Your pulse is racing and you fill a rush of euphoria spread from your hands, up your arms, and throughout your body. Have you just reached the next level of Frogger? No! It’s time once again for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Starting November 1st, you are challenged to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days.
Begun in July 1999 in San Francisco with just 21 people, the next year it exploded in popularity after going online. It was moved to November that year to take advantage of the weather that time of year. Now hundreds of thousands of people take part with thousands rising to the challenge each year.
Granted, the story that is told in this blast of creative fury is not going to be good. Many times the story written in such haste becomes the framework for a better novel later. The recent bestseller Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen was born from a NaNoWriMo effort. How do you maximize your efforts during this time and make something that you can actually use to further your writing career?
Below are some tips for making the most of your NaNoWriMo time:
1) Plan Ahead
The Rules of NaNoWriMo state that while you can’t write the words of the novel early, you can plan ahead. So in these weeks leading up to November 1st, do your research and planning. Make an outline. Get to know your characters. Do backstory. The more you do now, the less you have to do later.
2) Write Something Everyday
I know that sounds simple but I is actually harder than it seems. From kids crying, family events, and spousal demands; it all adds up and before you know it, the day is done. You have fallen behind. Make a point of writing something each and every day even if it is only a few hundred words. To keep on schedule, you have to write 1,667 words per day to reach the 50,000 word mark in the time allowed.
3) Track Your Progress
By tracking your wordcount on a daily basis, you provide yourself with personal incentive of beating your daily goals.
4) Join a Community
The NaNoWriMo website has an active online forum with writers going through exactly the same thing as you are. There are even local chapters so you can meet in person in your hometown. You can support each other as you push forward as well as help you get through the rough patches you will encounter.