Any who, recently over the past couple of days I have been a bit both lazy and distracted, gallivanting between seeing family and friends, deciding what I want to do with myself in the new year, the possibility of moving/new jobs and all those other wonderful things that life enjoys tossing in the way. (Although I LOVED Mockingjay at the movies at 9 PM last night. Seriously, go see it!)What was I saying again...? Oh, right. NaNoWriMo!
The NaNoWriMo Journey, M.S. Watson Style!
This is the year of NaNoWriMo 2014 and it's almost coming to a close with just a few days left on the calendar. But for thousands of people internationally we're racing with our fingertips to get those extra words down, and I just wanted to take a chance, a break from my busy schedule, to inform all you lovely readers on what NaNoWriMo is, how to participate and how I go about it.
For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and allows people the opportunity to come together to write a 50k word novel in the month of November annually. To become a winner, you must complete 50k words and present them in the check section of the NaNoWriMo website and then you'll be offered sponsor prizes so to speak. Some in 2013 included 50% off of Scrivener software, free eBooks and free CreateSpace copies of your novels.
As a winner in 2013, I am trying to have a second consecutive win in 2014 and it's proving a lot more difficult with all of these distractions. But now that I'm home, here's my basic schedule that I try to stick with every day:
- Wake up early. I try and wake up each morning at around 8 AM but I am more of a night writer - as proven by the fact it's currently 12:25 AM on a Saturday morning - but I still try to wake up early if possible so I am able to wash away my sleepiness with a cool shower and have that early morning buzz. Follow it up with a Chai latte and I am set!
- Find a place to be alone. No distractions. I try to accomplish this each day but most days it doesn't happen and I have to force myself to work through the distractions. It's not ideal, so I rejoice whenever everyone leaves the house and I can have it all to myself! I also enjoy lighting some candles or incense, relaxing music and open the windows and curtains for some bright light, positivity and fresh air.
- Write when you don't even want to. Most of the time I don't really agree with this because it's quite annoying, frustrating, can cause writer's block - for me, at least - and it causes disinterest in what you're writing. However, if you're in a rut, it's best to do this and then go back later to fix it to your liking.
- Decide whether or not you want to skip a few chapters, or write consecutively. It's pretty self explanatory, but personally I usually choose the latter. I find that my writing consistently deviates from the plans that I write in my notebooks and I not only dislike that, but I also have to rewrite my plan, and leaves me with chapters that don't connect well. Plus I don't like tossing chapters to the side. If I write, I intend on using most or all of the words I write.
- Don't overdo it. Sleep when you feel the need, even if it's just before midnight and it leaves you cringing to leave that last lot of 1000 words unwritten. What's the point of writing if you're too tired to concentrate and end up writing something crappy? No, waste of time. Sleep, rest, drink plenty of water to keep hydrated and try to keep the caffeine as low key as possible. After all, the last thing you want is to have your words done in time and be in bed, only to find you've overdone it and you're bouncing off of the walls.
That's about it, everyone. I can't wait to have my book Tempest complete and out in early December. I am currently writing it for NaNoWriMo, and following Tempest and its release I will be completing my studies in Romance and Creative Writing, and then taking a break from writing for about a month before focusing on my Clarity Duology in early 2015. Now before my wi-fi goes running off on me beyond my control, I would like to end on the note that I am pleased to announce I am currently working on finding the perfect covers for the Clarity Duology and hope to have something to show you all in a few blogs' time.
Good morning or night, whichever part of the world you come from. I hope to talk to you all again soon!
- M.S. Watson
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