NaNoWriMo, Just Once

I've been silent on this blog for the better part of a year but now is the time to get wordy once more. I bet you've already guessed the reason, but in case you haven't: NaNoWriMo begins tonight (has already begun for many of you)!

As I anxiously stare at my very white, very bright screen and try not to forget too many details of the half-hearted outline I wrote up a couple weeks ago, I had the inspiration to encourage the noveling madness in someone else.

What is NaNoWriMo? National Novel Writing Month = 50,000 words in 30 days to produce a novel. Whether or not the novel ever sees the light of day is beside the point. No, I didn't lose a bet and neither did the hundreds of thousands of other writers who will be plotting away in November (at least, I'm assuming they didn't - maybe they did and their friends are cruel). For many, it's the only time they will attempt a novel. For others, it's addictive. For me, it's a time to try out ideas I might normally try since months of writing a novel only to find out it's a flop is really not how I like to spend my time.

If you've ever considered writing as a possibility or if you've continuously turned down the "novel in a month thing," let me persuade you: try it! Just once. One glorious, exhausting month in which you will discover worlds, people, and places you never thought could exist.

In fact, that's my argument against all your arguments: just once. One time. You never have to think about it again. Just try it once. It might surprise you.

Now...where did my plot go?

NaNoWriMo: Editing and Publishing

For many of you who participated in NaNoWriMo this year, it was the motivational equivalent of a good, swift kick in the pants. Others were out to prove themselves on the literary field of battle. Still others were professional writers looking for a quick way to get their next draft out. And some merely did it because it sounded like it might be an amusing distraction.

Whatever your reason was for setting out to write a month-long novel, you have one thing in common with all the other participants: every single person wrote a FIRST DRAFT. It is a mistake - and one that I have seen repeated often - to think that the novel you're holding is a finished manuscript.

No matter what you or anyone else thinks about it, it is NOT ready to be sent to literary agents, editors, or publishers. Those professionals will not thank you for sending them a manuscript that has been hashed out in thirty days. Why?

• Your novel is nowhere near polished enough for submission, no matter how excited you are about it. That kind of editing takes time.
• Agents and editors report a flood of new novel submissions in the weeks and months following each NaNoWriMo. Most are not even read.

Your NaNoWriMo novel should be treated just like any other novel. It doesn't matter how it was written or why - you still have to revise it again and again to make it perfect. Here are a few dos and don'ts to get you started in that process:

Do let your novel rest

When November ends, set aside the manuscript. Take a break from writing, even. Let your mind - and passions - rest. My advice is to wait at least two weeks before looking at it again. I always revisit my manuscript January 1st.  When you come back, you'll have a clear head and some much-needed distance from the story that will help you in more accurately evaluating it.

Don't trust your own opinion

Obviously, to a certain extent, you know what's best for your story. But that doesn't mean that no one else can offer advice or insights. Get your manuscript to some readers that you trust but who will also tell you the absolute truth (even if it's a suggestion to look at other lines of work). I guarantee that your novel will benefit from it.

Do take your time

Read the manuscript. Make notes. Sort. Edit. Repeat. Take your time. Put 110% into your revisions. It may take several drafts to get it right. That's okay. It probably needs it. Think of it as a diamond in the rough. Little by little, you are uncovering its beauty through the editing process.

Don't brag that you wrote your novel during NaNoWriMo

No one cares. That's the cold, hard truth.  It might be the greatest personal accomplishment of your life. But what it says to publishing professionals is, "Caution: noob writer ahead." You may not be. But NaNoWriMo has become so synonymous with first-time writers that it's better to keep that to your support network that helped you through November.

Do the footwork

All of it. Study the industry. Find the publishing houses that cater to your exact genre. Research the agents that represent authors like you. Write a query letter that knocks the socks off anything you can find in your novel.


NaNoWriMo is fun, motivational, and full of awesome people from all walks of life. But it's only the beginning of your noveling journey. If you are serious about publishing your NaNoWriMo novel, don't send it off as soon as you write "The End."

NaNoWriMo Ends

We made it. And, I must say, we kicked some serious literary butt. 

My last official word count was 51,037. I crossed the finish line about two hours before NaNoWriMo officially ended. One of my closest years ever.

How about all of you, fellow WriMos? How many winners do we have? If you didn't cross the finish line, how close did you get? Does anyone need a comforting hug?

No matter how many words you wrote or what ended up coming out through your fingertips, let me congratulate you. Not every person who has a dream or thinks of a fun accomplishment even starts, let alone finishes it. You, at least, started. That's something to be proud of.

I have some post-NaNo tips that are very important for those of you planning to give publishing a go. But that will happen next week. Right now, enjoy your victory. Commiserate with others who didn't make it. And feel free to share it all in the comments. This particular post is an instruction-free zone. Here, we simply celebrate our collective literary efforts.

To the end of another year of month-long noveling!

NaNoWriMo Week 4

This is the end of the line, NaNoWriMo novelists. The coming week is the do-or-die deadline. We're all tired by this point and many of us wish we had never even seen a novel, much less tried to write one. But you did try. We all did. And that's something to get excited about. How many people dream and never try? You, my friends, tried.

And we're all going to keep trying until we cross that finish line.

If this month hasn't gone at all like you planned, you might be thinking of quitting. After all, it's only seven more days, right? How far can you really get in seven days?

Let me encourage you to try one more time. Try to get to that finish line. Because, yes, it's only seven days. But if you put this off for seven days, they will become seven more days. Those days will blend into weeks, which will become months. You have this chance now. Take it and see where it leads.  You never know what will get in your way later.

Body Check

This is the last week of a month of grueling mental activity and stress. Watch your body. Take care of it, even if you're rushing to get to the end on time. Completing a whole novel in a month is awesome but you don't want it to be at the cost of your health.

Keep Writing

Don't let the end of the novel scare you. Push the pedal to the floor and get there as fast as you can. If the plot isn't fitting in properly but you're out of time (and have made your word count), make some detailed notes and call it a day. If at all possible, keep writing even after you've crossed the 50K mark. You're already on a roll. If the story wants to keep going, go with it. As I said above, you never know what may happen later to keep you away from your novel.

Win...And Tell Everyone

It's going to happen this week. You'll cross that finish line. And it will be one of the best feelings in the world. When you do, tell everyone. Especially if this is your first time.  You need that feel-good slap on the back from friends and family after all you've been through this month. So shout it out, do a victory dance, and break out your celebratory drink of choice.

Anything to add, WriMos? Where are you in your word counts? Sound off your last-minute joys, frustrations, and panic in the comments!

NaNoWriMo Week 3

I always heave a sigh of relief at the beginning of week three. Because, at this point, I have just won my struggle with that unruly plot. Now, things are happening and I can't wait to see where they all lead.

Not everyone feels the downward pull. Some of you may even still be slogging through the mud, far behind in word count. That's okay. You still have time to make it all right.

There are a few things that this week is good for in the adventure of month-long noveling. Here's what you should do in week three:

Catch Up

If you fell behind in week two, this is your week to catch up.  Write in short bursts throughout the day. Borrow your favorite song lyrics.  Throw in an all-nighter.  Whatever it takes to get those words in.

No matter where you are in your word count, your ultimate goal should be to breach the 30K mark by week's end.

Get Ahead

If you're a noveling superhero and are right where you should be, use week three as an opportunity to get as far ahead of the crowd as you can. The holidays will begin in the last week and you'll need every advantage you can get to slide through them with your word count intact. Try adding in a few hundred words at the end of each day. You can even devote the weekend to powering through the words.

Ride the Wave

Most NaNoWriMo participants report that, at the beginning of week three, their imagination clicks. Things begin to fall into place. The words come faster. Feverish literary highs replace the downward spiral of gloom. Even if you only feel a small portion of this, go with it. Ride that wave as long and as high as you can. If you have your word count for the day but you feel the story calling your name, go to it. Write more! This feeling won't be as easy to reach when NaNoWriMo is over.

Oh, and start thinking about that tiny speck of light ahead called "The End."

Are you excited, WriMos? Depressed? What are you most looking forward to in this week?

NaNoWriMo Week 2

My home is a wreck, my husband is already beginning to wonder if I'm ever going to return to the land of the living, and I have amassed a small word army to unleash on the world. NaNoWriMo is right on schedule!

But, if you're like me - and thousands of other NaNoers - week two is going to suck. Big time. This is where we realize just how horrendously tall the mountain is that we have committed to climb. We can see the storms raging, the muddy pitfalls, and the harpies of pleasurable distractions. It's just so much. Maybe we should all quit now.

Don't go there.

You'll be fine. We all will. This is my ninth NaNoWriMo and, no matter how many times I go on this wild adventure, week two is always the same story. But I haven't died yet. Neither will you.

Week one was your story's introduction. Week two is all about the dreaded plot-building. This is where your characters must do something now that they are here. And that's why it looks so scary.

The following three tips have always helped me get past that fright:

Just Write

Unless you have superhuman writing skills (which, granted, may be your mutant power), your prose this week will not be pretty. The way to get over it is simply to keep up the momentum. Don't stop to tweak a scene or make the king's speech an oratory wonder. If you stop to get it "right," you'll never move on. The key to success this week is speed.

In other words, write. Don't think. Write.

Keep A Sound Body

November is not the greatest month for high-intensity endeavors that will leave you susceptible to the germs running rampant. So take care of your body.

Keep yourself clean.

Bundle up if you're chilly.

If, like me, you forget to eat when you're writing, set a timer. You need to keep up your strength.

Sleep. Even if it means missing a few words.

I know this sounds like common sense but, let's face it - there's not a whole lot of room for sense in our heads right about now. So it's good to be reminded. This week and all the weeks after will only be ten times worse if you catch a cold or let your body run down.

Write Every Day

Week two is notorious for distracting NaNoers. So write every single day to keep up your imagination's momentum and your word count's for when you've got nothing. Even if you're dead tired, take five minutes. Write a hundred or two hundred words. Then call it a night. It will be that much less you have to do the next day.

Even if you can't meet your daily goal, write something. I guarantee you'll feel much better the next day.


Keep these tips close to you this week and you'll come out all right at the end. Even if you get behind, keep going. Week three is far more exciting than it looks right now. I promise.

Have you collected any survival tips for week two of NaNoWriMo? Is the concept of a difficult second week completely foreign to your genius? Share your thoughts in the comments!

NaNoWriMo Week 1

NaNoWrimo is in full swing! Nearing the end of week one, we're seeing the word counts of sprinters, walkers, and everything in between rise with each passing day. Some writers are already rebooting their novels while others have zipped right past sanity into something just plain scary.

If you're still unsure if you should keep what you've already got (or even if you've pulled ahead of the pack), this list of NaNoWrimo tips I found lying around the Internet may just give you an extra boost:

You're not writing a great novel. 

You might not even be writing a good novel.  But that's no reason to stop. The first draft isn't meant to amaze. It simply needs to exist. Edit later, write now.

All words are good words. 

Wrangle, cheat, ramble, quote: do whatever you have to do to add to that word count. This is pure output time. If your historical romance takes a weird turn into a time-traveling dystopia, go with it. Consider it an experiment, just to see where it leads. You can always make it a dream sequence if it doesn't pan out.

Do NOT delete anything.  

You heard me. Your delete button is broken. If you push the delete button in November, it will end all life as you know it. Permanently. So don't push it. Or the backspace button. No lawyering this thing.

Italicize stuff you want to delete...  

...or put it in a different font color or whatever floats your boat. If you really, really can't stand that run-on sentence or the spat Sarah had with the magician in the last chapter, using this trick maintains your word count and keeps your Inner Editor at bay. It may even come in handy later on. You have to remember that your brain isn't functioning properly right now. It's on overload and doesn't know what it's doing. For all you know, you could be erasing vital information for this or another novel. So just keep it until you can see clearly again.

Borrow liberally from everything around you.  

If you're stuck, go outside and people watch. Observe your pet's behavior and record it. Flip through your old diaries. Write down your favorite plot points in the movie you're watching. Ask your grandpa to retell that story about his youth. Just change the names and you're good.

Reward yourself. 

This is not the time to berate or punish your muse for not being good enough. That's your Inner Editor's job (and, hopefully, you locked that thing up on October 31st). Your job is to write joyfully, freely, and with much chocolate. Or caffeine. Or pizza every night. Whatever. Enjoy your favorite snack, beverage, book, or long soak in the bathtub for meeting your goals ever day (yes, hourly goals count, as well).

Wherever you are in the noveling process in this first week, remember: you still have time. Oodles of time! Most of the month is still ahead of you, so stay calm and write on.

Did I miss anything, WriMos? Sound off with your favorite tips in the comments and like/share this post with others!

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NaNoWriMo Begins

It's Halloween, which means it's Writer's Eve! (Also known as NaNoWriMo.) I'm sure most of you have either heard of it, participated in it, or signed up for it by now, but let's do a quick recap in case we missed anyone.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a one-month writing challenge in which you write a novel as quickly and unprecisely as your fingers will allow while you ignore family, friends, household chores and, sometimes, hygiene.

It starts tonight at midnight (for some of our international friends, it's already started) and my excitement has been rising with the hour. I'm foregoing a "novel" this year and instead writing 50,000 words of short stories. After procrastinating and not planning through all of October, I woke up this morning with ideas bursting from my brain.

How about you? Are you frantically filling up your notebook with last-minute ideas? Is the pantry stocked with sugar-crash-inducing snacks? Has everything been in place and ready to go for months?

No matter how or where you'll be writing your 50,000 words of literary glory, just remember these three things:

Take NaNoWriMo seriously

 See this thing through. Make writing goals and stick to them. Be willing to sacrifice time, energy, and sleep. Ignore your Inner Editor. Keep going, even when it seems pointless.

Don't take NaNoWriMo seriously

 Let's face it: writing a novel in a month is crazy. So just go with the flow. The last sentence you wrote might be the worst thing you've ever put to paper. It's okay. This endeavor is meant to free you to write what's inside. You can edit (or burn) your unruly prose next month.

You can do this

 Really, you can. Know why? Because you've done it before. How many times have you told a crazy story to your best friend? Gossiped with your coworkers? Spun an exaggerated tale of the HUGE fish you caught last week? Humans are great at telling stories. All you're doing this month is putting them to paper.


If you're still not convinced, don't panic. I've got you covered. Take a look at the following links, hash out the last bit of your plot (or feel free to ignore it until the last minute), and start the count down!

How To Do This
NaNoWriMo's Map to November
NaNoWriMo Forums   
How to Write a Novel in a Month
NaNoWriMo Resource Links
The Busy Writer's One Hour Plot
Notecarding: Plotting Under Pressure

Name Generators
Behind the Name
Seventh Sanctum
Fantasy Names

Writing Tools
Scrivener (free trial!)
Write or Die by Dr. Wicked
Pinterest (use as an idea board)
WriteTrack (a word tracker program)
Spotify (NaNo playlisting)
Dropbox (back up your novel!)

NaNoWriMo 2012

Pens on your mark. Paper set. Write!

It's that time of year again. The time when rational human beings volunteer their lives, their bodies, and their souls for thirty epic days of cramped fingers, blurred vision, and too much caffeine. I'm talking about National Novel Writing Month or, as it's known to the locals, NaNoWriMo. An entire month of literary abandon that produces such a wide variety of emotional and mental upset that we would all be committed if we didn't have such a possessive alibi: "I'm a writer."

Most of you know what I'm talking about already. For the uninitiated, allow me to enlighten you.

NaNoWriMo begins at midnight on November 1st and ends at 11:59 PM on November 30th. The goal is simple: write 50,000 words in those 30 days. If you cross the 50,000 mark by the last day, you get to parade around your house, town, and loved ones, exclaiming: "I wrote a novel!"

But...why?

The answer to that is in your own head.  I've heard a score of reasons why NaNoWriMo-ers young and old do what they do. Some want to try it for the first time. Others use it as a status symbol. Still others are pro writers who simple want to get the first draft on paper or are students doing it with their class. This will be my 8th year participating in NaNoWriMo and my own reasons for doing it are never the same from one year to the next.

There are no rules beyond the 50K/30 day one. You may attempt a complete novel or simply make it your starting point. Have a plot (or don't). Create new and unusual characters or retell the love story of your grandparents. It's all up to you.


If you're a writer, chances are that you know the pain of slogging through a manuscript with the speed of a snail, wondering where in the world your story should go next. NaNoWriMo eliminates that. It takes the need for perfection out of the equation long enough for you to get your tale onto paper. Not only that, but for those who have never written anything "long" before, it's a bite-sized period in which to find out if you really like it or not.

(Disclaimer: This isn't to say that you should leave it be after November. If you like what you've written and want others to read it, start editing! November is for getting it out - after is for revising.)

And, if you lose, no biggie. At least you attempted it. I've won...and I've lost. This year makes the score about 50/50. Some years I've made it far, far beyond the 50K mark. Others haven't seen even 10K words.

It's all about you.

I'd love extra company on the trip.  Are you with me?

NaNoWriMo: Epic Zombiefication

Editor's Note: I have been informed that my NaNoWriMo attempt should not be called an "Epic Fail." Therefore, I am changing the title to "Epic Zombiefication." Because I can make up words, too.


"I've got better things to do," I said.

"You need to eat," I said.

"All semblance of sanity will be ripped from your mind, stomped into teensy weensy bits in a field of sludge, and scrambled back into your brain in a mockery of what was once there," I said.

And did I listen? I. Think. Not. (Kudos if you know where that one is from.)

I had every plan to write my NaNoWriMo book to its completion this year and, for the first week, it seemed to be going well. Not great or even good, mind you, but hope still lived within my beating heart and that is always a decent sign of good things to come.

Then my freelancing kind of exploded, in the every-morsel-of-flesh-ripped-in-screaming-shreds-from-my-body kind of way. (Don't you just love the images I leave you with? You're welcome.) Hello, 60 to 70-hour work weeks and goodbye...everything else.

I would have still cheerfully made an effort to continue onward but a secondary explosion went off while everyone in my head was still stumbling away from the shock wave of the first fiery missile: moving plans that had to be dealt with A.S.A.P.

Trust me, if I could have remained awake for the remaining five hours of each day, I would have gladly crawled on. But by this time, I was running on my backup's backup power and nothing very human, much less coherent, made it into the light of day.

Every day, I hated NaNo more for existing while I could not and for taunting me with its promises of full word counts and purple-barred glory. My hatred has now eased out of pure exhaustion and I have come to terms with what must be at this time in my life. There will be other NaNos and purer triumphs, I am sure. My story is certainly in no danger as its six-year expansion in my head continues to grow by the day.

So, to all of you who crossed the finish line with flying colors: bravo! I am happy for you, if a little bruised in spirit.

_____________________________

Note: I practically won, anyway, since the wave of short story orders I ghostwrote equaled much more than fifty thousand words...

NaNoWriMo Begins

Sorry I've been away, folks. Setting up a new freelance writing business is tough work with lots of hours that don't do much in the way of feeding me cookies. Not that I need any. Just that it doesn't give them to me.

But more on that later. Today, we turn to that paramount event that arrives every November and has since 1999: National Novel Writing Month.

30 days | 50,000 words | 1 novel

Can't get any simpler. And, once again, I have been pulled into that lovely, horrible process. What can I say? I think I'm addicted. It's not like I need to do it this year or even that it will be good for me. (This, by the way, is the first year I'm going to say that, uhmmm, no, it's not good to flit off into the nether regions to write something nonsensical when I have perfectly practical paying positions right here in front of me -say that five times fast - and yet I'm still going to do it. I think my brain took a vacation.) It's two hours until the start in my time zone and I still haven't decided which idea I'm going with.

Whatever. It will come.

Thousands of writers have begun the race to reveal novels of too-hastily written nonsense and absurd plots.

Will you?


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