Nanowrimo

In a few days the yearly Nanowrimo will start. For those of you who don’t know what that is, basically people try to write 50,000 words in the month of November.

As someone whose job it is to write books, Nano doesn’t really have that special place in my year that it does for some. Every month I’m trying to get as much done as possible, and although I don’t set myself a 50k word limit to beat, I try to at least manage enough to be happy with what I’ve done.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like Nano. I think it’s a good way to meet people in your area, and it’s nice to have that comradery with people who are trying to do the same thing.

I’ve done it every year for the last 5 years, and while I’ve only manage 50k twice, I thought some tips might be a good idea. So here they are.

1. Plan everything first.

Sit down and ensure that you know what you’re doing and where you’re going. Getting half way through the month and realising you have it all wrong is a bit crap.

2. Don’t edit/edit it’s up to you.

It’s the one piece of advice they give out every year. Never Edit. Personally I edit as I go, and that won’t change. But don’t spend all your time fixing that first chapter or paragraph, editing is fine, polishing can wait.

Ah, the classic editing pose.

3. Enjoy it.

If you’re not enjoying the writing, then it’s probably not working. The story you’re working on should be something that makes you excited, something that makes you want to sit down and write. No one wants to slog through 50k.

Enjoying it will result in this face too. That’s fine.

4. You may not make it.

As hard as this is to accept, you may not make your 50k. And that’s okay. You need to be happy with what you’ve done, and not everyone makes it to the end. Writing a story isn’t a sprint, so if you’re intending to continue on after the end of Nov, then you’ve got a long road ahead.

And those are my simple tips. This year I’m going to be working on Helleuqin book 6.

Best of luck to everyone taking part.