalooza

On November 1, I’m kicking off a personal challenge of writing 50,000 words of content in 30 days, in parallel with NaNoWriMo. I plan to write a year’s worth of blog posts (52 at about 500 words each is 26,000 words) plus a manifesto, a workbook, an eBook draft, guest posts and who knows what else.

I’m calling this challenge Contentpalooza, and if you want to join me, come like my new Facebook page, where we already have a handful of people who are doing this, too. I’ll be posting writing prompts and discussing challenges throughout November — I’d be thrilled if you joined us!

I “won” NaNoWriMo last year, which means I successfully completed my 50,000 words — I was writing a memoir. Today I’d like to share with you the principles that will ensure your success during this challenge.

Let it be simple, because it is.

The rules of this challenge are: 1. Write 50,000 words 2. In 30 days. That’s it. That’s all that matters. And keeping it this simple is important to your success. As professional, ambitious grown-ups we tend to overthink this and put unnecessary, limiting criteria on ourselves — like it has to be good,  or it has to fit perfectly in our business plan, or — this is a big one — we have to know what we’re writing first. More criteria bring more excuses. Which brings me to…

Inspiration comes from the writing, not before.

The New York Times recently wrote about Joan Didion: “Possibly the best living American essayist and probably the most influential, Didion has always maintained that she doesn’t know what she’s thinking until she writes it down.” I’ve found this to be true, time and again — that I find out what I have to say by saying it (or writing it). Talking out loud to yourself on a walk or in the shower is great for this. Sure, we need a little inspiration to start, but if you have faith that when you ask your brilliant mind to fill in the blanks, it will.

Embrace the crap, keep going.

You’re going to think in the beginning that you want to polish and perfect everything as you go. This urge is death — avoid it at all costs. This is a sprint – you must keep going at a faster pace than you’re used to. Do not delete. If you must, highlight or underline your mistakes or what you want to cut and come back to it later. Think in terms of generating enormous piles of raw material which you can later prune.

I call this my “compost theory” of creativity. If we let ourselves write crap, the closer we’ll come to the good stuff. It all needs to come out, be processed, break down, recombine. Writing and editing are two distinct activities, and editing as you go lowers your word count and slows you down. With writing, we tend to snap back into school-mode and write like it’s English Comp 101. Let ‘er rip and see what happens. All those words count, even the misspelled ones.

Count everything.

You’re not a bad person if you count words outside of your project. Don’t be unnecessarily hard on yourself and insist that ONLY words you write specifically for the challenge count. It all counts. If you have other writing commitments during November — like reports for your day job or a paper for a course you’re taking — count those words. Last year, I was writing a weekly restaurant column during NaNo and I counted those words. It’s just a little detour, don’t beat yourself about it, you’re still doing a ton of writing you wouldn’t have done otherwise.

Go with friends.

The most important thing you can do for this challenge is to connect with others who are doing it, preferably in person. Even seasoned novelists find this pace and volume of writing a challenge. I first attempted this in 2002, but I was on my own, and after a week I just got distracted and busy. Meet in person or online specifically to sit and just write together — it looks a bit silly, since you’re not talking much — but it’s critical. When we connect with a group of people committed to the same goal, we are far, far more likely to focus and write. Join NaNoWriMo to find regional forums where you can meet others in your area, or join me for Contentpalooza on Facebook.

What do you need to do this?

It’s never a good time to do something big and crazy. We never have enough time, enough ideas, enough quiet. We have too much work, too many kids, too many obligations period. No judgements — this year may not be your time. I just want you to question what you think is possible.

Tell me in the comments below — what are the fears? What are your challenges?

Pick your own goal. How many words would represent your personal contentpalooza — 5,000? 10,000? 25,000?