This one’s for all the writers out there.

You know that event that comes around every November that gets a writer on pins and needles?

No, I’m not talking about Black Friday, though I concede its massive discounts on writing tools and services are really nice and hotly anticipated.

I’m talking about National Novel Writing Month, or “NaNoWriMo” as we writers call it in the mother tongue.

Every November, writers who want to finish a novel before the end of the year will join this worldwide event (billed as a national event—which is it, NaNoWriMo?) and attempt to crank out a manuscript worth 50,000 words or more by the 30th. With an expected average of 1,667 words a day, this feat isn’t easy to accomplish, especially when life yanks us in 50,000 directions daily.

An open book with water splashing out of it.

But many writers hit that goal, and they celebrate by staring at 50,000 words or more of total dreck and wonder what they’re supposed to do next. It’s a beautiful problem to have because they’re staring at 50,000 words or more of a novel that didn’t exist in October. Many other writers end November with Black Friday debt and possibly a hangover.

Anyone who dreams of becoming a writer may look at NaNoWriMo as their moment to dive into the deep end when they’ve spent their lives fearing it. Some of those dreamers will actually take the chance. Some in that pool will even finish and “win” NaNoWriMo.

But then there are others who have already jumped off the diving board and produced a few manuscripts over the years, but they hunger for more backlist titles. They, too, may look at NaNoWriMo as the moment they’ll draft out that pesky idea that’s pecked their brains since the Internet began and think of ways to finish the job.

NaNoWriMo is that event that practicing and aspiring writers alike join forces by locking themselves alone in their bedrooms or offices and get to work (or procrastinate until they panic at 11:29 p.m. because they’ve written nothing all day, and now they face that do-or-die moment because they refuse to face the embarrassment of showing a zero word count for the day, so they have to do, even if it kills them).

This brings me to the NaNoWriMo Basic Template for Scrivener.

NaNoWriMo Basic Template for Scrivener (2023 Edition)

It’s that time of year again.

Most writers who participate in NaNoWriMo this year will not use the NaNoWriMo Basic Template for Scrivener to help them reach the end. Some may. Many will use Scrivener or a similar tool to get their work done. But the majority will not use the NaNoWriMo Basic Template because they don’t realize it exists.

And that’s a shame. These writers have no idea what they’re missing out on.

But if you’re reading this article, then you can find out what they’re missing out on. And more importantly, because you’re reading this article, you don’t have to miss out like they do.

So, what is the NaNoWriMo Basic Template for Scrivener?

It’s a specially designed document you use in Scrivener to help you plan, write, and finish your NaNoWriMo project.

A screen shot of a Scrivener corkboard displaying a calendar of index cards on a computer screen.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You could literally use any writing tool to write your NaNoWriMo novel.

Yes, that is true, and you would be right.

But how likely are you to finish your NaNoWriMo novel with that tool? And how likely are you to keep it organized?

And let’s say hi to that big elephant in the corner over there: How well will that tool track your word count progress without wrecking against the wall should you make a slight change to that section later in the month?

It may be that your tool of choice can track your word count well enough. Microsoft Word can certainly give you an accurate reading, even though you’d have to keep solid accounting of your daily work and switch drafts before midnight. But it can only tell you how much you’ve written. It can’t set your goal for you. And it can’t hold the line for you should you need to course correct by November 15th.

Or maybe you’ve decided to use Google Docs for some reason. That’s crazy, but okay. You’re still limited to your forward momentum and sudden document switch by midnight, and you still have no way to track your total progress in real time.

In both cases, you have no accountability or native resources to keep you on track, and it wouldn’t take much to either fudge your progress or knock your story out of alignment with no hope of repair before December. This seems counterintuitive. Why ignore the tools that keep you straight and swimming?

On the other hand, maybe you’ve decided to write your NaNoWriMo project in a dedicated writing app like Dabble or Atticus. Or maybe you’ve even decided to write in Scrivener.

But maybe you’re writing in Scrivener without the NaNoWriMo Basic Template.

My question for you is, why would you do such a thing?

The NaNoWriMo Basic Template for Scrivener is designed to house your entire NaNoWriMo project from conception to completion. It gives you a place to store your ideas, keep your novel’s notes and research quickly accessible, and write your daily content with word counts and project goals accurately tracked in real time.

It also gives you a place to keep a journal of your progress. And a place to record your word totals over time. And a plan for a social media campaign around your WIP.

And it’s been allowing you these options since 2019 (with new features added every year, including 2022’s social media section).

Well, maybe you haven’t been using it because you haven’t heard of it before. Now you have.

And now I’m happy to tell you that the 2023 Edition is finally live and ready for download.

The newest edition includes options for continuing an existing work as if it’s brand new, as well as editing daily content without screwing up your word count reports. It also gives you a place to document and store your images (including those generated by AI), as well as researched content from anywhere on the Internet (including content generated by AI…if that’s what you want).

As of 2023, the NaNoWriMo Basic Template for Scrivener has become a full suite of necessary resources for keeping you and your novel on track this November.

And you can get it right now if you want to start preparing for NaNoWriMo early.

Or you could start your project today if you’d rather use November as the month to finish it.

Just be sure you own a copy of Scrivener 3 first. This whole article will have wasted your time if you don’t own or plan to own Scrivener 3.

If you need more information, watch my YouTube video demonstrating it in action. But it’s free to download and use, so you may as well just get it.

Be sure to let me know what you think if you start using it.

Note: I usually post annual updates about this template on my sister site, Drinking Café Latte at 1pm. This is also where I keep the link to the downloadable file (hosted on Beacon). One of these days, I’ll build an official page for my various tools and templates, but I haven’t gotten to that point yet. For now, you can find all the important ones at Drinking Café Latte at 1pm.