Those are great questions, Kari. I think the best way to answer them, is to try NaNo. It's one of those learn-by-doing things. :)
That said, here's what I find works for me:
The key is to keep up with the daily words. If you take 50,000 and divide it by 30 (which is the number of days in November), you get 1,667. That's about 4 pages double-spaced type. I set a timer on my phone for 30 minutes, turn off my wifi and turn by back on any clocks (and sometimes, if I'm really gerbil-brained, I'll turn the clock display off on my computer. Then I write.
The trick is to let the story come out in whatever form it does - and that includes bad grammar, side-trips and detours. The editing process starts December 1. The inner critic is our worst enemy, and NaNo teaches us to write a rough draft - even a bad rough draft.
If you're interested, look me up on the www.nanowrimo.org site; my username is a.catherine.noon. There's a bunch of support for first-timers, and I'm happy to mentor anybody that needs it. If you're near Chicago, come to one of our write-ins; if you're not, find your region and look up some local-to-you events. That's a great way to get support, make friends, and hit your word count.
Good luck, and let me know if you have more questions!
Thank you very much for all your answers, Catherine! (Do I call you Catherine? ) I'm sorry it's taken me so long to thank you, but I've had some troubles with my LJ account. I'm really sorry I couldn't go to any of your Chicago events, since I would have loved to have met you in person, but I really appreciate the support you've offered everyone involved in National Novel Writing Month over the internet. Thank you very much for taking the time to help us all along!
Hi, Kari! You're very welcome. We still have events in Chicago, if you're around; I'll be at the Geek Bar this Sunday and there's a ton of other stuff going on. I won't be at Geek Bar at the write-in on the 29th, but our TGIO party is 12/5 at Geek Bar and should be a ton of fun. (Plus, their food is scrumptious.)
Have you joined your local region? Each region has events and things, where you can meet up with other writers and feel a sense of community.
What part of California? I lived there most of my life before coming to Chicago. Well, okay. Half my life. I've been here in Chicago for almost 20 years now.
I'm in the South Bay, which is part of the Bay Area, where San Francisco and the Silicon Valley are. Actually, I'm in the Silicon Valley.
I'll admit, I've been so rushed, trying to get the novel finished, I haven't been as social as I would have liked.
Right now, I'm really wishing I could post to my own LJ. I've been trying, but it keeps telling me 'no journal or community by that name exists'. (sighs)
That said, here's what I find works for me:
The key is to keep up with the daily words. If you take 50,000 and divide it by 30 (which is the number of days in November), you get 1,667. That's about 4 pages double-spaced type. I set a timer on my phone for 30 minutes, turn off my wifi and turn by back on any clocks (and sometimes, if I'm really gerbil-brained, I'll turn the clock display off on my computer. Then I write.
The trick is to let the story come out in whatever form it does - and that includes bad grammar, side-trips and detours. The editing process starts December 1. The inner critic is our worst enemy, and NaNo teaches us to write a rough draft - even a bad rough draft.
If you're interested, look me up on the www.nanowrimo.org site; my username is a.catherine.noon. There's a bunch of support for first-timers, and I'm happy to mentor anybody that needs it. If you're near Chicago, come to one of our write-ins; if you're not, find your region and look up some local-to-you events. That's a great way to get support, make friends, and hit your word count.
Good luck, and let me know if you have more questions!
Kind regards,
A. Catherine Noon
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How is your writing going?
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The Geek Bar, I love that title! :)
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Have you joined your local region? Each region has events and things, where you can meet up with other writers and feel a sense of community.
What part of California? I lived there most of my life before coming to Chicago. Well, okay. Half my life. I've been here in Chicago for almost 20 years now.
Sheesh.
Moving right along then. :P
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I'll admit, I've been so rushed, trying to get the novel finished, I haven't been as social as I would have liked.
Right now, I'm really wishing I could post to my own LJ. I've been trying, but it keeps telling me 'no journal or community by that name exists'. (sighs)
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