In just two days, writers from across the globe will embark on an epic journey.
The goal? To write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
Currently, there are 143,356 writers signed up for National Novel Writing Month at NaNoWriMo.org. If you are not one of them, you should consider. Some writers consider National Novel Writing Month kind of a right of passage for authors: if you can complete NaNoWriMo, you can complete anything you put your mind to.
Many of our fans have completed NaNoWriMo before, and lots of them are planning to participate again this year. We asked our veteran authors for their best advice for NaNoWriMo on Facebook and Twitter. Here’s what they had to say.
Tweetables:
@AuthorMedia fans give some great advice for #NaNoWriMo! Click to Tweet
Are you doing #NaNoWriMo? @AuthorMedia fans have some fantastic advice! Click to Tweet
Advice on #NaNoWriMo from authors, for authors. Click to Tweet
Check out this awesome advice for #NaNoWriMo. Click to Tweet
1. Set daily goals
“Set and keep daily goals.”–Stephenie Hovland
“Never look back except to read the one passage you wrote the day before. Also, stay 300 words ahead if possible each day.”–Valentine Bonnaire
2. Always be prepared
“Always keep paper and pen(cil) with you.”–Taylor Shirley
3. Don’t edit
“Kill your inner editor. And don’t let him/her come back to life until at least December.”–Alisha Reichow
“Allow yourself the grace to write a first draft. This isn’t a masterpiece. Just the first draft of a novel. It’s not going to be perfect and that’s okay.”–Caitlin Muir
4. Leave room to lengthen the novel later, if needed
“Know the word count for the genre you’re writing…50K is great for YA, but short for adult fiction. Make sure you leave some wiggle room in your plot to add those extra 30K later on…been there, didn’t do that…”–Heather Day Gilbert
5. Keep moving forward
“Keep on keeping on… Do not give up…”–JoAnn J.A. Jordan
“It’s going to take more time than you think… so dont procrastinate!”–Crystal Duvall
Now it’s your turn.
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Is this your first time, or have you done it before? What advice do you have? What are you doing to prepare for the month?
Thanks for sharing these tips! Last year, I finished NaNoWriMo for the first time. I’d given a lot of thought to the book ahead of time, and I listened multiple times to The Hero’s Two Journeys, CDs by Michael Hauge and Chris Vogler. I found Michael Hauge’s lectures especially helpful. Each day I got up early. I decided which characters would be in the scene or scenes that day before writing. My goal was to hit the minimum daily word. I didn’t worry about perfection or even if the scene would end up in the final draft. I just wrote, taking it one day at a time. It’s a great feeling of achievement to hit that 50,000 word goal!
My second year. Reached 50k pretty easily, but did fall behind in mid-month. Main thing is to get that daily quota, but also allow for days you might have/need to take off. Biggest tip is DON’T EDIT.