NANOWRIMO SURVIVAL GUIDE

I've won the National Novel Writing Month challenge for six years now. The program is very near and dear to my heart, and I always encourage writers, experienced and new, to give it a try. Don't be intimidated by the word count! The most important thing is going on a journey with the story you want to write with a sprawling community doing it with you.

Here, I've provided a few tips on how I usually accomplish NaNoWriMo. I hope it helps you in some way!

1) I curate a music playlist specifically for my project.

While writing, I only listen to songs with lyrics relevant to the character and plot as well as songs relevant to the era the novel focuses on (for example, a previous novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo referenced early 2010’s internet culture, so I had a playlist of songs from early 2010’s that I used to listen to back then). I will listen to the playlist only when i write, so it shifts me to writing mode.

2) I block out specific hours of the day to write.

One year, I wrote at 10pm so that it was a race against the clock to reach my daily goal before midnight. Another year, I wrote for at least an hour right after work (so I don’t lose the flow state I often find myself in while working) and then I wrote for at least another hour after dinnertime. So far, trying this has me so focused on my writing that i exceed the hour i give myself and end up writing a lot more than i expected.

3) After every writing session, I make sure to make a note of what has to happen next.

After every session, I jot down something quick like [LOVE INTEREST CHEERS M.C. UP AFTER M.C WAS SCOLDED AT WORK] so i can just jump right into that event the next time I write.

4) If I’m bored with writing my current scene, I immediately move onto the next so I’m consistently enjoying what I’m writing.

Most likely, I end up removing the scene that bored me in the first place during the editing process.

5) If I think I can write more, I write more.

On a related note, I forgive myself if I have days where I can’t meet the daily word goal of 1,667 words, especially when I know I will exceed my daily goal on another day.

6) I don’t worry about whether my writing is getting too simple.

In most cases, I consider my NaNoWriMo draft my "zero" draft. All the rewriting and editing will make my writing read better later.

7) I write even when I'm tired, but I still try to make it comfy.

Writing is hard, and working a job on top of it can be draining, but I still wrote 1,667 words without fail despite being tired. I usually support myself with a warm, cozy blanket and a tall cup of iced water (I love cold water.) or my favorite homemade caramel iced coffee.

Recently, I’ve also been putting on a comfy cardigan, which now acts as my writing totem to trigger me into writing, before going to town. (It’s a cardigan I wouldn’t really wear in public, so it’s a cardigan I only wear when writing.) On particularly hard days, I reward myself with more treats if I reach the word count (like I’d give myself more pieces of chocolate than I usually would).

8) I usually have some semblance of an outline.

You don’t even need a full outline. But at minimum, having not only a plot but also an end goal for your main character will help you so much. Once you know where you want your character to end up by the end of the novel, you can gradually carve a path towards that goal as you write.

9) I determine the latest time I should start writing.

I write 1,667 words within an hour most days, but it can take up to two hours. To play it safe, I determined that the latest time I should start writing is 10pm. This also helps especially on days where I’m struggling, as my mind interprets it as a race to the clock to write 1,667 words before midnight.

10) When I'm running low in motivation, I do sprints, followed by breaks.

My current go-to is a 15-minute sprint, 5-minute break, 20-minute sprint, 5-minute break, and finally one more 15-minute sprint. It gets me to 1,667 words most of the time.

Don’t feel bad about relying on sprints! It can even be fun if you like to be competitive. Join a writing Discord server with its own Sprinto bot, as the bot can set the timers for you and allow you to “compete” against fellow writers if they also join the sprint.