NaNoWriMo: The Memoir Version

Because Why Not? Sometimes it's okay to be a joiner...

Nov 01, 2023

Happy November! If you’re in the writer world, you probably know that November brings National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo). Writers everywhere are going to be burning the midnight oil trying to meet a goal of writing 50,000 words by the end of the month. And this year, I decided to join in.

When I write curriculum, it’s usually on a whim. I do a little bit of planning, lots of last minute prep, then I put my ideas into action and wing it, editing as I go. It’s not until the whole thing is over that I spend time reflecting and revising the written parts. So it’s not surprising that it wasn’t until last week, on a whim, when I decided to join NaNoWriMo.

But I’m not going to write a novel. Instead, I’m going to harness the collective energy of hundreds (thousands?) of writers to finish the memoir I’ve been planning for two years now. I’ve reorganized the outline probably twenty times. I’ve written four chapters! Four! But every time I sit down to write more I feel like I should pick up where I left off. And sometimes I just don’t have the same energy for that scene that I did when I last sat down with it.

Over the last week, I’ve prepared as much as I can. I completed a worksheet to help me think through the important pieces of the story.

I did some really hard introspective work on who I am as a main character.

I compiled a list of scenes already written. I made a timeline of scenes I know need to be written.

I created a new Scrivener file, with a new word count goal, and a new document for every single scene.

In November, I will sit my butt in the chair as many days as possible. And I will win NaNoWriMo (can I call it NoMemWriMo?).

It’s not too late to join us for Gratitude Journaling! For simplicity’s sake, the group will happen on Facebook. While I hate using social media and am trying to not rely on it for too much, I haven’t found another place to host a month-long virtual group. Just click here to request to join.

As someone who is writing a memoir about feeding my people well, it pains me to know that writing 50,000 words in November will mean a lot of very fast meals. Alas, it’s just one month. We can survive on beans and cabbage and pasta for 30 days. 29 actually, because Thanksgiving means we’ll get at least one gourmet(ish) meal thrown in there. Here are the super easy meals I’ve planned for the month.

MacaBeanyandCheese
Cabbage and Sausage Casserole
Tacos - the super fast ground beef and cheese kind my mom used to make.
Spaghetti - again, the fast kind. Brown some ground beef. Mix in some Trader Joe’s marinara sauce. Cook some pasta. Mix it all together.
Wonton Soup
Sheetpan Sausage and Veggies (this one is on repeat at least once a week)
Nachos
Pot Beans
Creamy Lima Beans
Chicken Nugget Salad (yes, with frozen chicken nuggets. These are my favorite)
Pasta with whatever veggies I find in my fridge or freezer.
Cabbage and Farro Soup
Crockpot Lentil Soup
Three Bean Chili
Veggie Grain Bowl (again with whatever I can find in the fridge or freezer)

Between those recipes on repeat and some meals I have stashed in the freezer, I think we should eat pretty well this month!

My kids and I are reading The Lost Library as our bedtime read aloud and The Birchbark House for the next Kids Book Club.

I scored John Grisham’s newest book The Exchange off the lucky day shelf at the library and read it in a week. Grisham knows how to write a legal thriller, that’s for sure, but there were some holes in this one, in my opinion. I found the ending to be unsatisfactory, and there was an entire section at the beginning that I wanted him to circle back to. But Grisham is doing just fine without me as an editor. If you’re looking for a fast paced, riveting read, it’s a good book to add to your pile.

I just started Pictures in the Sand and I can already tell it’s going to be an exquisite piece of work.

For book clubs this month, I’ll be trying to carve out time in the midst of writing to read Dracula and Beloved. If I can get through at least one of them, I’ll feel good about my reading life.