It's November and that means that NaNoWriMo is here again! Have you signed up? Or do you hate it? There are so many differing opinions when it comes to writing until your fingers bleed on the keyboard each day!
Personally, I love NaNoWriMo. It gets the story I've been thinking about for months out of my brain and onto the page. I love the community and the pep talks from amazing authors. Don't get me wrong, November is an insanely busy month for me, but I manage to write that first, horrible draft every time.
This year, the amazing Kristina Van Hoose has posted a fabulous gathering of all the information you'd ever need to prepare for NaNoWriMo, or really any writing endeavor. Check it out here.
And in case you need more tips and tricks to pour over, here are a few things I do to survive NaNoWriMo:
I'm a minimalist when it comes to plotting and planning. I like to have a solid beginning, flexible middle, and possible end. As long as I have a general idea of what's going to happen, I let my characters do whatever they want. It is NaNoWriMo after all.
Once my very changeable plot is in place, I plan day to day. At the end of the day when I've written all the words my brain can stand to write, I write a little more. By adding a quick sentence or two, I plot the next day's writing. It might just be a scene or an entire chapter. As long as I have an idea of what I'm supposed to write, the writing usually gets done without major pauses or head smacking desk incidents. ;)
I also plan when I'm going to write each day. I steal time anywhere I can! If I'm waiting in the kid's pick-up line at school, I write a paragraph or two. If I have a break during lunch, I write a page or two. Most of my writing happens in the evening after the kids go to bed.
I like to prepare my family for NaNoWriMo too. I usually begin the conversation before Halloween just so everyone knows mommy will be checking out after bed time. Getting family and friends on board with my writing schedule is important! And I get to give them updates on my word count so they can cheer me on!
So if you haven't joined the madness, come on! Get that novel done! Even if you don't hit the 50K mark, you'll still have more words than 0 at the end of November!
Have a great tip? Please share! We love hearing from you!
