Against All Better Judgement: Doing NaNoWriMo (Again)

There was a solemn vow made this year. No NaNoWriMo. None of that word-count madness. November would be a calm, reasonable month devoted to editing, marketing and perhaps snacking on something that wasn’t cheese.

And yet… here we are.

Because, of course, once the internet fills up with writers announcing their shiny new projects and posting screenshots of word counts, it’s hard not to feel a little twitchy. Resistance melts away faster than a chocolate bar in a heatwave, and before long, the cursor is blinking on a blank page titled NaNoWriMo 2025.

This year’s rebellion comes in the form of rewriting Highland Proposal. The editor’s feedback—kind, insightful and painfully accurate—suggested that the main character needed more spark. Less politeness, more sarcasm. The story itself could use a bolder hook, perhaps a fake engagement to raise the stakes. As this editor has been with the Highland Books since the very beginning, her instincts tend to be spot on. So, back into the Highlands we go, armed with caffeine, misplaced optimism and the hope that second drafts are where the magic happens.

Learning to Film Without Fainting

One unexpected delight this year has been the world of video creation. TikTok and YouTube were, for a long time, terrifying words—synonymous with youth, dancing and algorithms that chew up creators for breakfast. But somewhere between curiosity and chaos, making videos became oddly addictive.

I’ve undergone an entire crash course in filmmaking: learning what on earth b-roll is (apparently, it’s not a new type of bread), discovering the power of jump cuts, experimenting with “fade to black” transitions and even figuring out how to zoom in on still and moving images. Editing takes roughly seventeen times longer than anticipated, but it’s satisfying in the same way tidying a cupboard is, if the cupboard occasionally burst into spontaneous applause.

Not Viral, Not Rich, But Weirdly Happy

The honest truth? None of it has moved the needle much when it comes to book sales. The Highland Books remain firmly in the midlist trenches, my standalone novels do not sell and the YouTube channel is hardly giving Zoella or Amelia Dimoldenberg sleepless nights. But there’s enormous joy in making something visual, funny and slightly ridiculous.

The videos that work best seem to be the ones where there’s no talking involved—just visuals, music and maybe a cat. Something about silence paired with absurdity seems to land better than long monologues about publishing woes. (Make of that what you will.)

There’s also an unexpected sense of community: comments from fellow writers and kind strangers. The internet may be a fickle beast (!), but it’s nice to know there are corners of it that still appreciate storytelling in all its forms even when it involves bookish chaos and Highland cows.

So yes, NaNoWriMo is happening after all. The plan is to insert bucketloads of sarcasm back into Highland Proposal, film the occasional video about the chaos and hopefully end November with a story that feels alive again.

And if not? Well, there’s always next November.

(If you’re curious, here’s an example of the kind of thing I’ve been doing on YouTube…)