Tips for NaNoWriMo

I posted this on my personal blog last year, but the So 5 contingent needs some love now, so here are your tips for NaNoWriMo, stolen from various sources, I'm sure, but summed up here in my own special way:

1. Write. Every. Day. I cannot stress this enough. To stay in the groove, you need to write. every. day. If you skip a day, you're going to want to skip the next day too. That's just how we are. Here's an example: I used to be forced to run a whole lot during my misguided freshman year of college when I thought it would be cool to be in ROTC. I am a horrible runner. Horrible. But you know what I figured out? If you stop, it's way harder to get started again. Stop and walk that first time, and you're screwed for the rest of the run. Same thing for writing. Don't stop and walk, just keep running, even if it hurts (which it will from time to time).

2. Take it in small chunks. If you sit down at your computer, open up your word processor and say to yourself, "Self, I am going to write a novel now," I promise that your delicate psyche will scream and run away. But, if you sit down at your computer, open up your word processor and say to yourself, "Self, right now I am going to write the scene in which the zombie ninjas defeat the pirate robots," your delicate psyche will purr and settle in for a long writing session. This does, however, require some planning, which brings me to:

3. Plan. I'm not saying outline the heck out of it. I did that my first year and it served me well, but some people just don't do outlines. BUT even if you don't outline, you at least need an idea of where you're going when you sit down to write. This prevents that whole staring at the monitor and drooling for twenty minutes before beginning phenomenon. Try just taking a few minutes during the day to decide where you want to go when you begin your writing for the day. Use a notepad or a notecard and write it down so that you'll have something to go on when you sit down to write.

4. Take notes. I expounded greatly on this in the NaBloPoMo entry, but it works for NaNoWriMo too. Hear a funny conversation on the bus? Jot it down in your notebook. You might be able to transcribe it directly later as a conversation between your characters. (Note: This might require the removal of your trendy white earbuds for a few days. Don't panic, your ears will still be capable of holding them properly if you go without for a while.)

5. Play with the toys. The NaNoWriMo site has alllll kinds of fun toys this year. You've got the forums, the chat, and the widgets, for starters. I know what you're thinking: But if I play with all the toys, won't that take away time from my writing? Technically, yes it will. But let me give you my personal experience regarding NaNo toys: My first year, I happily jumped into the forums and posted helter-skelter. I joined the chatroom and made friends and watched everyone's wordcounts grow. I challenged a blogging friend to wordcount wars. And I wrote 50,000 words in November. My sophomore NaNo year, I decided that I was a serious writer and would not waste time on all that other crap. I wrote about 15,000 words before I went "meh" and gave up. My theory on why is that I was not invested enough in the community. A big part of what makes NaNoWriMo doable for me is the community aspect. Everyone cheers each other, or challenges each other, and the give and take is something that keeps me going. Give it a try. I think you'll find it inspires you to keep going on those days when you'd really rather just watch eight consecutive hours of Grey's Anatomy than write.

6. Brag. See NaBloPoMo entry for my brilliant witticisms regarding bragging and self-loathing.

7. Turn off the editor. Unlike a blog, no one gets to read your novel unless you want them to. Your mother is not staring over your shoulder at the monitor going, "Don't use such crass language!" Make those little "you shouldn't" voices go away. It's your novel and you can write whatever you want. This is your first draft. It will not see the light of day until you are satisfied with it, so go ahead and put in everything you can think of. If you decide you do want to show it to your mother later and don't want her to see your crass language, you can take it out. Simple as that. But leave everything in for now.

8. Make back-ups. Nothing is more heartbreaking than losing hours of work because your file burped. Do everything you can to back it up. If you're not concerned about formatting, try http://docs.google.com. Other options to try are emailing your file to yourself. (If you need a bigger inbox for that, sign up for a free Gmail account.) You can also store your file on a USB thumb drive or even, if you're oldskool, a diskette. Another place to look for more tips is the technology forum at NaNoWriMo.org. The tech geeks alllllways have fun stuff for you to try.

9. Don't despair. Okay, so maybe you're on day 7 and you should have 10,000 words and you have 2,000 instead and all your friends have at least 11,000 and OH MY GOD YOU LOSER! Know what? Don't give up. Some people write practically their entire novel in the last two days. You are not done until November 30. Do not let yourself be done until then. Just keep plugging away at it, and try to get in some marathons on weekends to catch up. You can still make it!

10. Stay in touch. Even if you've told everyone in your social network about your November doings and they know to leave you alone because you are writing the next great American novel, you still need some social time. You will go crazy if you don't spend a little time watching TV or going out with your significant other or, you know, eating Thanksgiving dinner with your family. You can write at 9:30 p.m. when everyone has fallen asleep in front of the TV and there's nothing else to do, I promise.

Have fun and good luck!