Why You Should Write a Book in June
This month for the A to Z challenge, I’m highlighting twenty-six reasons (alphabetically, of course) why you should write a book in June.
JuNoWriMo is our spin off of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that takes place in June, challenging you to write 50,000 words in thirty days. In the past two years, JuNoWriMo has inspired hundreds of writers to get their books written, including myself. June is the perfect month to stop procrastinating and get that book written.
Why should you write a book in June? Here’s one reason.
H is for Help When You Get Stuck
When I write a book on my own, if I hit a wall or fall into a plot hole, I flounder around and my writing gets sparse until I can solve my story issue. That can take weeks or even months, and by then my momentum has stalled and I have to do more than fix a problem – I have to regain my determination to keep working on the dang thing.
But if I hit a wall during JuNoWriMo, things go completely different. Here’s an example of what I mean.
Two Junes ago I was working on my book Out of Thin Air about a woman who attends her 10-year high school reunion with hopes of uncovering a few lingering mysteries about her ex-boyfriend, all the while hoping to rekindle their relationship. Somewhere mid-story, I finally had them dancing together, very close to meeting my protagonist’s wildest hopes. The plot was suddenly stagnant. You can’t, after all, give your protagonist what he or she wants that early in the story – at least not for long. But I was stumped on how to go about interrupting their romantic moment.
I happened to be word sprinting at the time, so I tweeted, asking for suggestions on what could go wrong at a dance to break up a couple. I got a slew of interesting ideas to choose from, and the one I Iatched onto was something I never would’ve come up with on my own. I made one of the very drunk classmates at the reunion crawl around on the floor stealing the shoes of the dancers and run off to stash them somewhere. Once he took my protagonist’s shoes, everything went downhill. The dance got broken up and her ex escaped for the time being. And with that, plot hole was averted without losing any momentum.
You can similarly use the JuNoWriMo forums for a little brainstorming help whenever you’re stuck. JuNoWriMo is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of all the other creative minds out there.
It’s Your Turn
JuNoWriMo 2014 is going to be bigger and better than ever, so don’t miss this chance to write that book. I dare you to write 50,000 words in June. If you accept my challenge, know that you won’t be in it alone. You’ll be writing alongside hundreds of other authors who are going for the exact same thing, and that’s the best way to write. It’s gonna be stinkin’ awesome.
Oh, and one more thing. JuNoWriMo is having a giveaway right now: sign up and you just might win a prize!
So, are you in?
Sign up for JuNoWriMo now!
JuNoWriMo on Twitter | JuNoWriMo on Facebook
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Hmmm… You are tempting me, I must say!
If I can come up with a strong enough idea ahead of time, y’know, do a little bit of plotting, then maybe I’ll be able to pants my way through June.
You have seriously tempted me!
~Tui Snider~
@TuiSnider on Twitter
My blog: Tui Snider’s Offbeat & Overlooked Travel
I am also part of the #StoryDam team, a friendly writing community!
Tui,
Good luck on working up the idea. That’s the fun part. I hope you will join us. Following you on Twitter!
Nice to meet you, and thanks for stopping by. 🙂