Right now thousands of authors worldwide are gearing themselves
up for a ferocious writing marathon. November is National Novel Writing Month
and the challenge is to write 50,000 words in one month.
This would be almost reasonable if all the participants were
locked in a wifi-free shed with just their laptop, an espresso machine and a
treadmill to get the oxygen flowing back to the brain when writers block kicked
in.
The reality is they will be fitting this epic number
of words into their normal lives, with families, full time jobs, dogs needing
to be walked and houses needing to be maintained. They will fight against time
and tiredness, they will forgo nights out (or write through the hangovers),
they will do whatever it takes to deliver on the challenge!
Why?
BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL CRAZY
BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL CRAZY
... about writing.
I'm excited even though I'm not going to do it. If I
wrote that quickly I know I'd only have to throw most of it away. My other
excuse is that I've already got my novel written, I just need to edit the
monster. So instead I plan to get up an hour earlier each day during November
to work on it.
I'm a big believer in setting manageable goals. Too many people set themselves up for defeat by proposing impossible targets, and then get frustrated and feel like a failure. If you don't think you can write 50,000, why not aim for half of it? Or 100 words each day? It's still valuable!
I'm a big believer in setting manageable goals. Too many people set themselves up for defeat by proposing impossible targets, and then get frustrated and feel like a failure. If you don't think you can write 50,000, why not aim for half of it? Or 100 words each day? It's still valuable!
So, 6am it is. That's probably a normal waking hour
for many of you but for me it'll be a good but doable challenge.
Still wondering how anyone can write 50,000 words in
one month?
4 Nanowrimo participants kindly share their tips:
1. PUT PRESSURE ON YOURSELF BY TELLING EVERYONE YOU'RE
DOING IT
@EmilyBenet I'm trying to get as invested in the #NaNoWriMo community as I can so that I'll have no choice (and immense pressure) to win!
— Chris Gloom (@ChrisGloom) October 17, 2014
2. DON'T EAT OR SLEEP
@EmilyBenet well, I'm trying to finish one book, write another and do a degree. So I might not eat or sleep, but a month will fly over soon.
— Ruth F. Hunt (@prozactaker) October 17, 2014
3. JUST GET ON WITH IT
@EmilyBenet 1) Start writing 2) Reach 50k words 3) Finish the story.
— Thomas Heasman-Hunt (@ThommyH_H) October 18, 2014
4. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE HOUSE WORK
@EmilyBenet Write. Continue to write. Even when there is blood on the floor, write. #NaNoWriMo
— Archimage (@Archimage) October 18, 2014
Are you taking part in Nanowrimo? Share your method in
the comments!
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