Why You Should #JuNoWriMo: Objective #AtoZChallenge #amwriting

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.

O is for Objective

Objective is just another word for “goal.”

I love setting goals. Don’t get me wrong; nice, fluffy, feel-good goals like: “someday I’ll try oil painting” or “someday I’ll get a book published.” But goals like that aren’t helpful. They do little more than convince me I’m going somewhere without giving me the means to measure how (or even where). All the worst goals start with “someday.”

Real goals are specific, concrete. They include a time frame (deadline) and a way to measure when they’ve been met. Real goals are terrifying. After all, goal is just another form of commitment. And commitment is a very scary thing. Putting your entire self into something and saying, “Yes, I will.” That’s a big deal. Why? Because what if you don’t?

If you don’t make the goal, you’re a liar, an idiot, a hypocrite or just a flighty person who goes back on his or her word. I’ve learned the hard way what it feels like to miss a goal. And so to save myself from all manner of humiliation, I’ve found one simple solution: keep my goals private.

Sharing goals with others? That’s crazy-talk! Why would I want to take the hard road when I can take the easy way out?

But there’s one problem with all of that. In keeping a goal to myself, I have absolutely no accountability. I might meet the goal; I might not. What’s the big deal? No one will know the difference except me.

What have I just done? Sucked all the power right out of my “goal,” drained it until it’s nothing more than a good intention. I’ve had about a bazillion good intentions but few of them have amounted to anything without first becoming a goal. Good intention = non-goal.

Making a public goal is a very dangerous thing. A written goal is even worse. Why is it so dangerous? Because there is power in setting a goal. That accountability I mentioned? It’s the driving force that makes things happen.

“But goals make you have to work, and stuff,” you say. “I can’t just zone out in front of the television when I get home from an exhausting day.” And you’re right. That icky feeling nagging me whenever I start to slack off? It may not make me feel blissful but it’s my MVP for getting my goal accomplished.

If you sign up for JuNoWriMo, you’re making a commitment. A goal. A public objective. You’re saying “I will write 50,000 words in 30 days.” Setting a goal that concrete, that real, makes it much harder to back down from and much more difficult to slack off when you don’t feel like working on your book.

It’s Your Turn

JuNoWriMo 2014 is going to be bigger and better than ever, so don’t miss this opportunity 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.

So, are you in?

Sign up for JuNoWriMo now!

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You might also be interested in:

Why You Should JuNoWriMo: Momentum

Why You Should JuNoWriMo: Nonfiction

Why You Should JuNoWriMo: Ludicrous Speed