My NaNoWriMo currently stands at 13,155 words, we’re on the 4th day (and I’ve had 3 days of writing). I feel pretty good about it, I’ve not hit a block yet, I’ve not decided that what I’ve written so far is a sloshing fuck-bucket of nonsense, hey I’ve even got time to squeeze a blog post in, I am taking it all in my stride.
Here’s how:
(One quick note before I run through this top 5: I really like seeing the progress of others doing NaNoWriMo, the little blue bar filling up the idea that thousands of worlds are being plucked into existence during this month and nailed to a page; sure some will be dead from the gates, but with the sheer number of writers cracking away this month there’s bound to be a Gem amongst it all. What I am saying is: Buddy up here on NaNoWriMo AND/OR follow me on twitter - even if you intend to unfollow me when we’re done, I’d like to have more NaNoWriMoers in my stream for the month.)
5 Ways To Take NaNoWriMo In Your Stride:
- Reread What You Wrote Yesterday - This is especially good for “pantsers” (writers who NaNoWriMo without any planning). It’ll put you back in the mood and give you a sense of where you should be going.
- Write Out Bullet Points Of Events For The Day’s Word-count - However long that may be, just make sure you park some tent-poles up before you fire into something. Sure you might be inspired enough as you go along but having checkpoints to run between can be a godsend to getting shit done.
- JUMP THOSE KNOWLEDGE HURDLES! - One of the biggest problems for NaNoWriMoer’s is often we don’t have the luxury of research time. We can’t go off when we hit a road-block in our knowledge and fill in the gaps, we have to jump these hurdles. Here’s how: write it down in your notebook at the end of the session. I have a list of 8-9 things my characters started saying and doing (including: draining an oil boiler, the contents of a bookshelf in an abandoned house, and a description of a quilt) which I was unsure about. Other NaNoWriMo entrants talk about the way they “pad out” a book, this is how you’ll do it, dashing back at the end to fill in these little gaps once you’ve managed to find a moment to do some research!
- Run The Next Scene As A Back Ground Process - Once finished for the day try thinking about the next part of the world. If you write in the evening try and set your head to this just before sleeping. While at work (“real” work I mean!) take some time while making a cup of tea to think about the next actions in the novel. This can really help out planning (see no.1!)
- Write 300 Extra Words A Day - Or more, but this isn’t for your word-count. If you don’t work in a a job where you’re writing all day (as I am) you may in yourself a little rusty during the acceleration period (the first 300 words). This happens to me too, mostly on the weekends though (and so I write these reviews to warm up). You’re going to want to throw away these 300 words away every day , so make sure you plan this “roughage” into your word-count!
That’s all I’ve got for keeping the good ship sailing a fair course! Good luck!
