NaNoWriMo - On your marks ... get set ...
This is a special Halloween edition!
By now, hopefully you've joined up on NaNoWriMo's website, gotten a month's supply of caffeine (or other stimulating substance), and are planning to get a good night's rest after your Halloween activities.
Hopefully you've plotted your story. If you do that sort of thing.
Hopefully you've got a good computer/typewriter/pen/pencil/crayon to write with.
Hopefully you've got a lot of headache medicine and eyedrops for when your eyes dry out.
Hopefully you've got a load of instant/very quick meals you can throw together so you can keep your butt in the chair as much as you need.
This month can be as hard or as easy as you want. But I can say that—from experience—it is certainly one of the most rewarding months you'll have all year. NaNoWriMo is an insane experience that will challenge you to get something done you never thought you could do. Write a book in 30 days. If you write every day, you need to get 1,667 words daily.
But remember, there will be days when you can't write. That's called life. I would recommend taking at least one day off per week, which would increase that number, but it's up to you how you want to do this. After all, it is your story.
Above all, love your story. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's like a person. Everyone has different personalities, different ways of thinking and different imperfections. Let those things go. Once they're on the page, move on. Don't get hung up on fixing them, just get them out and keep going. As soon as you've hit your goal, then you might want to go back and fix it, but November isn't the month to do it.
At the same time (this might sound like it goes against what I just said), don't just go for word count. Go for quality. Trust me. You'll be much prouder of yourself if you write a good story during NaNoWriMo than if you just write an okay story.
I'll be posting again tomorrow with a pep-talk, but here's what I have to say in parting for today. You can do it. It doesn't take a Stephen King or James Patterson to write books at a fevered pace. You can. You have it in you to write a story you're proud of. You have it in you to get things on paper, and you can finish your goal this upcoming month. At the end, you'll look back and know that you did an amazing thing.
Thanks for wreading! And get ready to start writing!
Jeff
By now, hopefully you've joined up on NaNoWriMo's website, gotten a month's supply of caffeine (or other stimulating substance), and are planning to get a good night's rest after your Halloween activities.
Hopefully you've plotted your story. If you do that sort of thing.
Hopefully you've got a good computer/typewriter/pen/pencil/crayon to write with.
Hopefully you've got a lot of headache medicine and eyedrops for when your eyes dry out.
Hopefully you've got a load of instant/very quick meals you can throw together so you can keep your butt in the chair as much as you need.
This month can be as hard or as easy as you want. But I can say that—from experience—it is certainly one of the most rewarding months you'll have all year. NaNoWriMo is an insane experience that will challenge you to get something done you never thought you could do. Write a book in 30 days. If you write every day, you need to get 1,667 words daily.
But remember, there will be days when you can't write. That's called life. I would recommend taking at least one day off per week, which would increase that number, but it's up to you how you want to do this. After all, it is your story.
Above all, love your story. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's like a person. Everyone has different personalities, different ways of thinking and different imperfections. Let those things go. Once they're on the page, move on. Don't get hung up on fixing them, just get them out and keep going. As soon as you've hit your goal, then you might want to go back and fix it, but November isn't the month to do it.
At the same time (this might sound like it goes against what I just said), don't just go for word count. Go for quality. Trust me. You'll be much prouder of yourself if you write a good story during NaNoWriMo than if you just write an okay story.
I'll be posting again tomorrow with a pep-talk, but here's what I have to say in parting for today. You can do it. It doesn't take a Stephen King or James Patterson to write books at a fevered pace. You can. You have it in you to write a story you're proud of. You have it in you to get things on paper, and you can finish your goal this upcoming month. At the end, you'll look back and know that you did an amazing thing.
Thanks for wreading! And get ready to start writing!
Jeff
Comments
Post a Comment