~Write plots and notes on Post It notes then stick them up on a big empty wall.
~Use your favorite scent or candle. I like the new flameless candles and I have one that was only $3 at my local Wal-Mart. If you use a real candle, then ask an adult to help you light it. I like fall scents during Nano, especially the pumpkin pie and cinnamon ones.
~Wear your favorite color or get a notebook that's your favorite color. Red's a great color, it resembles passion- you know, for writing!
~Outline! Outline your plot and plot your outline.
~Don't backspace. Don't hit the "backspace button," come on you know where it is!
Even if you have to get a super-old computer and take the key out for this month, then do it! You use it a lot more than you think, especially if you're more of a slow writer. I mean, don't backspace any of your story, just go back and hit the little toggle button for italics. On most word-processing programs, it'll be the crooked I. Put the old thought in italics and the new thought in regular print.
~And also, don't erase! You hand writers aren't off of the "backspace/erase" hook!
~Do not panic! Do not panic!! Do not panic!!! Okay, I think you've gotten the idea.....
~Find simple tricks that aid you a lot. Write best when you're hungry? Then skip a meal. But don't skip all 3 meals- it's super
unhealthy, even when you do eat a lot of snacks.
~Don't force yourself to stay awake by any means. Don't have caffeine pills, don't drink a lot of soda, hot cocoa, coffee, and don't eat a lot of chocolate. It's unhealthy and you probably will crash after all of the sugar and then not function...
~Find a friend to nag you to get writing and then cheer you on for writing even 100 words.
~Don't be negative to yourself. "I'm 100 words closer to my goal!" You can tell yourself. Then say, "Wow, I wrote 300 words total!" Then go, "Wow! I wrote another 100 words! Another 100 and I'll be at 500 words!" Next, "Whoa! I wrote 200 more words." And then, "Yikes! I'm at 800!" Then write for a lot and yell, "I'm at 1,000!" Then repeat the process twice. Now you have 3k!
~Don't be confused by 2k, 7k, 24k, 59k, etc. k=kilo, which means thousand
2 thousand, 7 thousand, 24 thousand, 59 thousand
~If you *really* have to, then lower your goal! If you're negative and pessimistic, then you can't function.
~Be positive and tell yourself "well done."
~Do lots of word wars.
~Get a book you can't wait to read and... make yourself wait until November is over or you reach your final word count goal, whichever comes first.
~Don't have any other windows open on your computer when you write.
~Try hot cider or tea.
~If you really can't stand having no coffee, then drink decaf.
~Put your Inner Editor (IE) away during Nano.
~Turn off spell/grammar check.
~Don't procrastinate.
~If you love a sentence but it just doesn't work in your novel, then copy & paste it into a new document entitled 'leftovers.'
~Details, details!
~Entertainment+Words=Awesome! Watch 5 minutes of YouTube or DVR and then write 500 words.
~Chew gum some. It personally helps me think.
~Don't eat too much sugary junk food or later you'll have a sugar crash.
~Jog for 5 minutes.
~Read No Plot? No Problem!
~Try your best!
~Take a warm (not hot) shower or bath.
~Relax. I can't say that enough!
~For hand cramps, press your hand firmly against the inside of your knees.
~Have a funny sidekick!
~Listen to music.
~Create a playlist. (Mine is called Nanowrimo Playlist 1...
very original...)
~Have a couple thumbdrives or harddrives ready for saving your story.
~Alternate cursive and print if you're handwriting to prevent hand cramps.
~Think of how awesome you're doing! You were so brave just to attempt this, you know that, right?
~Decide your genre. It may help you with your plot, characters, or the details.
~If you have trouble with a certain aspect in your story, then flip the view around to your minor character's point of view. How
will s/he respond in this situation? Then flip the p.o.v. to your antagonist.
~The protagonist is the "good guy." The antagonist is the villain.
~Try to have a 3:1 ratio, writing (3) to break (1). So write for 30 minutes and then take a 10 minute break. Or write for 15
minutes and take a 5 minute break.
~Do the character questionnaires for: main character, minor character, villain.
~Know your POV's. This is the only grammatical- type thing we will be dealing with in Nano. (That means no homnyms, parts of speech, etc.! Just you and words.)
1st Point Of View- i.e.: "I was walking down the street one day when I saw a cat prance out to rub against my legs." Told by one character's point of view.
2nd Point Of View- i.e.: "You see a movement in the bushes and decide to investigate further." Told to you. Very rare and hard- to- find.
3rd Point Of View- i.e.: "Mary sees Mark come in from the screen door and calls, 'Mark! You have a phone message.'" Told by the writer (hey, that's you!).
~Have your character write something and make it long. S/he can write a ministory, journal entry, e- journal entry, etc., but whatever it is, make it long!
~Use a Post It note to get yourself to write! Believe it or not, this actually works. Pick 5-8 places where you're normally caught procrastinating. It can be: television, cell phone, another computer (especially if you're not writing your story on it and there's an internet connection on this computer), etc. Take a sticky Post It note and write something like, "Go write!" "You should be writing!" "Ahem. Why are you here?" "Writing is calling you!" Annoying, yes, but it will work and you'll end up writing.
~Get awesome spiral bound notebook or the notebooks that have the stiff marbled covers. You should love them because you'll be using them a lot. You could even mark one "Plots, Notes, & Ideas" and the other "The Actual Novel."
~You might go through pens quickly, especially if you have a goal 20,000 & above. That means that you'll run out of ink! I
suggest you buy an 18 pack of pens if you're handwriting only or a smaller pack if you're just jotting down notes and ideas.
Note: I like to purchase my pens at the back- to- school sales.
~Use the 5 senses method- describe what the main character sees, hears, feels, tastes, and smells.
~Read a lot and be informed.
~Persevere! You can do this!
~You need support from your family and friends. Sometimes family/friends don't see why you're so interested in this thing where you write thousands and thousands and thousands of words. So explain the importance of this to you.
~Have a basic routine.
~Sometimes we have to bribe ourselves to write by eating a piece of Halloween candy. Then write and reward yourself with
something other than candy.
~What should I reward myself other than candy? Basically, indulge in something- jump rope for 5 minutes, hula hoop, ride a bike for 5-10 minutes, shoot a couple of hoops, jog for 5 minutes, or get a sticker.
~You can create a chart with lots of lines and boxes. If you reach your goal for the day, you get a sticker!
~Stock up on scrap paper.
~Tie notes together to create a plot.
~Read No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty.
~Don't fall behind! But if you do, then just use Write or Die.
www.writeordie.drwicked.com~Look under the Pep Talks thread when you're feeling blue.
~Encourage others and you will be encouraged.
~Just write. Tell yourself that you have GOT to get 1,000 words before 2:00. And then meet your goal! Reward yourself for
those "major milestones" by getting a sundae at the ice cream parlor, or maybe some new pens.
~Decide on an appropriate period of time, and a good time of day. If you can sit down and happily write for an hour without taking a break, then certainly go ahead and do that! But most of us can't write for such a long time without taking a break. So decide on an appropriate amount, like 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or anything in between. Also, pick a good time of day. Night owl? Write at 8:00 P.M. or later. Early bird? Write in the morning.
~Doodle. Many people feel the need to doodle when they brainstorm.
~Add a twist to keep your story rolling and your plot going!
~Close all internet windows. If you're prone to getting distracted by Facebook or the Nano Forums, then tell yourself that you can't get online until you're satisfied with your word count for that day.
~Cut out distractions. Some Nano'ists have noisy siblings or noisy neighbors. So go ahead and ask your sister to turn her music down. Ask your brother to play outside. Or just go somewhere quiet to write.
~Add a new character! Whether it be a spunky girl named Felicity from Arkansas or a businessman from Maine, new characters can really spice things up.
~Make sure you're having fun. If you don't have fun in Nanowrimo, you might as well not do it. Nano is NOT pure work, it's supposed to be fun, too!
~Try to balance out Nano with other activities. Don't write for hours on end without breaks. Take a break. Go shoot some hoops, skateboard, rollerskate, or pursue other interests.
~Don't be shy in the forums! We're here to help... feel free to post in the Plot Hospital, Character Cafe, or Reaching That Word Goal and someone will help you!
~Design a goal calendar or ask someone to make you one in Art Class.
~Start a journal before Nano. Start describing and use lots of adjectives.
~What kind of pens & pencils should you have? A basic #2 pencil is good... I also like mechanical pencils because you don't have to pause every 10 minutes when your pencil point breaks. Mechanical pencils has the lead inside and you can press the eraser to get more lead out. Pens? There are calligraphy ones, fountain pens, and regular ballpoint pens. I prefer ballpoint pens... however you can spend a bit more money on really good calligraphy & fountain ones.
~Ditch FaceBook, Twitter, and YouTube during November. It's not essential to life, even if you think so!
~Randomly generate words if you handwrite your novel by using Lorem Ipsum. The website is
www.lipsum.com .
~If you handwrite your novel, then count how many words on a line and then multiply it by the number of lines. Or count the number of words on a page and multiply that by how many pages.
~Add conflict to get your story rolling.
~According to the Nano Stereotypes:
Week One- This is a great week!
Week Two- Some Nano'ers lose their momentum here, but keep going... the worst is yet to come!
Week Three- Ugh. Face it, this period is where most writers start to dislike their novel and it's perfectly and totally normal.
Week Four- Wrap it all up here...
*This year this has a Week Five. You may find that these couple of days hanging off the end of week four can save your novel... no kidding! Just a few hundred more words to go...
~"Oh No! What Should I Do During Week Three?"
Week Three is an awkward time. It may have came a few days early for you or it may stretch out into Week Four... or Five.
Use Write or Die if that's your thing,
www.writeordie.drwicked.com , or just sit down and pound out words. Use lots of rewards and bribe yourself (like me!).
~Do not edit at all because Nano is all about quantity, not quality! You can always do Edmo. I forget what month that's in, but you can do a google search for NanoEdmo and there will probably be a link under the search results that you can click on. Edmo is for editing month... but for now just ignore all those grammar errors and spelling blunders and- well, you get the idea.
~Focus on your novel!
~Disconnect your cell phone, turn it off, or turn the ringer off during writing sessions.
~If you really need some words, then try this trick- close your eyes tightly or put a sleeping mask on. Then sit and pound out words for 5 minutes- without looking at the screen. This is a great way to get some words!
~Tidy up your desk, office, bed, chair, etc., the day before Nano... this is important! Don't start stacking stuff back on it. During Nano, this space is essential to your novel! This is where you write...
~Look at your calendar- trips/appointment/activities should be recorded. Adjust writing time accordingly- most people travel around Thanksgiving.
~If you're on a roll, don't stop yourself!
~Write in small, manageable chunks.
~Have fun! In some cases, if you find that you're really obsessing with Nano, then you must force yourself to do something different. Watch a movie with your family, go to Starbucks, or get a scoop of ice cream.
~Don't check a ton of books out of the library during Nano- you might not have time to read them.
~Write about what you know. If you're writing a novel about a family with 15 kids, read around a bit or ask a few large families about it if you're an only child.
~In your notebook, skip every other line for notes or editing the obvious.
~Make a schedule or calendar. Goals and mini-goals are the most important parts! Give yourself a cool sticker when you reach your mini-goals!
~Have a file- kind of like the ones for legal documents- for organizing plot notes, outlines, character profiles, etc. Have one for each novel you write.
~Use index cards and/or Post It! notes. Write your notes or clarifications on them and stick them to the page they belong to in the notebook.
~Can't sleep? Drink a cup of milk and read for a bit, no more then fifteen minutes. Then try going back to sleep.
~Mix up the colors of your pens some. Are your hands tired? Alternate between print and cursive.
~Remember- your whole novel is a first draft. A first draft that will absolutely, positively NOT get edited this month!
~A new idea is an invention, and inventions aren't always perfect the first time around. But you should smother your anticipation to edit now