National Novel Writing Month

Sad piano music to write too! 10 hours worth!

Here are some pointers from someone who’s done it before!

-Try to write everyday! NaNoWriMo is a lot like running. You start off pumped up and excited followed by you feeling like you’ve hit your limit. But once you power through that, it gets easier as your pace steadies. Word deficits can be tricky to recover from, so do your best to power through and make writing a habit- it does get easier to keep up the pace!

-Write based on your schedule. One of the hardest things is recovering from a word deficit (at least for me it was). To avoid falling behind, use the first week to test the waters and figure out what days are going to be easier for you to get writing done and what days will be more challenging. On days that you’ve got a solid amount of time and energy, try to write more than you have to so that on the days your schedule just won’t allow you to write too much, you won’t fall behind.

-Write for the next day’s word count. That sort of goes along with the previous tip, but I personally found it very helpful to be a day or two ahead. As important as it is to try and write every day, you’re going to have days where it just isn’t going to happen. Between the holidays, work, school, or worst of all- writers block, you’re bound to miss a day or two somewhere. It’s really nice to have that safety cushion.

-Don’t stop just because you hit your word quota for the day! If you’re on a hot streak, keep going! Even if you think you’ll be able to come back into it ready to continue where you left off, that isn’t always what ends up happening. Not to mention for every hot streak you find yourself on, you will end up with writers block eventually so try to have them off set each other! If you have an idea, get it on paper while it’s still fresh!

-Allow yourself to take breaks. One of the most challenging things about NaNoWriMo is the pressure to keep going in order to finish on time. That can make it very difficult especially when you have writers block. When you’re stuck, you can’t force it. You need to take a step back and focus on something else so that when you’re ready to start up again, you’ll have a fresher take on things.

-Remember the trick is to keep moving forward! Don’t worry about nitpicking, focus on getting the story out. There will be all the time in the world to edit when the month is over!

-The NaNoWriMo website (http://nanowrimo.org/) is really motivating. At least it was for me. Every time I updated my word count and saw my stats improving, it propelled me to keep going! It’s a great way to keep track of your pace and set goals for yourself.

-Knowing how your story is going to end is a huge help. Even if it’s just a snapshot or rough idea. It’s really helpful to have a finite destination especially when your writing is being paced out. Once you know the ending, all you have to do is fill the gaps to get yourself there!

-Have fun! NaNoWriMo is something you choose to do, meaning it’s something you should want to do, not a chore (even if it might feel like it some times)! So make sure you don’t stress yourself out, and have fun with it!-MM

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