Home > Blog > The Joel Archives > NaNoWriMo Week 1: Word Count Goals, Freewriting and our Massive Giveaway

NaNoWriMo Week 1: Word Count Goals, Freewriting and our Massive Giveaway

by | Nov 8, 2013

As week 1 of NaNoWriMo draws to a close, authors everywhere are checking their word counts to see if they are keeping up the pace.

If you plan to hit 50,000 words by the end of November, you’ll need to crank out about 1,667 words every day. By today (the 8th) your total should be around 13,336 to stay on pace.

That’s about the same number of words I write in an active month, so I can tell just how much work it is to try to keep this up—while writing something that can serve as a decent draft—every day, week in and week out.

That’s one of the reasons we decided to run such a massive giveaway at BookDesignTemplates.com all through November. But more about that in a minute.

The Secret Power of Freewriting

Before starting my blog, I spent 2 years practicing freewriting with other writers and on my own. It was a daily practice.

I’ve written a number of articles on freewriting, but it’s a terrific practice for anyone who wants to tap into their own creativity, to learn to be led by your writing, and to produce drafts very quickly.

Here are some articles if you want to look into this more:

How Freewriting Saved My Life
How to Get Out of Your Own Way: Suzanne Murray on Freewriting
How to Boost Your Creativity with Freewriting

3 Kindles and 4 Gift Cards Will Be Awarded Tomorrow

All the winners in our first week of celebrating the authors taking part in NaNoWriMo and WNFIN will be chosen tomorrow, and I can’t wait. And then we’ll roll over to Week 2.

Just to remind you, we have:

  • 1 Kindle Fire HDX 7” Tablet
  • 2 Kindle PaperWhite eReaders
  • 4 $25 Starbucks Gift Cards

to give away. So far there have been over 1,300 entries, but it’s not too late to get into the drawing. The more you participate, the more chances you have on each gift.

Look, someone’s going to win these, why not you?

Week 2 will feature products from Barnes & Noble, including color Nook tablets and B&N gift cards. Head over to our NaNoWriMo Page and help us celebrate the guts and determination of authors everywhere.

And good luck!

Photo from NaNoWriMo store

tbd advanced publishing starter kit