Getting ready for NaNoWriMo.

You might get more from the NaNoWriMo forum.

50k in November breaks down to 1,667 words/day. Just keep writing, and don't edit until November is over.

There's an entire forum dedicated to talking about NaNo http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=87

Come on in!

How do you do it? You write, write, write, and then write some more. Yes, it is possible. And I think that it's even possible to write a decent first draft. Two years ago, I was a "winner" of nano. Last year I didn't make it. The difference? I didn't outline or anything, but I did have a very clear idea of what I was going to write about.

This year, I am so pumped, that I am working on an outline of sorts. I also wrote down a miriad of trivia about my main character, right down to her favorite pizza topping. I just think that the more mental work you can do ahead of time, the more smoothly it will go for you.

Writing 50,000 words in 30 days is not easy. It takes a lot of determination and drive, and caffeine, and Necco's (OK, well maybe that one is just me). By a week or so in, my neck hurt and I think I had carpal tunnel syndrome. The physical toll is great, as well as the mental part. So plan to take care of yourself during November, even more than any other month. Go for walks, runs, enjoy the outdoors, drink your water, eat brain food...whatever is good for you...do it!

MMMMkay- so that's my morsel of advice, for what it's worth. ~Karen

Oh, yeah, and to answer your question...

I usually write for 10 minutes straight, then take a 5 minute break. During those 10 minutes, I'm not allowed to procrastinate or get distracted, but I can do whatever I want during the other five minutes. I manage to write about 500 words in those 10 minutes, so with just 40 minutes of work, I can get to 2k words a day.

So if I do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes when I get home from school and another 10 minutes before bed, with 10 additional minutes thrown in along the way, I barely feel the workload and am completing more than the NaNo word count requires.

Then, I also write any other time I get the chance, just to make sure.

Also, coffee and cigarettes.

Don't ask me, I've failed in all of my four starts. My best achievement was reaching 30,000 words in 2005 with this fantasy novel. Of course, I was unemployed then. 2006, and then 2007 I was working full-time and got to like 3k and 6k respectively. 2004 was a dud at like 1.5k due to have finished exams on Nov 20.

This year, I can't escape the hype and fan fare of NaNoWriMo that I'm participating but giving myself a more achievable goal. I know it's kind of cheating, but it's better than not going in it at all, as I can't miss this for the world. The community is just such an invaluable resource.

This will be my fourth year doing nano and I have finished everytime. I never outlined, sometimes I never even had a clear idea of what my novel was about- I simply put BIC everyday for all of those thirty days and wrote at least 2000 words a day.

Allow yourself to suck - and don't quit- making it better and editing is for December- My very first Nano, done in 2005, has been rewritten 5 times and nearly doubled in length from its original form, but the story is the same- jusr better-

Just write Blue- just write- oh BTW- I have that first nano novel out to several agents right now for consideration.

BIC, internal editor off, spell check off, and write your 1700 words per day, never looking back.

I'm an early riser, and with coffee in hand I sit and write from about 6 to 8:00 AM. In those two hours I can spill forth some of the most god-awful crap you've ever read...but the words are there.

Give it a shot, Blue -- it's fun. Exasperating at times, but fun.

Have an outline. My big failure last year was because my outline wasn't fully done and I hit a plot wall at a time that real life exploded. Without a plan, I couldn't get back in the groove.

On actual BIC time...

Get your coffee and snacks right with you before you start writing.

Take the potty break before you start.

Turn off the phone/cell phone/television/internet, or whatever other distractions you have.

Write for an hour. Don't look back. Don't stop. I don't care if you have to detail every move in a chess game between two minor characters...keep going.

At the end of that hour, stand up. Go check your voice mail. Call a friend. Go for a walk. Play with your kids. Fix dinner. Whatever lets you turn off the writing portion of your brain for 15-20 minutes or so.

Have you hit your goal for the day? If yes, congratulate yourself. If no, rinse and repeat.

I'm very excited. I have my outline ready, and it's approximately 10k words.

Uncle Jim had a pretty good concept that applies to Nano: take X amount of time set aside each day for writing. You will either write, or stare at the screen. No surfing the internet or researching or anything like that. Write or stare at the screen!

I plan on doing that. I was a little lazy last nano (got to 40k and ran out of steam, but I also didn't outline that one, so I didn't know where it was going).

Blue -

Pick up the book No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. Then use spacejock's neat little daily word goal spreadsheet (can be found here) to track your progress (but you may need to change the year at the top of the spreadsheet).

Sassee said:

Then use spacejock's neat little daily word goal spreadsheet (can be found here)...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, the tips are quite good. I like this one:

Buy yourself a reward and dangle it. I just got hold of the Lost season 3 boxed set, and it's sitting above my monitor, sealed. I won't allow myself to watch it until I write the 50,000th word for Nano. If I don't write 50K, I won't allow myself to open the seal until 2008.

Click to expand...

Here I am thinking, what to write next, what's supposed to happen?

Click to expand...

I like to stop writing for the day in the middle of a scene, when I know what's going to happen next. That way when I sit down again to write, I don't have to waste time wondering where to go or what to do. I dive in exactly where I left off, and the extra steam from it being a new day usually carries me to the middle of something else exciting.

BlueLucario said:

YOu know... I don't think I can write 1667 words a day. It's not the time I'm concerned about, but it's what I write. I normal can write at least 1/4 of the requirement per day, but by the time I reach there it's like a sudden pause. Here I am thinking, what to write next, what's supposed to happen?

Click to expand...

I know the answer here, just MAKE something happen - it doesn't have to be appropriate, either to the context or in general...

BlueLucario said:

What is she supposed to say? How do I write this?

I get this annoying block even with my 'editor' shut off.

(Sassee, I just got the book this week. THanks. )

Click to expand...

I dunno,when if that happens to me I think I'll spend the rest of the 1200+ words cussing out that damn internal editor. It'll be just like James Frey in "A Million Little Pieces" in those pages where he writes about AA.

Blue, download this from Zette's site NaNo for the New and the Insane

Hang out on the NaNo forum. Don't wait for November, go there now and see if others who are posting don't get you excited about writing. Also, try out Word Wars, Prompts & Sprints You'll find, in November, 10, 15, 20, 30 min. word wars, there may be 5 min. ones as well. You can do word wars with others so you won't feel you're writing alone. You'll find a lot of encouragement going on with those you do word wars with.

Seriously, the main point of doing NaNo is to have fun.

A Writing for NaNo Flow Chart

katiemac said:

I like to stop writing for the day in the middle of a scene, when I know what's going to happen next. That way when I sit down again to write, I don't have to waste time wondering where to go or what to do. I dive in exactly where I left off, and the extra steam from it being a new day usually carries me to the middle of something else exciting.

Click to expand...

Yes, great idea. Flow chart follows:

Q1. Word quota met?
A1. No.
Keep on writing, go back to Q1.
A2. Yes, continue.
Q2. Middle of sex scene?
A1. No. Stop for the day.
Get coffee pot ready for tomorrow.
A2. Yes. Continue writing. (Creative interruptis can be harmful to your, ah ... whatever.
Go back to Q1.

I bought a big bag of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms and divided it up into snack size baggies.

I also have plenty of coffee.

Yeah, I think I'm ready for NaNo now.

MeowGirl said:

I bought a big bag of dark chocolate peanut M&Ms and divided it up into snack size baggies.

I also have plenty of coffee.

Yeah, I think I'm ready for NaNo now.

Click to expand...

Just don't keep all those baggies by the computer at once! One day I was terribly, terribly bored at work and on a break walked over the Hershey's store. (I was in Times Square at the time.) I bought a bag of mini Reese's and devoured about half of it in a couple of hours. The rest of the chocolates went the next day. I spent the weekend walking it off.

I store most of the baggies in the freezer (I hate cold chocolate). That's the only way to keep me from eating them all in one sitting.

MeowGirl said:

I store most of the baggies in the freezer (I hate cold chocolate). That's the only way to keep me from eating them all in one sitting.

Click to expand...

That might be the best piece of advice I have ever gleaned from these forums.

I have a map to redraw plus one to draw but otherwise, I am ready to write.