Subjects covered
Grant Faulkner is Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a yearly challenge to write fifty thousand words of a novel in one month. 500,000 writers in 200 countries participate in NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo offers events year-round, including Camp NaNoWriMo, a more casual version of NaNoWriMo that takes place in April and July. Writers can choose any word count goal and work in any genre.
NaNoWriMo‘s website was recently redesigned to better support writers throughout the year, offering challenges to writers and mini-events as well.
Grant participated in NaNoWriMo himself to shake up his creative process. One lesson he learned was to focus on making progress and getting through the first draft of your novel, so you know your story—as opposed to trying to get it perfect the first time around.
In response to the question as to whether writing was an almost religious experience for him, Grant confirmed that it was, explaining that he has a morning writing ritual and that the act of being creative makes him a better person. Grant added that writing is how we make sense of the world.
Podcast editing and episode notes by author and podcast producer and host Matthew Félix (matthewfelix.com).