NaNoWriMo Day 5 – Word Sprints

I don’t believe I’ve ever mentioned it on here, but I co-host a podcast with my best friend Jennifer called Femme Trash. Normally, we talk about all the movies, books, shows, and other pop culture things we’ve been consuming lately, but for the month of November, we’ve chosen to focus solely on writing, word sprints in particular.

What is a word sprint? It’s where you set a timer and you write, write, write as fast as you can, aiming to get in as many words as possible before the timer runs out. It can be for five minutes to up to thirty, and you can have fun prompts to inspire creativity such as, “Try to include the word ‘petrichor’ somewhere,” or “Create a character that has a secret they don’t want anyone else to find out about.”

At first I had my doubts about them because I’m the kind of writer that likes to sit down and write in a huge burst, and it’s usually an all-day affair. But I’ve been converted. Word sprints are amazing for turning off your internal editor and focusing on getting your ideas onto the page. They can make getting in your daily word count goal much easier because they break your writing time into chunks, which keeps your brain fresh.

Whether you’re taking part in NaNoWriMo or not, you should give it a try. All month long, Femme Trash will be hosting different writing sprints of varying times and prompts, so tune in by yourself or with friends to compete for the most words. Let the ideas do a conga line onto the page, and don’t hesitate to let us know your triumphs and struggles. You can do it!