Guest Post: Five Tips For Surviving NaNoWriMo
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Today we have a post from our third guest poster of the month. Sophie is a three time NaNoWriMo winner, and today she's going to be sharing the top five things which help her during NaNo. If you've missed the other posts in this series, you can find them all here.
I’ve been doing NaNoWriMo every year since I was ten, which makes this my fourth NaNoWriMo. In that time I’ve discovered several things that always help me have a successful month. Maybe they’ll help you too. Here are my top five tips to surviving NaNoWriMo:
1. Write with someone. It doesn’t matter whether I’m word warring or just writing at my own pace, having someone else writing at the same time as me always encourages me to write more.
2. Listen to music while you write. I like to listen to music that suits the scene I’m writing. My favourite kind of writing music is fast paced because my fingers try to keep up and I write faster. Of course not, everyone likes to write with music playing, and that’s ok too.
3. Take breaks every so often. A break helps clear my head. Don’t take too long a break though, because otherwise it’s hard to get back to the swing of writing. I like to set the amount of time I’m allowed to take a break for so that I know when I have to start writing again.
4. Close off other programs. If I have the internet or a game open while I’m writing I find myself getting distracted. Closing off all other programs helps me focus on my book only.
5. Set certain times in the day for writing. I have certain times of day that I always write in. Knowing I have a set time of day pushes me to sit down and actually get started.
I hope these tips help you with your NaNoWriMo, and that your month is going well. Do you have any tips to add? Leave them in a comment below!
Sophie is a teenaged writer and blogger from Australia. She likes making videos, reading, writing, taking photos, and designing blogs. You can find her at The Techno Maid, where she blogs about books, her life, and other amazing things.
12 comments
Here are my top five tips:
ReplyDelete1. Bribe yourself. I find that if I tell myself I can have a bar of chocolate or a mug of tea after the next thousand words, I write it much faster.
2. Set a certain amount of words I have to write each day. If I say I have to write 2k a day, I know I won't get behind and that once I get there I can stop.
3. Write in a clean area. I can't write in a mess. I clean desk and room helps make my mind cleaner and concentrate better.
4. Make a playlist of music for each main character. Having something I play whenever I write about each of my characters somehow helps me concentrate on writing there bit and not moving on to a more interesting character.
5. Read through your novel. This helps me keeps my spirits up, especially if I find a bit that wasn't quite as rubbish as I thought (though that doesn't happen often).
Great post! Good tips:)
Ooh, I like these tips. Bribing myself is one I use a lot. I'd do anything for chocolate. Reading through my novel doesn't always help, but sometimes, when I look for specific bits I know were fun, it motivates me again. Thanks for stopping to comment!
DeleteThese are great tips! I love the idea of making a play list of each character. I will have to try this.
DeleteThey're good tips, all, and I have to admit I really love listening to music and taking breaks... Lots and lots of breaks. XD All the same, it takes a lot of work to blow through a manuscript, so I definitely appreciate where you're coming from, Sophie. We all need something, eh?
ReplyDeleteI like taking breaks too. Sometimes what I like to do is write a certain amount of words, like 500 hundred, and then I'll allow myself to watch one YouTube video for a break before I have to jump back into writing again. Thanks for stopping to comment. I'm sure Sophie will be along to answer it soon too.
DeleteI end up spending more time breaking than writing if I'm not careful!
DeleteThanks for reading my post.
Great tips! ESPECIALLY number 4, my Gooood you have no ideaa. Once upon a time that was my number one problem. It's funny, now I've well and truly tackled that problem I have another one to deal with (finding the time)! Thanks for sharing Sophie's post, Imogen!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I always find myself getting distracted by the internet. Closing everything off help me a lot.
DeleteThese are definitely good tips! Although I think #5 is the only one I actually stick to. ;-) I used to write with music a lot, but now I prefer silence. And I one day I'm going to get up the courage to word-war with someone. But wow, doing NaNo since you were 10?! That's awesome! I wasn't even writing until I was 12 and I never finished anything. :))
ReplyDeleteI used to never write to music, but now I find that I can't write without my music playing.
DeleteI've never properly finished a novel. I have loads of first drafts, but no finished novels. One day I'm going to edit them all.
There are some awesome tips there - thanks Sophie!
ReplyDeleteCharlie
Thank you!
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