by Lisa Jordan, @lisajordan

In 2004, an online friend introduced me to NaNoWriMo and suggested I try it. Seriously? What kind of person decided to throw a thirty-day writing challenge at the beginning of a busy holiday season?

As it turns out, Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo, is a pretty smart guy. After all, if a person can write 1667 words daily during the month of November while balancing life, work, family, and the upcoming holidays, then learning to write with a deadline should be doable any time of the year.   

I accepted the challenge and shared my goal with my family. I created a menu for the month and delegated chores to my boys. I hogged the family computer, writing after our boys were in bed. I wrote on weekends and kept a word count spreadsheet. If I fell behind on one day, I made it up the next. 

At 11:56 p.m. on November 30, 2004, I uploaded my 50,000 words to the NaNoWriMo site for verification and hit submit. Then I buried my face in my arms and wept. I. Wrote. A. Book. 

A month later, Hubby bought me a laptop and said, “I guess you’re serious about this writing thing, after all.”

I remember that first NaNo experience with fondness, and it was the catalyst for a ripple effect that started my writing career. I also learned a few valuable lessons from doing that first NaNo:

• Write. A writer is a person who writes, so I wrote. Although, talking about writing is more FUN at times, our books won’t get written unless we put our fingers to the keyboard or the pen to the paper. 
• Plan.  When I wrote that novel during NaNoWriMo, I learned I am not a seat-of-the-pants writer. Like everything else in my life, I needed a plan. Now, before I begin writing, I get to know my characters using Susie May Warren’s, The Story Equation. Then I plot out my stories so I have a roadmap to follow as I write. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, you need to know your characters and their goals so you can create scenes to arc their journeys throughout the story.

• Fastdraft. The beauty of writing a rough draft is it allows you to get to know your characters and their stories. Repeat after me—The first draft is supposed to stink. I haven’t met anyone who writes a perfect first draft of their story. Award-winning, bestselling author Rachel Hauck once told me, “Turn off your inner critic, but listen to your inner editor.” What she meant was stop listening to that voice in your head that says your story stinks…muzzle it. Instead, listen to the voice that may be steering you away from the rabbit trail your character wants to take, etc. Besides, unless you’re writing young-adult, a novella, or category romance, 50,000 words is not long enough for a novel. However, your first draft puts the bones of your story in place. You can add the layers and beautiful writing on your next pass through.
• Celebrate. Hooray!! You. Wrote. A. Book. You did what most people talk about doing. Celebrate that accomplishment. Do something fun with your family or friends, especially if they helped free up chunks of time in your day so you could write. Celebrating milestones keeps us encouraged to continue to move forward.
• Breathe. Now that your 50,000 words are safely stored on your computer and backed up, take a step away from your story. Give your brain time to decompress so you can look at your story again with fresh eyes. 
• Polish. Consider kicking off the New Year with the goal of polishing your story. Take time to review your story chapter by chapter. Go through each scene and make sure you’ve built in the additional layers—storyworld, emotions, sensory elements, character sympathy, tension, etc.  These components are essential to add dimension to your scenes. By the end of your story, have your characters completed their goals? Have they changed and grown?
• Repeat.  Once you’ve completed your story and polished it to the best of your ability, repeat the entire process with a new idea. You do not need to wait until November to fastdraft a new novel. Gather a group of friends and do your own version to challenge yourself to write something new. I see many writers who dwell on the same story over and over, tweaking and fixing. When they attend conferences to meet with editors and agents, they have nothing else to show for their labors. 

That first NaNoWriMo story had the privilege of being my first rejected novel. Yeah, that stung, but I learned from it—the story wasn’t ready. As I continued to grow as a writer and applied what I had learned. That rejected manuscript became Lakeside Romance, my fifth published novel. Keep writing and holding onto your dreams.

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His Road to Redemption

A veteran in need of a fresh start will get more than he bargained for…

Veteran Micah Holland’s scars go deeper than anyone knows. An inheritance from his mentor could be a new beginning—if he shares the inherited goat farm with fiercely independent Paige Watson. Now the only way they can keep the farm is to work together. But first Micah must prove he’s a changed man to keep his dream and the woman he’s falling for.

Heart, home, and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. Represented by Cynthia Ruchti of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. Her latest book, His Road to Redemption, releases in January 2022. She is the content manager for Novel Academy, powered by My Book Therapy. Happily married to her own real-life hero for over thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn’t writing, Lisa enjoys quality family time and being creative with words, photos, fibers, and papers. Learn more about her at lisajordanbooks.com.