..:: Written .:. Off ::..

Hey all. I’ve been in Italy, so I haven’t had much time to blog. I know…poor me. Italy was a really cool place. We visited a small medieval town called Siena and did an overnight trip to Rome. I will blog more about this trip later.

So I blinked and Nanowrimo is upon me in full swing. I was at the bookstore last night and wondered how many of the people at the care were there to kick off their novels.

I’m sitting out again for the second year in a row. No sense in fooling myself. I don’t like to force myself into writing. I still believe that writing takes time, moreover, ideas take time to fully form. Some of you have been doing months of prep work: outlines and summaries. I think that’s the way to do it.

Every year at this time I post my Nanowrimo tips. This is a list of things that I learned about writing a novel in a month through trial and error.

So good luck to all of you participating this year and here are my tips:

The list below is an updated repost of my Nanowrimo tips. Every year that I fail at Nanowrimo, I learn something. Here are my tips:

NanoWriMo Tips

If you are considering doing National Novel Writing Month in November, here are some tips from a two-time failure. I may not have ever made 50,000 words but I did learn something along the way:

1. Try to do more than the required 1,666 words a day. It’s always good to have a buffer if you miss a few days. If you can get to 2000 words a day, you will have a nice buffer if you miss a day or two.

2. Make as many notes and outlines as possible during October so you don’t have to think too much out where your story is going. You don’t want to be on a roll only to get snagged by a plot point.

3. Pick a point of view that you comfortable with. It’s easier for me to write in the first person, so I usually use this POV during Nanowrimo.

4. Try to write at the same time everyday. This will help you get into the swing faster and will also build good writing habits in the future.

5. Tell your friends and family that you joined the contest.  Good supporters will cheer you on and yell at you if you’re not writing. Find some Nanowrimo buddies and stay in contact with them during the contest.

6. No editing. Don’t go back and edit anything until the month is over. Getting caught up in editing is certain doom. DOOM!

7. Create and account at the NanoWriMo site so you can upload you’re word count at the end of the day. There is something satisfying about seeing that little bar go up every day!

8. If you get really stuck, take a break, look at your outline and try to figure out different paths to take your story on.

9. The first week of Nanowrimo is easy, when you get into the second and third week, you start to feel the drag. Stay positive, and focused. Remind yourself what an accomplishment it is to get as far as you did, and keep writing.

Good luck!