So, you’re planning on writing a novel in a month. Maybe you’ve got a couple of characters, a setting, and hopefully some idea of a story. But no matter how much planning you’ve done, eventually, you’re bound to get that feeling we all dread… nervousness. Yeah, it’s great right? Don’t you just love the extreme pressure that comes with trying to reach such a big goal?

Well, I’m here to tell you that there’s nothing to be nervous about. It might sound fake, but I’m telling the truth. If you actually want to write a novel there is NOTHING stopping you from just doing it! 

“But what if it’s not good enough?” 

Okay, I’m going to dispel a myth that has plagued aspiring writers since the beginning of time. All you need to write a book is:

1. An idea

2. The desire to write it down

Do you happen to see ‘talent’ anywhere on that list? Do you see ‘having multiple books published already’ on it? If you do, you should probably check again, cause it’s not there.

Does this mean that your first draft is going to be a New York Times Bestseller? NO! It’s going to be messy, there will most likely be plot holes, and it might not make a lot of sense. But it’s the first draft, you can worry about all that with the second one, the whole idea of a first draft is to get the words down. That’s it.

“But if that’s all it takes to write a novel, why doesn’t everybody do it?” 

Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Cause that’s the million-dollar question right there isn’t it? Why doesn’t everybody write a novel? I’m sure you’ve met plenty of people who have wanted to at some point in their lives. So why don’t they? 

It’s because we, for some crazy reason, have decided that writing is this unreachable goal that only superhumans (cough, cough, famous authors) can reach. Which, in my opinion, is kinda ridiculous. For one, famous authors are no different than you and me, they’re just people who looked at this whole writing thing and thought, “Hey, I could do that!” Second, writing a book is not an unreachable goal, and if you still think that, go re-read this whole thing, cause I obviously didn’t get through to you. 

I’ve wanted to be a writer for a long time, but whenever I told people that’s what I wanted to be, I’d receive “the look.” You probably know the one I'm talking about. It's the one that says, “Yeah honey I'm sure you will, but don't be disappointed if that doesn't work out.” I used to wonder why this happened. Did they not think I was good enough? Except that those people weren’t trying to be mean, it had just been ingrained in them that writing was impossible.

I’m going to say this one more time: Writing. Is. Not. Impossible. Just imagine how many more worlds, characters, and stories we’d get to explore if more people realized that. Oh wait, you have the chance to realize that right now. Have you? Good, cause I really want to hear your story.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying that writing isn’t hard. There will most likely be tears, frustration, and you’ll probably wonder why you ever thought this was such a good idea anyway. Writing a novel takes work, and if you’re not willing to work for it, you might have a harder path ahead of you.

Okay, so we’ve learned that writing isn’t as impossible as people think. We’ve decided that authors are just as human as we are and that we shouldn’t let “the look” discourage us. We’ve trudged through the difficulty of writing a book and have chosen to ignore it for the possibilities. So now it’s time for me to stop talking, it’s your turn now, pick up the pen, put your hand on the keys, and write.

Noelle P. is a thirteen-year-old who enjoys guitar, listening to music, musical theater, deep conversations, and movies. She mainly reads Dystopian and Contemporary Fiction but will read anything as long as it has good characters. This is her first NaNoWriMo, but she hopes to do many more.