November is closing in, and so is National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo for short. With that in mind, I forbid you to read this post before your outline is done. Seriously, do you have your outline under control? Yes? Good, then you may read on. Otherwise, come on, October is rushing by, time really is limited, so get outlining already.
Deal? Deal.
Right. So, other than the outline, what do you need to complete NaNoWriMo? Not a lot, honestly. Like most writing, the only thing you need is what’s in your head, and some means of actually writing. That being said, it’s good to come prepared, so let’s take a look at something resembling a toolbox-cum-checklist for NaNoWriMo.
How time flies, it’s already a week into October. Where did summer go? Who stole the warm evening sun? Why is the lake freezing cold? And who is that naked man-beast screaming obscenities in my garden?
Chances are he’s an aspiring writer, freaking out over November. Yes, that’s right, he’s chill about October, but November, that badass month of every bloody thing you have to get done before December rolls in, fat and giddy – yes, November, it scares the living shits out of him.
November is, as usual, National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. The concept is simple: Write a novel in a month. Or part of one, whatever’s your goal. I guess “beating” NaNoWriMo means that you wrote a novel during the month of November, but there’s a big difference between 60,000 words and 240,000 words, in case you hadn’t noticed.
It matters little, because NaNoWriMo brings writers, prospective ones in particular, together. There’s cheering and helpful pats on the back, because everyone’s suffering. Some are giving this organized and disciplined novel writing thing a go for the first time, and they realize how hard it is. Others are seasoned, with several drafts or even published books behind them, and they know how hard it is.
Tomorrow is November 1st, and although most of us call that iPad Air Day, some have more reasonable goals. Like writing a novel in a month, as a part of the National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short.
The target word count is 50,000 words. That’s 1,667 words per day in November.
Or as I like to call it: Quite possible to pull off.
I’m not participating in NaNoWriMo myself, I’ve got enough writing project on my table as it is. Although I must confess I’m weirdly tempted each year, despite averaging a word count higher than the necessary one to complete NaNoWriMo in style. It’s nice to belong, I guess.
While working on your NaNoWriMo project, I urge you to do the following:
Turn off Twitter, Facebook and whatever you’re addicted to, at least until you’ve reached your daily word count.
Pick a writing tool and stick to it.
Speaking of writing tools, I’ve got two links for you there too. First is my ebook, The Writer’s iPad, which is all about helping you write on your iPad. The second is a new focused writing service called BlankPage.io, which is free to use during November. The latter isn’t built by me, but it is part of the same Odd Alice satellite program as Shrtnws, so give it a shot.
And read up on my Thoughts on Writing series for more writing tips. Happy pecking, all.
Writing isn’t about getting hit in the head by inspiration. It isn’t about finding your muse, and it isn’t about living the glamourus life of the always suffering and slightly alcoholic writer. Although it can probably be for some, in which case I think you should skip this text as it will only make you sad and shatter your illusions.
Writing is about discipline.
If you want to be a writer you need to write. Excuses won’t get you anywhere with writing. So when you put off writing for a day because you’re not feeling inspired, you’re basically fooling yourself. Sure, some days the words come easier than others, but deadlines wait for no man, and writers write.
It is day two of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as the cool kids like to say, and I’m on track. The concept behind NaNoWriMo is to write a book in a month, a fairly short one clocking in at 50,000 words. That’s 1,667 words per day in November, something I managed just before midnight yesterday by the way.
There’s a lot more written about NaNoWriMo on the official site, so I urge you to read up if you like.
NaNoWriMo is a good idea, I like it. It encourages people to write, which is always a good thing. So it is all good then, right?
November isn’t just about growing a mustache for cancer awareness, it is also the National Novel Writing Month, more commonly known as NaNoWriMo. This got me thinking, something I usually do best when my slate is full (and it is quite full right now). I’ve been thinking about writing a little bit about the art/craft/madness of writing.
So I sat down and wrote down the titles of some possible articles. It ended up being quite a list, and I’m pretty sure it will grow a bit as I start writing. This is something I intend to do by the way, unless you hadn’t figured that out yet.
