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[NaNo]DoMore in 2022!

Here it is November already (at last?), and writers around the world will engage in NaNoWriMo (or some other form of daily wordcount goal) this year. We applaud any and all efforts to up your writing game, but sometimes, bigger is not better—or at least, sometimes it’s not feasible. That’s why we’re offering up bite-sized challenges to help get you doing, well, more this year!

Welcome to Year 5 of YeahWrite’s NaNoDoMore. It’s like a little scavenger hunt for your writing.

30 days, 30 goals, but only because that’s a convenient number (I promise you will not be writing a novel in a day). Do any number of the goals. Do them in any order. Do as many or as few on a given day as you want to and as you’ve got room for in your life. If big wordcounts are your thing, we’ve got you covered. If you want one or two achievable goals? We’ve got your back.

But Do More. Do something new this month. Stretch yourself a little. There’s no prize for doing the most or the least, but we’ll be offering up points over on Discord, so make sure to join us there!

Need a little nudge? Here’s something to get you started: 30 days of prompts.

How to “win” NaNoDoMore

All you have to do is post at least one thing you accomplished from the list in the #NaNoDoMore forum on Discord. Everyone who posts will be awarded XP, or experience points. See how many points you can rack up over the month, and in December we’ll all celebrate the “winners.” No, we won’t be checking your work – we’ll be operating on the honor system here, and really, what’s the point of cheating?

(Not on Discord? *gasp* We’re disappointed, but we get it. You can still play along by posting your accomplishments in the YeahWrite Coffeehouse on Facebook or tagging us on Twitter or Instagram along with the #NaNoDoMore hashtag. You won’t get XP, but you’ll still be Doing More this month.)

This list is NOT in ascending order from easiest to hardest. What we think is easy you might think is hard, or vice versa. It’s not in order of “this is for your blog, this is fiction, this is nonfiction.” We want you to be comfortable zipping around in the list and just picking out the ones that sound exciting or interesting to you. There’s only one rule: try to do something you’ve never done before, or help someone else do that. Sound good? Let’s hit the list.

DoMore on Discord!
  1. Join the conversation on YeahWrite’s Discord server, where you can win points just by posting your progress!
  1. Enter a writing competition. Might we recommend our own Super Challenge? Don’t drag your feet – registration closes November 2 at 10pm ET!
  1. Share a link to a story or essay that you love on your own favorite social media feed. Talk about why you love it, and tag YeahWrite so we can share!
  1. Take advantage of Self-Promo Friday! Have you published a book or story? Do you have a writing-related Patreon or Kickstarter? Share a link in the Coffeehouse and let everyone know!
  1. Mix up your writing methods: try writing longhand if you usually use a computer. Or if you usually write longhand, try drafting on a computer or dictating your writing.
  1. Beta read for someone. Don’t have a writer friend? Find one on Discord! Super Challenge participants, this one’s designed especially for you!
  1. Hop into the Coffeehouse on Facebook any Monday of the month (or year!) and tell us what motivates you—or what you need to get motivated.
  1. Update your author page with a biography and list of publications. (This can be as simple as a list of your favorite posts with links to the posts. Don’t be intimidated by the idea that other authors may have more. There will always be an Agatha Christie out there.)
  1. Participating in NaNoWriMo? Tell us about it on Discord! (What? If you’re doing all that work you should get credit – and points! – for it in as many places as you can!)
  1. Write an elevator pitch for your WIP. Not sure how? Check out this Year of Fearless Writing post with tips.
  1. Sign up for a workshop or class on writing. (Hint: Our Scarlet Quill Society is meeting on Sunday 11/13!)
  1. Write a complete story in under 100 words and post it on Discord. Need a prompt? We’ve got a bunch of mix-and-match ideas for you!
  1. Start a conversation on Discord about anything writing related.
  1. Post your writing goals for the week or month in the YeahWrite Coffeehouse or on Discord.
  1. Drop into a WIP Write-In via Zoom and get some writing done – with a side of accountability! The schedule is on the YeahWrite calendar. (Christine hosts every Wednesday!)
  1. Pull an old story out of the drawer and revise it. (Here’s another plug for the Scarlet Quill Society, our free year-long editing workshop.)
  1. Help an author out: review their book on Amazon or Goodreads, or write a review on your own blog or website with a link to purchase the book. Don’t forget to share your review with other YeahWriters!
  1. Time for a coffee break! Check out the new prompts in this week’s kickoff post.
  1. Host an online reading or critique group. For readings, invite writers to read for about six minutes from a WIP or completed work. For critique groups, have everyone come with a short piece to workshop. You can even use the voice channels on YeahWrite’s Discord server to meet up!
  1. Co-write a story with someone else. Need some help? Check out this list of 30 character and action prompts! Mix and match, or pick prompts that fit your work-in-progress.
  1. Submit writing to a market that pays. That’s right: get paid for your hard work. We know, it’s a novel concept. (See what we did there?)
  1. Write your own “Best of 2022” roundup. Link to at least five books, stories, and/or essays you read this year and let us know why you loved them.
  1. Read some poetry! Check out the daily poems at poets.org – you can find something new, or read old favorites. Bonus points: read something by a BIPOC poet.
  1. Find your own prompt! Read a poem, visit a photography website, or listen to some new music. Open yourself up to be inspired. Or check out our Navigating Prompts series for some inspiration.
  1. Write an essay you’ve been afraid to write because of what your family might say. (You don’t have to post or publish it. Just write it.)
  1. Write a poem in a form you’ve never tried. Check out our Poetry Slam archive for ideas and tutorials. 
  1. Find one interesting anthology that’s accepting submissions and tell us about it: what makes it exciting to you? Why should someone think about writing for or submitting to it? 
  1. Share a darling (a favorite phrase or sentence, or a brief passage; something you’d hate to delete) from your current work-in-progress in Discord.
  1. Start reading a book that you feel like everyone has read but you—one that you don’t want your writer friends to know you haven’t read yet, or maybe one from someone else’s “Best of 2022” list!
  1. Buy a book for a child. It doesn’t have to be your child. If you don’t have access to a suitable child, ask your local school or prison library what books they’d like and make a donation.

Remember: this isn’t a checklist for destroying your life in 30 days. You’re not supposed to get through all of it. But why not try as many new things as you can reasonably fit into your November? No pressure, no shaming, just… a little NaNoDoMore.

We’ll be checking in with you all month, sharing our adventures and scary baby steps too. What’s the first new thing you plan to try?

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