Prepping for #NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is almost upon us! (That’s National Novel Writing Month for the uninitiated.) Setting aside an entire calendar month to work on your writing project is a fantastic way to put aside any creative doubts you’ve been harbouring. Have you had a book idea simmering for years? Are you ready to revised draft 56 of your current work-in-progress? Have another writerly reason? NaNoWriMo can be a great time to help you along the way.

There are a few reasons for this:

1. Built in community of writers all over the world who are attempting the same thing.

2. It’s a time when you should stop agonising over every single word and just get it down on the page!

3. Allow yourself the freedom for creativity - a lot of people are wrapped up in life’s stresses but pencilling in a full month for yourself is useful for getting your ideas out.

What is NaNoWriMo?

In short, it’s a challenge to write a minimum of 50,000 words of your novel - many people are starting a brand new novel, but NaNoWriMo can also be used for revisions and new drafts. You can set milestones and join a community. On the official website, you can setup an account to help with motivation and tracking your progress.

To write 50k in the month of November, a writer must average 1,667 words per day. It sounds daunting especially if you’ve never written a book before or have been stuck.

How can I be the most successful?

It’s really all about planning. Don’t think you can start planning your book on 1 November. You will feel frustrated and behind. The idea of the 1st start date is to be able to pound out the words.

1. Planning

Planning can include outlining, character sketches and scene settings on index cards. Free writing by hand is really useful. This allows you to work out knotty bits and ask yourself questions, e.g., Why is my character doing this? What happens if they visit the carnival instead of going to work?

But besides planning, it’s detrimental to work on a story that really sparks your heart. Have you had an idea hanging around you for weeks or even years? This is the time to get it all out. Vague ideas might not be the best for NaNoWriMo.

It’s also extremely useful to write a draft of your one-page synopsis or query letter. Why, you ask? Especially since you haven’t written the book yet. Quickly summarising for yourself the plot and the main character’s drive, can help you to see your narrative more clearly. You don’t need to keep to this synopsis or letter, but it can be a jumping off point for connecting the dots.

2. Time for Writing

Ok, great, so you have a month dedicated to your creativity. But how does one actually find the time?

This is really on you. Do you work normal Monday through Friday business hours? If so, try finding time before your household wakes up. Are you a night owl? Skip the new series you’re streaming and sit down at your computer to get writing.

Besides your early planning, setting yourself sprints could make this new monster task more palatable. Also, short sprints can eventually lead to less distraction and larger word counts. The most well-known sprint is the Pomodoro Technique. Set a time for 25 minutes and ONLY CONCENTRATE ON WRITING.

If you’re really struggling, consider setting rewards for yourself, e.g., if you write for 25 minutes straight, you get that next cup of tea or a quick walk around the block to look at autumn leaves. Whatever makes you happy and doesn’t take away from your creativity is suitable.

3. Taking a Break

This project can be really hard and discouraging but don’t let yourself get frustrated (or blocked). If your writing is really not working out in that moment, take a break. Listening to music, read a book, write a short poem. I like taking a walk while listening to an audiobook. The idea is to let your mind break from that hurdle and wander until it all becomes clear. Otherwise, you might plummet and it will be hard to pick yourself back up.

4. Imperfection is Fine

This is a time to park any doubts. Drafts are always imperfect and NaNoWriMo is not the time to dither away at perfection. One caveat to this is don’t completely throw out quality. Yes, of course, you can experiment but try to avoid word count for word count’s sake.

Yes, but I’m stuck! What can I do?!

It happens to every writer, regardless of drafting during NaNoWriMo, but how to dig yourself out. I’ve got a few suggestions:

• Writing in third-person but feel as if you’ve written yourself into a corner? Try switching it up to first-person, and vice versa.

• Consider if you’re writing from the right character’s point of view. Is the one you have now actually the most interesting?

• Don’t worry about writing chronologically: are you really stoked about a scene two-thirds of the way through? Jump ahead to that and write it!

• If you haven’t worked something out, don’t fret. Put a placeholder. This can be something silly or [insert later]. Make sure to leave a note for yourself of all the placeholders. However, often these elements work themselves out the more you write your story. The author and teacher George Saunders speaks about the usefulness of placeholders.

• Are you on social media or a member of the official NaNoWriMo community? Why don’t you hop on over and kvetch. There are thousands of writers ready to commiserate and offer support.

• Remember to be kind to yourself. This time is for you to draft and nothing else. There’s no point being your worst critic.

Where do I start?

With a blank page! (After you pre-planned and setup your writing schedule, of course.)

Most people type on a computer but there are the rare birds that still write longhand. For the latter, get yourself a new notebook specifically for this project. It doesn’t have to be fancy - but it can be - and make sure it has lots of pages for your work.

For the rest of us writing on a computer, you could simply open up your word processor (Microsoft, Pages), but doing so can start to get unwieldy.

Here are a few of my favourites:

1. Scrivener: This is the granddaddy of all novel writing programmes. Don’t be overwhelmed by the functionality. Think about what you need and stick to those features (for example, there is a corkboard and index cards). Scrivener is great for dividing up sections and chapters, and has an auto backup feature which can be a lifesaver.

2. Ommwriter: If you’re looking for a clean and stripped down writing tool, Ommwriter is the best. The programme has audio tracks, typewriter sounds and elegant backgrounds. You can turn on or off sounds as you need.

3. Google Docs: Good old fashioned GDocs is great especially if you’re in later drafts. It’s backed up in the cloud and you can access your writing from any computer. It’s easy to use and is much quicker than Microsoft Word when it comes to organising your files. However, I recommend Google Docs for those writers who lean more organised. If you fit more into the chaos category, stick with Scrivener.

There are loads of writing tools and programmes out there, but I find these three the most conducive to creativity and easy for any writer.

November is over. Now what?

To be frank, most novels are actually more than 50,000 words so you probably have some additional tinkering until you finish your entire manuscript. If you’re still on a roll, keep that momentum. If you’ve finished your messy first draft, congratulate yourself, shout it at everyone and take a well-deserved break. Try for a month and go back to your draft at the beginning of the year - you don’t want to lose too much of that spark.

Once you’ve gone through a few rounds of edits, it might be worthwhile to hand it over to trusted beta readers or hire an editor for a manuscript assessment, which can really focus on structural edits plus evaluates aspects such as character development, voice, narrative, pacing, setting, etc.

NaNoWriMo Check List

1. Prep your project before November

2. Figure out your writing schedule and try to stick to it

3. Write an average of 1,667 words/day every day for the month!

4. Don’t be too hard on yourself

5. Celebrate victories

6. Don’t isolate. Reach out to other writers

7. Finish your manuscript in a month

8. Put it away till January for revisions!