We are halfway through November, and though it hasn’t turned out like I expected, the Novel November challenge has been going well. I thought I would be able to dive into this new book idea –I even started the challenge with writing the outline from where the first few chapters left off– but I haven’t had a one track mind this month.

No, my brain has been more like the Mixmaster in downtown Dallas, converging into so many different directions.

At this point, I’ve worked on five different ideas, some already established projects with a couple of new ideas just to keep me writing. But that is what this month’s challenge is really about: writing. You just have to write, get back into the habit of it or push yourself through a block, whatever this month looks like to you. 

Sure, ideally, you would set out to write a novel during Novel November, but if that’s not where you are, either because you’re new to writing or your in a challenging time in your life, then accept what you’re able to do this month and keep writing.

For me, I had hit such a massive writing slump this year after struggling with insomnia, mental health issues, and career setbacks that I just needed to get back into the practice of sitting down and putting words on the page. There can be so much lost when you get out of the practice of just doing the craft. I knew prioritizing that, even if I made hardly a dent in either of my actual manuscripts I’m working on, would get me back to where I want to be with my craft. 

And that’s what I’ve always loved about this month long challenge, no matter who is behind the helm of the organization behind it: it’s whatever the individual writer needs it to be.

Write your first book, finish a book, start a book, get back into a habit, challenge yourself in a new way, compete with friends, or prove to yourself that you can actually be a writer – these are all great reasons to participate in this challenge, and they have all been my reason at one point or another to write a novel in November. In fact, I would be neither an English teacher nor a writing coach if I had never done this challenge. It allowed me to get over the belief I solidified in high school that I was a bad writer and would never survive an English degree. 

I’m sure there are purists out there who believe if you don’t just work on a singular novel this month that your not doing it right, that you’re cheating even. But those people have yet to realize all the many ways this challenge can serve writers. So, if you find yourself jumping around to different projects or rewriting scenes you’ve previously written or counting words of random thoughts, let that be okay. 

This challenge is for you, just as it is for me and anyone else. There is no right or wrong way. So figure out what it is you really want to accomplish, and make it happen.

Happy writing!