During the month of November many writers gather to Nano (Nanowrimo.org). Nano is the effort to write a novel (50K words) in the month. This is my twelfth year doing nano.
Here are four ideas that could help you finish.
4. Be kind and relax
Be kind to yourself and others. Everyone works differently. This is a great experiment to see what you can accomplish. How you get there will not look the same per person or even per year.
In the past, getting too wound up about the ‘right way’ to Nano made me want to quit.
So relax, it will be fine.
3. Schedule time
If I don’t schedule something I want in my life, it doesn’t happen. Nano is the same way. I look at the month and block out writing time.
2. Keep pace
I’ve done nano for twelve years now. One year I was 20K behind and only two days left. I did nothing but type and sleep those last two days. I made it by moments. My hands ached. I didn’t want to write for awhile after finishing. It was stressful. The writing even less useful than normal.
Other years, I actually finished ahead and wrote to a schedule. Those years I felt good about the effort.
For me at least, keeping pace helps.
1. Sprint
Find a buddy to sprint with. This could be in person, via IM or even email. Set a timer and write. Let the words flow. I personally would rather get a slightly lower count, but feel better about the words.
The key for me is having that person engaged. There is enough competition that I won’t wander away to FB.
How about you? Are you a first time nano-er? Long time nano-er? Never heard of it and interested? What do you do to make nano successful?