The Writing Newbie

Writing is an adventure. Enjoy the journey and write the way you love!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

NaNoWriMo 2011

NaNoWriMo has started again! 


As you might know, every year in November there is this online event called NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month. 
As the name suggests you're supposed to write a whole novel (50.000 words) in just one month! On the website you can keep track of your progress, chat on the forum and add friends. Last year was my first NaNoWriMo year and I really enjoyed it.


Somehow with everything going on, it can be very hard to find time to really write. Personally I haven't written in ages (as you can see by the date of the last blog post....sorry!) and I do find that events like this help you get back into gear again!



So forget about school, friends, work and all other stuff for a while and just write! write! write! (ok maybe you shouldn't forget about the other stuff completely). 



Here are some tips:

1. Do try and write every day. Even if you're busy try and squeeze in those 1667 words a day, and you will see it will be no problem wining this thing! 

2. Don't worry if you do miss a day or a few. you can always catch up during the weekend.

3. Don't think too much! Just enjoy and type away! The point of NaNoWriMo is to make a first draft, not a masterpiece ready for publication.

4. Make friends! Having friends who also dedicate themselves on a month of writing can be really helpful and can also motivate you to keep going.
5. Don't edit your work! Go back to your story in December or January and start editing away. But don't waste precious time! 

6. You might want to plan things out a bit. At least the big lines. Because you'll have to write fast and every day---which means there isn't all that much time for thinking about things!

7. Try to write every day at the same time if you can. Make writing a habit! 

8. Bring notebooks with you everywhere you go! Have a boring Chem. class? Start writing the next chapter of your awesome novel!

9. Keep the goal in mind when things get tough. Remember, just one month and you'll have a real novel! That's truly amazing! 

10. Don't under any circumstances forget to have FUN!! :)

I hope some of you will decide to try this year. Don't be afraid! Even if you don't make the 50K mark in time, you might still have written 10K or 20K on your novel that you wouldn't have otherwise! 

If you want to add me as a friend, my name is LordKiwii! 


So head over to nanowrimo.org and join up! It's the first day today so go write! :) 


I'll leave you with a fun nanowrimo song that was written by the well known YouTuber italktosnakes! :) 




(Here is the youtube link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78mvUeBw7MM&feature=youtu.be It's brand new so it wouldn't let me put it up here)

Keep writing!

Xx LordKiwii