So who is in for National Novel Writing Month in November?! With it being right around the corner, I thought I’d get us started on next month’s challenge a little early.
If you’ve climbed the mountain that is NaNo Wrimo already (or even if you’ve considered it) you’ve probably done the math: 50,000 words in 30 days = 1,666.6 words per day. So doable, right? :} Right?
Maybe, and maybe not - but I’m going to go for it. I have a WIP and a holiday fic to write, and 50k ought to about exactly cover it. So the longer of my two pieces will be a novella not a novel, and the shorter one perhaps a 15k story. Not a single work, but it’s close enough to the spirit of the thing for me.
Through the month, Agdhani plans to post here and again with tips. I’ll chime in regularly with encouragement, experiences, and whatever else inspires. If you are NaNo’ing, and would like to share your NaNo user name, maybe we could all add each other as writing buddies on their site. Doesn’t look like they have a camp as with mini-NaNo, but we can still collaborate both here and on the NaNo site.
Okay, so advance preparation: The first tip offered up on their web site is this - lock up your inner editor. Put it in a conceptual room, lock the door and throw the imaginary key down a drain. This will absolutely be the hardest part for me, since I just about always edit as I go. I’m going to do my best, though. Maybe a sticky note on the edge of my computer with “Edit Later!” will help.
The next generally agreed on steps are to identify your project, define to yourself what your goals are, and ….outline your novel. Well, I’m sure there are those of us who outline and those who prefer not to. I seldom do, but I think with the particular things I’m working on it would do me a lot of good to at least write out a few paragraphs tonight/tomorrow and think through some of the details of my fictional world. Hopefully it’ll help the muse do its thing.
Please share your thoughts on what you'd like to accomplish for NaNo and your plan of attack - and good luck to everyone!
National Novel Writing Month Page
NaNo Wrimo YouTube ‘Big Page of Tips’