NaNoWriMo Survival Guide
November is here! It's NaNoWriMo time!
Since 1999 the people behind National Novel Writing Month have been encouraging authors to meet their creative goals by challenging participants to write 50,000 words of a new novel in just 30 days. That's 1,667 words a day!
At the end of the the month, writers who "win" NaNoWriMo will have the rough draft of their project and a huge boost of self-esteem to show for their hard work and persistence. It's a great way to supercharge your creativity and have a lot of fun with like-minded people.
It is also legitimately difficult to write 50k words in such a short amount of time! So we have some tips for surviving and making the most of NaNo this year!
Take advantage of the NaNoWriMo website and materials. If you've never created an account at NaNoWriMo.org to "announce" your novel and track your progress, you're missing out! They've put together a super fun platform to help you keep up the momentum of your writing and socialize with writing friends. The website also contains resources for you to use during NaNo and beyond.
Write with friends. One of the things that makes NaNoWriMo an enduring event is that people all over the nation are participating together. When you create an account on the NaNo website, you'll see that there are people in your geographical area planning "write-ins." These can be virtual or in-person and are a great way to meet new people and get in the mood to write. You can also socialize with "buddies" on the NaNo site.
Find your method. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Or perhaps you're a plantser? Some people (plotters) find that they need a detailed outline and complete story arc planned out before they can begin writing the actual narrative and dialogue. Others (pantsers) do fine with just the seed of an idea and may even write the story out of order as it comes to them and then organize it later. And then there are people in the middle (plantsers) who prefer a simple outline and some brainstorming sessions, but then just go with the flow. There's no wrong way to approach writing a book-length manuscript, but it might help you to know your method going in.
Share the news. It might feel awkward to tell friends and family that you're jumping onto the NaNo bandwagon, but consider doing it anyway. Your loved ones might be super excited to cheer you on toward your goal, and it will ward off the potential awkwardness of telling them later when you want to hermit yourself away and write. It's only a month, so it might be worth asking for some extra flexibility from those around you. And you never know, your cousin who lives far away might be participating too, and then you'll have another person to write with that you wouldn't have known about if you didn't share the news.
Keep Track. Measurable goals are effective because it's easy to track progress and use that as motivation. But if you're not writing down and celebrating your accomplishments, you might miss out on the benefits of a structured goal like this one. Use the website, a bullet journal, or some other tool to track how many words you've written or how many days you've set time aside for writing.
Take Brain Breaks. If you're feeling frustrated that your story isn't flowing onto the page as easily as you'd like, step back. Take the time to do something else writing-related. Brainstorm character or place names, do some market research about your target audience, or read a chapter in a book about writing and publishing. You might just find that your creativity is back full-force when you sit down to write again.
Remember that life happens. Anyone who has been NaNo-ing for long knows that some days are better than others. Don't let yourself get too discouraged if it's been days since you had the time to sit down and write. Every word you write in November is one more that you wouldn't have written if you didn't commit to NaNoWriMo. Which means there's really no way to lose this challenge outright. Keep writing and pushing toward the finish line, and then reward yourself for a job well done.
