Basically what I'd like to talk to you all about this year is NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org).
WHAT THE HELL IS NANOWRIMO?
For those of you who do not know what NaNoWriMo is, it's basically every writer's dream. The idea is that each participant aims in order to complete a 50,000+ word novel within the 30 days of November every year. It's free to sign up and has all sorts of gizmos, including sponsored gifts and discounts for winners of NaNoWriMo (anyone who writes the goal within 30 days) and includes a whole cool little author board including badges earned by such acts as updating your word count, creating a public profile, etc.
This year is my first year of actually participating in NaNoWriMo and I'm very glad that I decided to get off my lazy butt and start on November 1! TOTALLY WORTH IT! You can look into forums and YouTube videos, plus there are pep talks delivered directly to your inbox. A handy little statistics tab tells you how many words you've written, how many are remaining, your average per day, rate at which you'll complete it, etc.
Why am I doing this? Well not only does it seem like a pretty cool and challenging idea, but it is a method of breaking through the creative blahs of the previous two and a half years in order to return to what I love: writing novels. As I am aiming to become a full-time novelist eventually, I find that this is the perfect training. I used to have the ability in order to write so many words in such a short period of time - 69,000 in 18 days flat, day and night - but it's been too difficult these past couple of years. Senior years of high school, my HSC exams, trying to get a job and now having to juggle three...
Back to NaNoWriMo! :D
For anyone that's willing to give it a go, it's probably best to start earlier but you can catch up in time if you have the correct amount of discipline to do so. And for those who have decided to undertake the challenge and have already signed up, find me here. Add me as a buddy, shoot me a message and tell me how you're going! :D
My Top Tips From Last Week!
- Set a schedule. Make time to write. Don't complain. No excuses. Commit to it.
- Get a notebook. Put in everything. Write on scrap paper and paste it in. I like to put a chapter per page, just a basic outline and a few point characters. Underneath the description I keep a table with two sections: Changes and Important Details. Comes in handy later when I need to know things for a later scene.
- Keep a diary of daily word counts and aims. This comes in handy so much. I have a page in my notebook where I've written 1-30 and put together how many words I should be up to at the end of every day. For anyone who would like to have a copy of the table, I'll type it below and later will create a PDF file I hope to be able to make available for download.
- 1,666 words.
- 3,333 words.
- 4,998 words.
- 6,664 words.
- 8,330 words.
- 9,996 words.
- 11,662 words.
- 13,328 words.
- 14,994 words.
- 16,666 words.
- 18,326 words.
- 19,992 words.
- 21,658 words.
- 23,324 words.
- 24,990 words.
- 26,656 words.
- 28,322 words.
- 29,988 words.
- 31,654 words.
- 33,333 words.
- 34,986 words.
- 36,652 words.
- 38,318 words.
- 39,984 words.
- 41,650 words.
- 43,316 words.
- 44,982 words.
- 46,648 words.
- 48,314 words.
- 50,000 words.
I am considering the possibility of creating a NaNoWriMo Guide for anyone who would like it. I'd take a couple of months across the Australian summer to create it, but if anyone would like it to happen or even has some pointers for other authors to include in it, feel free to comment below!
Goodnight lovelies! :)
- M.S. Watson
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