Don’t
stop writing:
No matter how much you have prepared for
this month (if you are pantser then you haven’t prepared much I know) there
will always be unforeseen things that might force you to stop half-way or not
hit those sweet 50k. This is okay, it happens to all of us and you are as much
of a winner as those people who finish in 2 days and probably a lot more
hydrated. The goal is to teach yourself to write every day even if it is only a
couple of lines and to apply these techniques to the times that follow
November. And with this even taking your first baby steps into the writing
world makes you a winner.
Do
not doubt yourself:
Doubt is your worst enemy (other than time
management, but we will get back to that) and has the deadly silent slaying
power of a ninja. Just when you think you have it under control and that you
are doing alright one line in your novel can trip you up and stall your work
for hours. Remember that this month is about writing a rough draft and not
finishing a complete novel in 30 days! When the little things start nagging you
or if a line doesn’t quite sound right, take a deep breath and move on.
Remember that by doing this you are winning the small battles so you can face
the big war named editing.
Do
not edit:
On a similar note. This is not the month
for editing anything. Leave the mistakes in and have a laugh about them afterwards.
Power on trooper!
Do
not chose this time to start a new blog, website, kangaroo farm etc:
This is the one that always gets me and
that I am well aware of is what I am guilty of right now.
If you have never sat down to write any
large amounts of text before then the prospect can seem scary. Enter the ever
tempting procrastination in all her velvety delight. Penning down 1600 words a
day is hard enough in itself but adding another time-consuming activity on top
of it will greatly induce the chances of your precious time management failing
drastically. There is always something else that seems more appealing if you
are struggling to get the words flowing and although I encourage that you still
make time for other activities you need to ask yourself if you should embark on
such a large project as NaNo if you would rather be petting baby kangaroos all
day.
Do
not over book every weekend in November.
A lot of us work full-time and still try to
jam writing in on top of this. Weekends are for catching up with your word
count to make up for all the unforeseen events of the weekdays. It is your
snuggly safety blanket that will make up for overtime, broken washing machines
and children getting colds. It will cushion the fall from forgetting to charge your
laptop before a long commute or for the times when that inspiration is just not
coming to you because of fatigue etc. Every year I make sure to book at least
one weekend in November to sit down in my den and catch up or at least let the
creative juices flow for a couple of undisturbed hours of peace.
Do
not think that you will have a finished novel by the end of November.
50.000 words does not a novel make. It makes a good first draft and it lets you grasp the potential of your story, but it is not a full novel!
Do
not let anyone read your project:
This is serious business to me. I have seen
potential writerlings in the making crumble and fall on this. Critique, whether
it be from yourself or others, has no place in your life this month. It is okay
to bounce ideas of other people and be inspired by what they might have to say
and maybe help you out if you get stuck, but letting people play jump rope with
your carefully crafted words is not okay. The point of this month is to write
50.000 words of awesome word ramblings and not look back. What other people initially think of your plot, characters and
wordings is irrelevant right now as you are just writing a rough draft and
their criticism will most likely end up hurting more than helping. Imagine if
you will that you have decided to bake a cake, your favourite chocolate fudge
brownie or whatever tickles your fancy (no running off to actually bake a cake
now alright!) and you get all your ingredients together. Its all looking good
until your mother shows up and decides to add raisins or some other ungodly
ingredient to the batter. Suddenly you no longer have the cake you had expected
but instead you are stuck with something slightly inedible which you struggle
to eat. Writing is much the same as baking that cake. You have all the elements
of your novel stuffed in your head, written on a notepad or etched into your
skin somewhere and that one sour ingredient that another person wishes for you
to add so it fits their likes, might end up spoiling the project for you and
making the rest of the month a struggle.
Do
not listen to friends and family that tell you that you stand no chance to
complete this. There are many cases in life where
we would love to have the full support of the people around us and writing is
no different. Every writer has heard the line; When are you getting a real job?
at least once or twice (a week) in their career but you are not embarking on
this project for their sake. You are doing this because you want to test yourself.
Dip your toes in the big writing pool before diving in. Forget other people’s
expectations on your behalf for at least this month and then the mountain of
emotional baggage can tumble over and fall on you afterwards when you let them
read your project.
