Ah, the age old question that they give every young writer participating in nanowrimo on the ywp site. I don't really have a clue on how I'll survive but what I put in as my answer was a link. A link that had five tips on how to survive nano. And so I decided to share it with you, because it will come in handy, especially since it starts in two weeks. (Copied from here: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/node%252F500237) (The things that can pop up using google.) And also this is useful for every nanoer or wrimo, using the young writer site or the main site.
The pep talker is S.A Bodeen, by the way.
P.S, if you want friend request me on the ywp one or the main site one, my username is 1018mockingjay, on both sites.
1. Writing Buddies.
In 2006, I was teaching in an MFA program and talked several students and a couple faculty members into participating. Every day I would pop on the site and check out their word counts. The race was on. It’s easier to get those words out when you have something on the line. For us, it was lattés to whoever made the 50K first. And I think we all made the deadline before the end of November with two of us going on to sell those novels.
In 2006, I was teaching in an MFA program and talked several students and a couple faculty members into participating. Every day I would pop on the site and check out their word counts. The race was on. It’s easier to get those words out when you have something on the line. For us, it was lattés to whoever made the 50K first. And I think we all made the deadline before the end of November with two of us going on to sell those novels.
2. A Support System.
Each year, my family knows how many words I need to pump out in a day, and if I haven’t done it by the time they get home from work or school, they know they need to leave me alone and let me work. It helps if they offer reinforcement too, pushing me on when I don’t feel like writing.
Each year, my family knows how many words I need to pump out in a day, and if I haven’t done it by the time they get home from work or school, they know they need to leave me alone and let me work. It helps if they offer reinforcement too, pushing me on when I don’t feel like writing.
3. Routine.
I do my NaNoing at the same time, same place every day, so it becomes a habit. If my initial morning time doesn’t allow me to hit my word count, I’ll write again in the evening. And most importantly, I don’t get down on myself if I miss a day. I just get back into it as soon as I can and make up for the lost words over a few days.
I do my NaNoing at the same time, same place every day, so it becomes a habit. If my initial morning time doesn’t allow me to hit my word count, I’ll write again in the evening. And most importantly, I don’t get down on myself if I miss a day. I just get back into it as soon as I can and make up for the lost words over a few days.
4. Start Fresh.
By November 1 each year, I have an idea. It may just be the names of a couple main characters, but that’s enough to start with. And I don’t edit myself. Some days I do go back and read what I’ve already written, but I don’t revise anything during November. I just let the story wander wherever it wants to go, knowing that at the end of the month I will have a big fat chunk of words that I can then mold into something good.
By November 1 each year, I have an idea. It may just be the names of a couple main characters, but that’s enough to start with. And I don’t edit myself. Some days I do go back and read what I’ve already written, but I don’t revise anything during November. I just let the story wander wherever it wants to go, knowing that at the end of the month I will have a big fat chunk of words that I can then mold into something good.
5. Strategic Stopping Points.
I always stop for the day when I’m hot. For example, say I’m writing an exciting chase scene that I’m really into. I stop before I finish the scene, so I can get right into it again the next day. If I were to finish the scene completely the day before, then I’d be staring at the blank screen the next day thinking, “Now what?” Instead, I’m off to the races, racking up the word count for the day, on my way to the finish line.
I always stop for the day when I’m hot. For example, say I’m writing an exciting chase scene that I’m really into. I stop before I finish the scene, so I can get right into it again the next day. If I were to finish the scene completely the day before, then I’d be staring at the blank screen the next day thinking, “Now what?” Instead, I’m off to the races, racking up the word count for the day, on my way to the finish line.
The pep talker is S.A Bodeen, by the way.
P.S, if you want friend request me on the ywp one or the main site one, my username is 1018mockingjay, on both sites.
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