In 2021 I started my PhD. The aim... brief...project (whatever you want to call it) is clear. To have 80,000 words in total complete by 2024. This daunting number consists of a 40,000-word critical analysis and a 40,000-word extract from my novel, Seas' Game.

When I initially considered the size of the product, I wondered how on earth I would manage it. My novel at the time had already hit the 80,000 mark and wasn't finished yet. I knew I'd need to finish the book in order to write about it for my PhD and guessed it would roughly hit 150,000 words, which I am in range for. I questioned whether it was possible.

It was only by reflecting on my undergraduate experience, where I typically wrote around 15,000 words per semester, that I gained some perspective. That was approximately 30,000 words in 24 weeks!

But when you start researching something so specific that you have essentially made up your own research question, I realise that 80,000 words isn't that much. There's too much information out there, and you're not going to effectively put all of it down. Certainly not in such a small word-count. It is only through my PhD that I can see why people spend all their time researching!

On the surface, 80,000 words, sounds like a lot. And it is... but it also is not that much at all.

Thus, a paradox arises: a seemingly large word count that also feels untameable. As a writer, I have immersed myself in the power of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to conquer word counts. Over the last two years, I have utilised his community-driven writing event to help me navigate the challenges of my PhD.

NaNoWriMo and word counts

NaNoWriMo offers three distinct periods throughout the year where authors are encouraged to write together as a community. November—where everyone's target is the same. 50,000 words in 30 days. That is 1667 words a day! This is the time where I feel more tuned-in. A heightened sense of connection and motivation.

April and July are also months where writers are able to form as a community and complete camp NaNoWriMo. Oddly enough, I struggle more with these because the goal is self-selected. Personal. However, I struggle with self-given deadlines and goals. They do not work for me. Not efficiently at least. The camps only work if someone else gives me a target. It feels more like a challenge that way. If I set it myself, I don't get that same desire to hit the goal.

But with NaNoWriMo's main event, I see others also excited about their own goals and work in progress. Each writer is attempting to hit that 50,000 words. I'm excited and frustratted. They're excited and frustrated. This shared connection propels me to continue.

The reason behind why I find external goals easier than self-set targets and deadlines is unknown but it's the same with everything. Self-set deadlines will pass by, but a given one will see the work in a week or two early. However, acknowledging this distinction has been fundamental in my writing journey.

So far, I have successfully completed five or more NaNoWriMo challenges specifically to combat the word count of my PhD. My supervisors have gotten used to the fact that NaNaWriMo is something that I use and have become familiar with the term.

How does NaNoWriMo aid me in my academic journey?

Now, you may be wondering, what exactly do I write about during NaNoWriMo?

It depends on what I want to get done at the time. Usually the academic side. The research. So not only do I use NaNoWriMo, I use my kindle. The notes function on my kindle meant that I was able to write my thoughts around the relevant part of the page, giving me the quote and my notes as raw data. This was particularly useful and beneficial in the November 2022 NaNoWriMo.

The chapter I decided to work on was Fantasy, Otherness, and Disability. There wasn't really a lot of text linking the three works together so I had to fuse them together in a way that worked. With the notes from the kindle, I was able to not only start the chapter, but get a 10,000 word draft done. The notes themselves probably added up to 15,000-20,000 words. This chapter has become a highlight of my PhD journey, and I am immensely proud of the final result. I don't think I would have got the draft as it is if it wasn't for NaNoWriMo.

Even though I had the challenges of juggling teaching responsibilities and earning a teaching qualification alongside my PhD, I had gotten the 50,000 words by the end of the month. It was tough due to external factors affecting my mood. When I didn't feel up to the essay, or when it was the weekend, I allowed my creative energy to flow into the chapters of my novel, Seas' Game, advancing the narrative.

If you plan on doing a PhD or a research project in the future, even if you are not a writer, I recommend using NaNoWriMo and the camps.

Plans ahead

Overall, NaNoWriMo has become an invaluable tool in empowering me to combat the word count challenges of my PhD. It provides a connecting with fellow writers, and achieving milestones in both my academic and creative pursuits. I have one year before my PhD is due and I am planning using NaNoWriMo as an aid for my final year.

There's not much left now. I have 8,000 words of my academic piece left to write. Most of that is the introduction, and another is character development. Easy for me to do. With the creative side, I have 12 chapters of my novel to get done and dusted. I recon I can do the chapters and the introduction by 30th November, 2023. What do you think?

If I can do that—and I hope I can—that gives me nine months to review my work! I am almost there, I can see the end of the threshold and it is scary and exciting at the same time!

So for now, I am going to weigh the anchor, travel upwind and plough through!