Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

As we enter the last week of NaNoWriMo, I thought I would share my experience of the challenge and share some tips.

National Novel Writing month is a crazy experience, whether it is your first attempt or one of many. We all tend to become rather manic as we write to our daily goal of 1667 words (or more if possible). I remember my first NaNoWriMo was back in 2009. At the time my writing experience was minimal, and my longest piece of writing was maybe three paragraphs long, substantially less than fifty thousand words.

The panic I felt at the mind-blowing word count and the deadline date made me completely obsessed. I would race home from work to write, threw the easiest meals together for my family and ignored household chores, for the most part. This was my focus. Now, after twelve years of the challenge, I have become more relaxed knowing I am capable of writing at least 1667 words in an evening. My average daily word count fluctuates between 1700 and 1900 words this year. That is not to say I do not experience some anxiety; I just know how to handle the challenge better now. As with everything – practice makes perfect, or in this case ‘bum in seat’ makes an achievable word count.

Here are a few tips I found worked for me:

1. Cultivate your story idea before NaNo starts. It may be a character, a location or even a whole scene that propels you into the story.
2. Jot down notes for plot, character names & personalities, anything that you see being included in your narrative.
3. Find a time and a quiet place to write that works for you and your family. Designate a time, if that helps.
4. Don’t make excuses – write first then watch TV or scroll social media.
5. Use unexpected spare/free time to write, even if it’s only a paragraph. Every word counts.
6. Try writing bursts – time yourself to write a certain number of words in an allocated amount of time.
7. Aim to write over the daily word count of 1667 this helps you stay ahead. So, any unforeseen circumstances are not so drastic to your end goal.
8. Let the words flow – leave editing and revision for later.
9. Use the word count tracker on the website, it helps you stay on goal.
10. Mark or highlight a sentence if fact checking is required. This stops you going down internet rabbit holes.
11. Believe in yourself, your story and your success.
12. Celebrate the smaller victories – hitting a sprint goal, writing a smashing paragraph, learning a new word.
13. Make sure you rest, exercise and eat.
14. Enjoy the process of immersing yourself into creating a world of your imagination.
15. Even if you don’t achieve 50,000 words you have managed to write a fair amount – that is success. Remember this challenge is only the beginning of your narrative’s journey. The editing and revisions come later.