NaNoWriMo

With NaNoWriMo slinking around the corner, many of us are saying quietly to ourselves…

“Oh no.”

There’s nothing like writing 50,000-words in a month to both fill you with anticipation and dread, basically DREADTATION. It feels so so good to complete NaNoWriMo, to finish a book, to conquer a challenge. But actually doing the writing part of it? That’s really really hard. Not impossible, but really [pauses to cry] really hard.

If you aren’t familiar with NaNoWriMo, definitely check out their website. But basically it’s a challenge. It’s like a challenge to drink 3 litres of water a day. The reward for that is you’re hydrated. The reward for NaNo is you’ve finished a book and you’re so sleep deprived you accidentally did a blood sacrifice with your neighbour to finish on time. (KIDDING!!! You totally would not…do…that…)

You only have to write the 1,700 words a day, which isn’t that much. You just have to know what to write everyday, which sometimes is rather hard.

This will be my 6th year of NaNo, and that’s not a streak I can break (obviously, c’mon, I am a Slytherin), but I confess that I am actually feeling underprepared this year. Probably because I have not prepared. But let’s stuff that little reality in the corner and look at it later. The fact is: I have done FIVE years of NaNoWriMo and won each time. My best time was finishing in 2 days. My most ridiculous/stupid time was cram-writing in the last week after having been away for a month. And my most exhausting time was launching in after I’d just finished a massive intensive rewrite on an epic fantasy on a deadline — my brain was MUSH. That NaNo was…a mess. But hey! I still won.

I love doing NaNo and knowing thousands of people are writing every day and spinning magic into the midnight sky. Worldwide WRITING CLUB. 🙌🏻

Also did you know my novel that came out this year with Hachette UK (The Boy Who Steals Houses) was my 2016 NaNoWriMo project!?? So SEE. Anything is possible.

But in case the idea of writing 50K in a month is making you feel like you have a swarm of anxious bees in your mouth, I thought that I would…

give you some tips to win NaNoWriMo and finish your book in a month!

You’ve got this. 😌🙌🏻 Also feel free to add me as a buddy!

other posts you might find helpful…

💬 How To Write a Successful First Draft
💬 How To Win NaNoWriMo in 3 Days
💬 How To Stay Motivated While Writing Your Book

1. remind yourself that you’re writing a first draft

So it can suck! Did you hear me? FIRST DRAFTS CAN SUCK. They !!! are globally known !!! to be awful !!! And even if you write clean drafts (which is fine, I’ve started focusing more on this myself, but it takes me way longer to write a draft), the point still is to keep moving forward and get the draft done. Think of your first draft like a skeleton.

NaNo is for just digging the bones out of their gnarly grave and doing a little dark magic.

#SpookySeasonReference

2. take yourself seriously

And by this I mean 👀 don’t act like it’s not a big deal that you want to write a book. It is a big deal. It’s special and important. I can be wholly hard to carve out time (especially with school and family and work commitments), but snatch your times and make them sacred.

And seriously, get off twitter. Take yourSELF seriously means prioritising what you WANT. And you want the draft.

3. plan your time

Put aside time. Legit, wrestle it out of the darkness and claim it as your own. You only have 1 hour to write? Make it count. And try not to leave writing 2K to the 20mins before bed, because…I don’t know. Do you want to die? Do you? 🤨

4. plan your book

Even if you’re not a plotter, it’s still helpful to go in with SOME sort of plan. Look, you don’t have time for writer’s block and you don’t have time to restart your book 40 x while trying to find the right scene. Even if you just write a bullet-point list of things that need to happen, your characters’ goals, and a rough idea of the ending.

If you’re going to hurl yourself screaming into a novel on a deadline — then KNOW where you’re going!!!

💬 How To Outline Your Novel (Without Biting Your Own Head off)

5. write your book’s blurb first

This is my favourite cheat-tip 🤗So many people say to me “um, summarising my 80K novel into 3 paragraph is too hard”. Okay so: write 3 paragraphs and then summarise them in an 80K novel. Do the blurb FIRST. (Or query, or synopsis. Whatever fits for you.)

Also this is a great way to know if your book sounds unique and hooky enough. If you can’t write a blurb that makes your soul ignite — then your premise probably needs more work! You can plot it better now, before you’ve written it. And then you don’t have to rewrite so deeply later.

6. have you got your panic buddy!!!

Some people have writing buddies, but!!! The true term is: PANIC BUDDY. And you need one.

“oh but c.g. i don’t have friends,” you say in a small voice.

Eh, neither did I when I started blogging and writing. You make them. There are forums on NaNoWriMo’s website, or you can use twitter hashtags, or follow along with Instagrammers. Start conversations. Be friendly. Support others. Seriously, YOU can be the one who is friendly too. You don’t have to wait for friends to come to you — this is advice from someone with social anxiety!!! The internet makes friendship easier for some reason!!! Less eye-contact and you can answer messages when you’re ready, not before. 😌 SMART.

Also just give updates. I will be nattering away on my Stories on Instagram, because it’s rather motivating to talk about your own progress. You feel seen. But blog, tweet. Whatever it takes to keep you motivated.

7. take pride writing what you’re good at

Look we all have our writing strengths. Description. Incredibly imaginative worlds. Character banter. Emotional scenes. Action. Whatever it is! LEAN into it. Write the scenes you’re not good at and leave them. Then focus on the thrill of writing the parts you ARE good at. (You can fix the messy things all later.)

Getting through NaNo is about not feeling like piece of soggy bread. So cheer yourself on and revel in your strengths.

8. let your story evolve as you write

One of my personal biggest problems with writing a first draft is that, about 20,000 words in — I’ll always get a dash of sudden inspiration. Sometimes this derails my whole outline and I hate everything (mostly myself). But sometimes it’s just a smaller thing. The villain should have been younger. The book should’ve been set by the sea. I don’t need three characters were two could go. Etc. Etc.

The instant reaction is: oh no I have to start again.

But you don’t.

Just keep writing from where you are, implementing the changes NOW. This way you’re not wasting time writing an old villain when you know it needs to be a young villain. You can fix the first 20K in edits. It honestly doesn’t matter if your book’s beginning doesn’t match the ending right now. Let it be a tattered jacket with elbow patches. Seriously, work with your story and your muse, not against it.

9. don’t self-sabotage

Stop telling yourself you can’t do this!! I will quietly shake you, just a little, and remind you that you are NOT an “aspiring writer” and your writing isn’t “a total garbage fire” and you are not a “dead eyed llama stuffed into a trench coat”. (I mean MAYBE the last one is true, fine. I won’t judge.)

But don’t talk yourself out of writing your book. This is my #2 favourite hobby. My #1 favourite hobby is, of course, deciding my story is unimportant and nooooo one will ever want to read it. Then I move onto deciding I’ll never write it well enough. JUST 🗣STOP 🗣THAT.

It’s a lie, and you know it. Your story is important and you don’t have to get it “right” instantly.

10. write by not writing

And I cannot stress this enough…but I do my best writing when I’m NOT writing. 😂 I literally will get up for a glass of water, and think of a much better way to write a scene. I plan out all my scenes when I go for an afternoon walk. Or sometimes I lie on my bed daydreaming (fine, sometimes it turns into a nap; but other times it’s work.)

If you want to have a very fruitful and productive writing session: KNOW what you’re going to write before you sit down!!

Mentally go through a scene like a movie in your head before you write it (even if it’s just one scene a day!). Let it morph as you go. Give yourself a plan but also be flexible. Writing becomes so much easier then. 😌

| what do you say? |

hellooooo tell me who is doing NaNoWriMo this year? give me a hint on what your book’s about? do you have any other tips to share for those writing a novel in a month?

 

It’s that time of year when many of us plan to write a book because we hate ourselves.

Hello to NaNoWriMo! And if you don’t know what it is (ARE YOU LIVING UNDER A ROCK, SON) it’s basically a month-long challenge in November to write 50,000-words. Writing is hard, okay. This is a truth universally acknowledged. You’re trying to be a bunch of different people ALL AT ONCE in a story that hopefully makes sense by the end. *

Some people take years to write. Other incredibly annoying people take a few days.

Yeah, um that was a massive burn @ me who writes 90K in 3 days quite regularly. But look at my blog title. I’m basically the Fast & Furious and I do use my “fastness” for other purposes, like getting the heck out of there when it’s time to socialise. #Skills

But that’s not what this post is about.

In honour of the month of trauma NaNoWriMo, I want to give you 10 tips to help write 50K in a month! These are really intelligent writing hacks that you can use all year around. And I wish to doubly underline that they’re intelligent and not at all dangerous.

(Just, um…get an adult when you’re using scissors, a stove, or that bloody meat cleaver, okay?)

 

* LOL.

OTHER WRITING POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE:

  

1. YOU’RE WRITING A FIRST DRAFT, NOT A POLISHED MANUSCRIPT.

Now I can see the panicked sheen of your eyes as you whisper, “Cait, I’m a perfectionist and I can’t help that.” And OK! I am a perfectionist too! BUT NOT DURING 1ST DRAFTS. When it comes to perfectionism, you honestly have to make a deal with yourself. A good way to go about this is:

• Realise you want things perfect OR YOU WANT TO BURN DOWN THE SUN.
• Say that’s ok. Love yourself, satan.
• Make a deal with yourself in that: NO you may not edit while you’re writing in November. But YES you may edit when you’re finish.
• I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
• Reward yourself with cookies, cake, the true throne of England — it doesn’t matter. But you WILL get to be a perfectionist, just. not. yet.

I actually nearly quit writing because of perfectionism. I acknowledge that it sabotages my writing and I work with it.

Anyhow I also wrote a FANTASTIC post on how to write a “perfect” (aka gnarly) first draft last year before NaNo. So go reeeead that and bask in my genius. Or, you know. Don’t bask. I can bask alone. I’m my own biggest fan which is very supportive of me.

2. NO CLUE WHAT THE HECK YOU’RE SAYING IN THAT SCENE? JUST KEEP WRITING IN CIRCLES TILL YOU FIGURE IT OUT.

The reason my 1st drafts are usually 100K+ is because (A) I hate myself and wish I was a piece of bread, and (B) I often don’t know what I’m saying in every scene. So I just keep writing until the meaning appears. A LOT of people would edit that as they go, or think, “Woah woah this is a dialogue bunny trail! I need to back up.”

I leave those waffling moments in. Let them argue about cornflakes for a hot second. IT’S OK.

Why? Because:

• I’m actually learning more about my characters for every word I write <— super important
• that scene might be dumb now, but it might be useful in rewrites
• DON’T DON’T DON’T GO BACK AND EDIT. ALWAYS GO FORWARD. NO BACKSPACING. Unless you are heinous at spelling like me and need to retype your own characters’ names. I…I would not do that. Ha ha.

Every scene SHOULD have a point, but in 1st drafts? It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. The world is a void and you’re screaming into it and laughing until you fall over.

#We #Love #Writing

3. DON’T BE SCARED TO MAKE HUGE CHANGES MID-DRAFT.

Because if you don’t wish for death while editing, are you even writing`?!? HA HA JUST KIDDING. OH WOW PLEASE SAVE ME FROM MYSELF.

The point is: sometimes I get violently hit with a way to make my book BETTER…and I’ll be 15,000 words in already. I don’t go back and add in that character. I just keep going like that character was always there. It’s OK. You can fix that in edits. Make a little note to yourself if needed.

Otherwise, onwards, son. Stop crying on the floor. Your ancestors were not puddles. Up, UP.

4. SMACKED IN THE FACE WITH JEALOUSY OVER SOMEONE ELSE’S SUCCESS? UNPACK THE REASONS WHY.

Look, it’s hard to see other’s success while you feel like a soggy piece of bread. It sucks. You want to feed yourself to the duckpond.

A good way to work on this is to talk yourself through the situation:

• “They’re writing much faster than me, but does it really MATTER????”
• “I have two favourite professional authors…but do I know how long it takes them to write a draft? Nope. Does it affect my enjoyment of their published books? NOPE.”
• “Maybe they’ve been writing longer than me so have more experience.”
• “Oh that person has been working FOR FAR LESS YEARS than me but has a book deal?? Maybe they’re a marginalised voice that needs to be heard? Maybe it was right-place-right-time. Maybe my book isn’t quite ready yet anyway. Maybe I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes in their journey.”
• “MY TIME IS COMING LIKE THE QUEEN OF THE CONQUERORS.”
• “I support them = they support me.”
• “Their first draft looks SO MUCH BETTER than mine, but does it matter??? Everyone has to edit!”

Mate, it literally matters 0% how you get to the end of a book.

Just GET THERE. And honestly if you actually enjoy yourself and take pride in whatever breadcrumbs you’re putting onto the page? Then you’re going to enjoy this.

5. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS JUST KILL OFF YOUR CHARACTERS.

This is the kind of quality advice you come to me for. Don’t @ me with your questions. I’m not here to make sense.

6. IF YOUR SCENES ARE TOO SHORT, TRY FLESHING OUT WHAT’S ALREADY HAPPENING.

I mean OBVIOUSLY this isn’t a problem for me. (I say while I murder my 100K first drafts.) But if you find your little weedy NaNo book is look like a prune that’s been in the bath too long, instead of a fat plum — you’ll start to panic you won’t hit the 50K because you don’t have enough to say.

HOW TO MAKE FATTER SCENES:

• Feed your scenes small chocolate pastries.
• Not working?
• OK feed them to yourself. Let’s not waste anything here.
• Next look at what’s coming up in your book (ex: they have to steal the ancient cured dagger)…so make something interesting happen on the JOURNEY THERE. Oh! A new scene!
• Make dialogue longer so we get to know characters better.
• Remember to add in snippets of thoughts and feelings.
• ADD THE 5 SENSES INTO YOUR DESCRIPTION DANGIT, JANET, THIS WILL IMPROVE YOUR VISUALS 500%
• Instead of saying “they had a morose dinner” actually describe the morose dinner (and make sure to add in pivotal dialogue or thought processes that’ll impact the novel).
• Feed everyone more chocolate pastries because by this point why not.

7. BUY A REALLY COOL WRITERS MUG AND KEEP IT NEARBY FOR COFFEE OR TO CATCH YOUR TEARS.

I’m sure this is quality advice on this quality blog where I’ve only called you a piece of bread in a duckpond once.

You’re doing fine, sweetie. Keep going.

8. TREAT YOUR WRITING AS SOMETHING IMPORTANT, NOT AS THAT “OH THIS HOBBY WILL NEVER GO ANYWHERE” THING.

Unless you just want it to be a lowkey hobby? Then do what you want, my little Loki.

But otherwise, never never never talk yourself down.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS I NEVER WANT TO HEAR YOU SAY TO YOURSELF:

• My book is dumb.
• I’m not the best writer there is so I’ll never get published.
• I CAN’T FIND MY BRAIN WHAT BOX DID I PUT IT IN.
• If I don’t finish this book, I failed.
• If I can’t write fast then I failed.
• I don’t really deserve to be published because other people work harder than me.
• I’ll never figure out what I’m doing.

 

HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD SAY INSTEAD:

• My book sucks right now, sure, but I can make it better.
• I’m not the best writer there is, but I love telling stories so why shouldn’t I tell them??!
• If I don’t finish or like this book later, I’ll write another one.
• OH WOW! THAT’S THE BOX I LEFT MY BRAIN IN HAHA I’M SO GLAD I FOUND IT.
• I don’t have the time/energy/resources to work really really hard at publishing, but if I WANT it super badly, I will make time for it when I can.
• My writing is IMPORTANT. It’s not a hobby.
• I DO HAVE MORE THAN ONE BOOK INSIDE ME. IT’S OK. THEY’LL COME WHEN THEY’RE READY.
• It’s totally fine if I sacrifice my sibling under the full blood moon to aid my writing process.
• The more I write, the better I’ll get.
• I AM A WRITER IF I’VE WRITTEN 50 WORDS OR 50,000 WORDS.

I’m not even joking, it took me till my 21st manuscript to be unashamedly proud of every word I write.

Hopefully it’ll be faster for you. But self-destructive thinking is the WORST. You need to be your #1 fan. And, hey, I acknowledge my writing still sucks a lot! I cry over my mother * that I think my book is dumb and will never nevvvvvver work.

But do you know what? I have a 2-book deal.** I drafted that book and thought it was absolute trash…and then it got better. Look I’ll always get rejections, have to do huge edits, or write something I might not love or that my editor might not love. But I’m telling myself that (A) I love writing and I deserve to be a writer, and (B) the world is over-populated anyway so human sacrifices are fine. ***

 

* She has an umbrella and raincoat for these days so she’s cool with it.
** BAM HIT ‘EM WITH THE SELF-PROMO AGAIN. PEOPLES, I SWEAR I JUST CAN’T SHUT UP ABOUT IT.
*** Juuuuust kidding. I think. Please don’t look in my freezer.

9. TAKE TIME OFF IF YOU CAN AND TELL YOUR FAMILY YOU’RE DEAD TO THEM.

Obviously not everyone can do this, but IF YOU CAN, try to put aside specific times for writing. I’m lucky enough that I can take 3 days off and put in 8+ hours writing.

But anyway, if your family doesn’t like this idea, get some fake blood and be creative.

Make sacrifices. Writing is important.

You can sacrifice…

• endless scrolling through social media
• sleep (get up earlier!)
• watching TV / movies
• reading
• (although make sure if you’re in writing for the LONG HAUL that you refill your creative tank!! don’t work empty!! you will die!!)
• random teenage boys
• your weird cousin (unless you are the weird cousin)
• socialising (don’t cut yourself off forever, but hey this draft will be over sooner the faster you go)
• other hobbies
• eating food, i mean, you can exist on air

10. DO THE BULK OF YOUR WRITING WITHOUT ACTUALLY WRITING A THING.

Isn’t this clever? This is what we go to Hogwarts for. dARK MAGIC.

OK fine. I’ll be specific. If you think about what you want to write BEFORE you sit down to write it, you have way less time panicking at a blank page. I write a ton of my scenes “in my head” while I go for a walk. I also outline pretty intensely as I’ve mentioned to avoid writer’s block.

This is the PERFECT time to ignore reality —-> get sucked into your own world. I personally adore “living” in my own head intensely while I draft. I’m fascinating ok. Super humble too. But don’t be scared to really really think about your book all the time. Don’t forget to like breathe/eat/communicate with humans/work/take breaks…but let yourself be immersed!

This is a super fun exploration. A BEAR HUNT! You’ll probably die via being eaten by a bear, but not before you’ve had fun.

RIGHT. YOU ARE SO PREPARED YOU ARE BASICALLY A PEAR.

I shall shout vague encouragements at you at all times. Especially on twitter. (Actually I’m just kidding, I’ll probably be pithy over there and ask what is wrong with writers.) But it’ll be fun. Join me.

And just remember I’m not doing NaNoWriMo until later in November. So you all have a great chance to beat me. Go for it.

 

anyone freaked for NaNoWriMo (WHICH STARTS SO SOON?!) tell me what’s MOST exciting you about your story?? do you let yourself write messy 1st drafts? and importantly: do you talk yourself down or do you take pride in your writing?? <— makes a world of difference

Now I know I’m super annoying but…I FINISHED NANOWRIMO IN 3 DAYS.

Well, technically I wrote 62,000-words in 3 days and even finished up early enough that I got to spend a pleasurable evening relaxing and doing nothing. * This wasn’t actually a record for me either as back in September I wrote 130K in 6 days WHICH IS KIND OF A LOT AND I LIVED TO REGRET EVERYTHING. **

 

I KNOW I KNOW I’M SUPER IRRITATING but there. #NaNoWriMo2016 finished in 3 days. Someone save me from myself and bring me the cake. pic.twitter.com/Srr89AAKc3

— Cait (@PaperFury) November 3, 2016

Okay, come back. Stop hissing at me through the laptop screen. I will give you cake if you read on, you delightful little kumquat.

This post is inspired by the fact that when I tweeted “HEY LOOK WHAT I CAN DO” I had a variety of things yelled at me, including:

• Congrats!
• Cake for you!
• Want to write my book for me?
• You aren’t human.
• I love you but also hate you right now.
• #goals
• Did you know it is actually National Novel Writing MONTH not week?
• Could you not.
• HOW???????

I decided I shall answer the last one: HOW DID I WRITE A BOOK IN 3 DAYS? Because clearly it’s time to spill secrets and then pat you on the shoulder and assure you that, yes, you too can do this if you want.

But I also accept titles of Immortal Dragon Queen Of All if you prefer to think of me as not-human. That’s cool.

 

* I was lying catatonic on the floor with chocolate BUT SAME THING.
** Or did I live??? Is this a human typing now or the Ghost Of Caits Of The Past? Or perhaps just a clone I left to keep things together while I am dead after a 27K day that one time. Or perhaps there WAS NEVER ANY CAIT AT ALL AND I AM JUST PRETEND. #ExistentialCrisisIntensifies

OTHER HELPFUL POSTS INCLUDE:

• How To Write 10K in 1 Day
• My Writing Schedule for The Day
• How To Write A Successful 1st Draft
• How To Write a Bestselling Novel

(Spoiler: Some of those posts are no true help at all because I’m a sarcastic little wombat. But I am here to confuse and destroy and give you cake. You’re welcome.)

1. PRACTISE SPRINTING UNTIL YOU CAN SPRINT LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SPRUNT BEFORE.

You know the word “sprunt” sounded right in my head but now I’m second guessing my ability to use the English language. (Which, FYI, is the only language I’ve ever had. I need to be restrained from it.)

But that aside — look I didn’t wake up one day and say “I’M GOING TO WRITE 20,000 WORDS IN ONE DAY!” I worked up to it. I also figured out my process which is to write wild and messy and bad first drafts and do serious editing/rewriting later when I have the skeleton here to work off. Everyone’s writing process is different! BE AWARE OF THAT. But if you want to learn to sprint: then do it. Very rewarding. As rewarding as taking over small galaxies and ruling them nefariously. *

But a little backstory on my last three NaNoWriMo experiences?

• 2014: 65K in 7 days
• 2015: 63K in 5 days
• 2016: 62K in 3 days

On top of that, I’ve written 22 books, editing copiously, rewritten more, and just WROTE AND WROTE AND WROTE UNTIL I COULD WROTE NO MORE AND THEN YOU KNOW WHAT? WROTE MORE. **

Practise, is what I’m trying to say. Praaaaaaactise. You learn to write fast. You learn to sprint. You do it so often that writing 20K in a day is actually No Big Deal.

 

* I mean…not that I would know. [WINK WINK]

** Genuinely worried about my use of grammar now.

2. HAVE A 5-YEAR PLAN.

Well, that’s a little excessive, Cait. Maybe chill.

Try having a 3-day plan. AKA — AN OUTLINE FOR YOUR NOVEL. I wold not be able to do this as a panster! I JUST WOULD NOT. As is, I have a very detailed outline (this year’s outline was 7,000-words long and outlined every. single. scene) so I have zero chance of either going: “omg no writers block I don’t know what to do now” or “where am I going with this”. Because I know. I have The Outline. I follow The Outline.

The Outline and I are ONE. *

Because of having a detailed outline I don’t get stuck! I don’t need to overthink. I literally can just write.

 

* Just kidding, we still fight, but mostly it’s a good relationship.

3. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE AWFUL.

I do not write neat perfectly stitched together 1st drafts. I WRITE WILD AND MESSY AND AWFUL. I give myself permission to write badly because 1st drafts are just always going to be bad no matter what. * So my method is to write awfully and freely and have fun because there’s 0% pressure here…I know I’ll fix it later!

I’m not just hitting my keyboard. And I will write scenes that I, modestly, view AS PURE GOLD. But there will also be sentences like “He ate the potato because he loved potatoes because potatoes were good” and yes I still call myself a writer. Although sometimes I make myself cry.

I’m great.

 

* Okay, fine, maybe your 1st drafts are perfect little works of art but I can’t look at you. Whose soul did you sell?

4. HARVEST THE SOULS OF YOUR READERS AND DRINK THEIR TEARS.

What?

I thought this was good advice.

5. MAKE THE TIME, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO STEAL A TIME MACHINE.

Obviously you can’t write for 6 hours a day IF YOU ARE BUSY DOING OTHER THINGS. Personally? I make time in my schedule. I can afford to take 3 days off from…everything. I PLANNED TO TAKE THESE DAYS OFF ALL YEAR. I had freezer meals ready, chocolate stockpiled, my dog bringing me sandwiches, and zero commitments to anyone or anything anywhere. I could be 100% focused on my writing.

If someone so much as looked at me with a, “Hey Cait could you –” I JUST SAID NO AND RAN AWAY.

Plus I don’t read or watch movies or blog or, like, talk. (I do faceplant on the internet during breaks though. And nap. So much napping.) That frees up a lot of extra writing time.

And yes! I do type for upwards of 6+ hours a day! SO THAT’S KIND OF A LOT. I get rather hyper-focused and can type and type and type and be perfectly happy lost in my own mind. *

A very simplified schedule of how I write would look thusly:

• 8:00am – 9:30am = 3,000 words
• 10:20am – 11:50pm = 6,000 words
• 12:30pm – 1:30pm = 2,000 words
• 3:40pm – 4:30pm = 1,000 words
• 7:00pm – 10pm = 8,000 words

BUT SEE ALL THOSE TIME BREAKS???? I am not writing the whole day. I am exercising or playing with my dog or gone for a walk or eating FOOOOOOD. Take care of your brain, pumpkins. You’ve only got one. **

And least to say: no procrastination. NO. NONE. NONE. AT. ALL.

Oh don’t give me that look.

 

* Wait. That is scary.
** And some of us have less than that after NaNoWriMo. But yet we remain! Go us!

6. I’M A MOTIVATED LITTLE MONSTER.

Honestly I think a lot of writing intensely huge word counts just comes down to: DO YOU REALLY REALLY WANT TO DO THIS??? You practise. You build up your skills. You write. I honestly have no Secret Recipe Of Awesome. There is nothing magical in my cake. * I do not have 8 arms and 7 clones. My dog does not type well unless I want my manuscript to saw “rawr and woof”. WELL, I MEAN, I AM THE IMMORTAL DRAGON QUEEN. So there’s that. But that only contributes a little.

And if I’m struggling to motivate me? I get YOU to motivate me. Twitter! Chatting with NaNo friends! Blogging about my projects! Comparing character tortures with writerly buddies! I mean, what’s the point of living on this planet unless you get to demand the mere mortals to encourage you and your word count and bring you cake, amirite?! What else are the mortals for???

Also, um…I’m hugely competitive with myself and have to keep beating my old records and it’s a disease probably. Shh.

* Except for the fact that I baked it and I am beautifully magical.

Speed writing isn’t for everyone, but if you want to do it: GO FOR IT.

Work up to it! Challenge yourself continually. And the basic mathematical equation is: plan + clear your schedule + stick your butt in your chair and don’t procrastinate + type fast + be motivated by the reward that is a finished manuscript + focus + cake + write wildly and badly with no editing + be just a teeny tiny itty bit INSANE = you did NaNoWriMo in 3 days.

You’re welcome.

NOTE: This post isn’t intended to be braggy! If any of my methods are helpful to you, GREAT. If not: your process and journey is different but just as awesome. Trust me.

hey NaNolings! how are you doing? surviving??? DO YOU NEED ENCOURAGEMENT BECAUSE I HAVE CAKE FOR YOU. what’s the highest word count you’ve reached in a day and what’s your Ideal Goal World Count for someday? are you a speed writer or a slow writer? what’s your process?! let’s chat of all the fun things.

 

NOTE: I will not be sharing snippets on my NaNo book this time, fiends! There there, it’ll be okay. Lemme be secretive occasionally.

Writing can be mildly terrifying…particularly if it’s a first draft.

It’s like going where no one has gone before. It’s like conquering a planet except you’re blindfolded and the planet is full of holes you could fall down and end up in Wonderland and rename yourself Mad Hatter for the rest of eternity BECAUSE WRITING HAS REDUCED YOU TO MUSH.

[Deep breaths. Deep CALMING breaths, everyone.]

 

NaNoWriMo is coming and that means writing a 1st Draft. And it can be scary! Particularly if you’ve never done this before! Some of us are hardcore veterans and some of us are crying like wretched onions. But guess what? I’M HERE FOR YOU, MY ONION FRIEND. I have written 21 first-drafts so I would like to think this makes me a genius relatively dependable when it comes to dishing out tips and advice.

Today I’ll list some top tips for how to write a successful 1st draft. These tips are FLAWLESS, since I invented them. Although I will remind you that: all writers have difference processes! So if you look at my list and wrinkle your little nose in heinous disgust and retreat back into the darkness hissing, “Noooo, noooo, that is not good for me” then THAT’S OKAY TOO. But maybe something in this post will help you! And if so: MY WORK HERE IS DONE.

And if nothing helps you, then hey, at least you got to spend time with me. And that’s the best thing ever obviously.

 

• When it comes to NaNoWriMo (or actually any novel I write of ever) I am pretty big on planning. Of course YOU DON’T “HAVE TO” PLAN. But I’m going to talk about planning because that’s who I am as a person.
• If I am a person?
• No one truly knows, to be honest.
• There are many different types of outlines and methods and you can GOOGLE THEM because I don’t know how they work. The important thing is just to figure out your (A) beginning, (B) middle, and (C) ending.
• That way you lower the risk of wandering aimlessly through the middle of November screaming “WHO AM I. WHAT AM I DOING. WHAT IS THIS BOOK. WHAT IS LIFE.”
• Existential crisis during NaNo? Not recommended.
• My outlines are bullet point lists…basically like a long synopsis. I plan the full book in my head before I outline, so I’m basically blurbing my own book! GO ME. FYI writing synopsises is so much easier before you write the book.
• You know what else is easier to do before you write the book? REMEMBER WHAT JOY AND SUNSHINE FEELS LIKE BECAUSE SOON THEY WILL BE GONE.
• I’m kidding, writing is fun. Totally fun. We’re having so much fun all the time.
• If you’ve never written a book before I definitely recommend trying some sort of outline. It makes things a little less overwhelming. You have a PLAN. You can DO THIS.
• Also planning helps if you have a horrid memory (like I) and end up writing 20,000 words that basically involve characters eating food and then saying “Okay but where was I going with this???”

 

• My tippiest toppiest advice for writing is this: GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE THE WORST MULBERRY TO EVER FALL OFF THE TREE.
• Also realise that “tippiest and toppiest” are probably not even words, but whatever. Back to the mulberries. Focus on the mulberries because that’s what we’re talking about right now.
• Give yourself permission to write badly. To fail. To be imperfect.
• Oh don’t don’t dooon’t give me the “well I’m a perfectionist and it’s who I am to try and make it right” lecture because guess what? I’M A (RECOVERING) PERFECTIONIST TOO. I nearly quit writing altogether because I couldn’t get my first drafts “perfect” the first time. That’s ridiculous. The world would probably have decayed into fire and poisoned mushrooms without the glorious blessing that is my writing to the universe.
• I had to decided either: (A) I will write imperfect first-drafts and then edit/rewrite them to perfection later, or (B) I will not finish novels and I will be a sad potato.
• I chose (A).
• PLEASE CHOOSE OPTION (A) WITH ME.
• I firmly believe striving for perfection in first draft is the #2 cause writers fail. The first cause is, of course, getting distracted by twitter. DARN YOU TWITTER. IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT.
• The object of your first draft is to write a skeleton. An ugly skeleton. It’s to get all the scenes down and to get into your characters’ heads. It’s to actually have fun. Because there’s no pressure to write beautifully! There’s just writing wild words and being a horrible mulberry and enjoying getting to know your children.
• YOUR SMOL CHARACTER SONS AND DAUGHTERS. BLESS THEM.
• Plus you know how freeing it is to write badly?! It’s AWESOME. It’s fun and exciting and there is zero pressure. Enjoy this. (Editing is actual hell.)

 

 

• Sticking with a 1st draft can be abominably hard. Especially if you’re aware of how horrendous your writing is. Trust me: I knooooooow. My first drafts are AWFUL.
• The trick is to accept your first drafts are about as attractive as a moose — and to realise they’ll get better.
• You must believe me now. When have I ever lied to you? (I mean there was that one time I promised you cake and then ate it all myself, but you can’t hold that against me. Move on, fiend. Forgive and forget and all that.) I AM ALWAYS THE TRUTH.
• Good writing is rewriting.
• I think that’s a quote from a famous person, actually. Or you can pretend it’s a brand new though from me because that’d also be fun.
• There are several things I do to motivate myself. Which I’ll share with you, because I’m nice:
  • I think about how much I want a career in writing and that ain’t happening UNLESS I SIT AND WRITE THIS BEAST. There’s no greater motivation for me than thinking that one day I could be an author.
  • I remember that this book will be better after I rewrite it.
  • I picture my book on the shelf and me being famous and all that stuff that will OBVIOUSLY HAPPEN.
  • I excite myself by making pinterest storyboards. There is nothing like aesthetically pleasing conglomerations of pictures to make you think “WOAH MY BOOK IS ACTUALLY QUITE AWESOME.”
  • I chat with a writing buddy while I draft. For some reason talking about it gets me more excited?!?
  • I make sure I have epic scenes I’m specifically looking forward to: like an explosion or a huge plot twist reveal or a super stabby scene. And I hype myself up for how fun they’re going to be to write.
  • I REWARD MYSELF FOR ACHIEVING GOALS WITH FOOD, DANGIT, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO SOMETIMES.
• Reward yourself! It’s a great motivator. Chocolate, for instance, or buying yourself a book or nice stationary, or conquering a small planet and crowning yourself Ruler Of All. Just go for the simple things that make you happy.
• Also focus on your writing strengths. For me that’s dialogue. I have soooo much fun writing dialogue in my first drafts. My description sucks. My action scenes are horrendous. My world building is like a bunch of yogurt tubs taped together. BUT HEY, THAT DOESN’T MATTER, BECAUSE I WRITE SOME GREAT DIALOGUE AND ENJOY MYSELF. The rest comes later.
• Sometimes it’s hard to remember writing can be enjoyable. But it can.
• OH STOP IT.
• There are fun parts about writing. Exploding doors. Riding dragons. Majestic hair flips.
• Find the parts that make you happy to write and FOCUS ON THEM.
• So much focus.
• And don’t think your writing strengths are insignificant. Pfft. Lemme let you in on a little secret: half of writing is just faking you have confidence until you get into the habit of being confident. It totally works.
• Also please don’t compare yourself to other writers. Is your name Mulgabill? No? Then don’t compare your process to Mulgabill’s.
• Trust me, when you get to be an old gnarled writer (like I) you stop caring about other writers’ journeys and you just become a self-absorbed pineapple frond who only cares about yourself and your journey and your process. As it should be. 10/10 would recommend being narcissistic when it comes to your writing journey. You’ll be happier, trust me. I have scientific evidence (myself) to confirm this theory (you’re welcome).

THERE. Now go forth and write a very successful first draft of your glorious novel for NaNoWriMo.

Also, FYI, “successful” means “a finished novel”. That’s the total definition. If you don’t believe me look it up in any dictionary ever. Just remember: PLAN (!) SILENCE YOUR PERFECTIONISM (!) BE A MULBERRY (!) ENJOY YOUR WRITING STRENGTHS NO MATTER HOW SMALL THEY MIGHT SEEM (!!!)

Be writing the writing queen. Because your story is important and deserves to be told. *

 

* OMG THAT WAS SO SAPPY AND MOTIVATIONAL! AHH!! Aaaaand…I just ruined the moment, didn’t I? #MyBad

 

do you like writing first drafts?! (i actually love it because freeeeedom!!) or do you struggle to find motivation? do any of these magnificent tips seem helpful to you? what do you think is your writing strength (or what do you particularly enjoy) during first drafts??