Breaking the NaNoWriMo Rules
At the moment, I am 15,444 words into my NaNoWriMo novel. As mentioned before, I am actually cheating this year, revising an existing incomplete manuscript as opposed to producing 50,000 fresh words (although with the exception of a few lines of dialogue here and there, I have rewritten pretty much everything). The novel itself is going well and I am technically ahead of the game (if you're going to write 1667 words a day, you should be at 13,336 by now). Still, given how little time I have had to write this week, between the election and working a 50-hour work week, I really feel like I should be further along. Here's a glimpse at my calendar white board.
Today is not filled in yet because I hope to get some more writing in after dinner. Doesn't my phone have a crappy camera?
Interestingly, I've notice that in my doing NaNoWriMo differently this year, I've learned that my tired and true NaNo rules don't necessarily apply anymore. Here's what they are, and how they have/have not changed.
Rule #1- Get Ahead While You Can- This one actually still applies. November is a busy month before you bring in 50,000 words worth of writing. I've always tried to get ahead early (on the first day if possible). I keep my schedule in mind while planning my writing, preparing to do extra writing before the weeks (like this one) when I know that I won't have that much time to write. For example, it was nearly impossible to find time to write on Election Day, and the same is going to go for this upcoming Sunday, when I will be away for most of the day.
Rule #2- Tell Your Internal Editor to Shut Up- This is something I don't normally have any issues with. Blame it on the years of writing essays for school, and the hundreds of book reviews that I've posted here. The best way to write fast is to just vomit everything out, then clean up the mess later. Interestingly, as my goal is to create a workable first draft, not just 50,000 raw words, I have been listening to my internal editor. I've gone back and reorganized the order of scenes, smoothed out character arcs, and even cut out an entire page and a half (oh the pain!). Still, I don't think the first draft is necessarily the place for wordsmithing. Unless it sounds really out of place, you can take time to clean it up later.
Rule #3- Build Habits by Picking a Time of Day to Write and Sticking with It- This was so much easier last year when I was working fewer hours. I'd wake up, do my writing for an hour or so, then go about my day. This year, I still do most of my writing in the morning, but I don't always get it done before work. Combine this with the fact that I have been listening to that internal editor, and NaNoWriMo has been much more time consuming this year. I'm happiest with what I produce after writing for about two hours. That's not always practical when you work full time. I seriously have no idea how parents can work, raise their kids, and write simultaneously.
Rule #4- Always Stop Writing Before You Run Out of Ideas- I can't remember where I learned this but it's probably the best advice anyone's ever given to me about writing period, never mind NaNoWriMo. Nothing makes sitting down at the computer more daunting then having no idea on how you're going to start. As a result, I often stop writing in the middle of scenes just so I know where to start off the next day. It's just a really good idea.
Rule #5- Don't Forget the Rest of Your Life- This is the one I've been failing at this year. I'm behind on my reviews, because writing a book review is the LAST thing I want to do at the end of the day. I've been on the same page of Good Omens for the past four days. I haven't seen Cloud Atlas yet, and probably won't get to the theater in time to see it. My apartment? Looking pretty messy already. I hope to catch up on some of these things next week, which is going to be less manic than this one, but I do really believe that it's important to not completely shut yourself out from the world during NaNoWriMo. If you do, then it becomes like a another job, just another thing that prevents you from doing the things you want to do in life. And then it's really easy to fail to see the point of NaNoWriMo when it only becomes a burden.
Rule #6- Display Your Progress on a Wall- You can see an example of this with my white board above. It's on my refrigerator. Ever time I want to eat, or get a glass of water, I have to face what my word count is. Might as well be one that I'm proud of.
So those are my rules, and how I'm sticking to them/not sticking to them. For those who are doing/have done NaNoWriMo or NaNoWriMo likes projects, what are your rules? Or, if you have any advice at all on writing that you think may be helpful, feel free to share it here.
Today is not filled in yet because I hope to get some more writing in after dinner. Doesn't my phone have a crappy camera?
Interestingly, I've notice that in my doing NaNoWriMo differently this year, I've learned that my tired and true NaNo rules don't necessarily apply anymore. Here's what they are, and how they have/have not changed.
Rule #1- Get Ahead While You Can- This one actually still applies. November is a busy month before you bring in 50,000 words worth of writing. I've always tried to get ahead early (on the first day if possible). I keep my schedule in mind while planning my writing, preparing to do extra writing before the weeks (like this one) when I know that I won't have that much time to write. For example, it was nearly impossible to find time to write on Election Day, and the same is going to go for this upcoming Sunday, when I will be away for most of the day.
Rule #2- Tell Your Internal Editor to Shut Up- This is something I don't normally have any issues with. Blame it on the years of writing essays for school, and the hundreds of book reviews that I've posted here. The best way to write fast is to just vomit everything out, then clean up the mess later. Interestingly, as my goal is to create a workable first draft, not just 50,000 raw words, I have been listening to my internal editor. I've gone back and reorganized the order of scenes, smoothed out character arcs, and even cut out an entire page and a half (oh the pain!). Still, I don't think the first draft is necessarily the place for wordsmithing. Unless it sounds really out of place, you can take time to clean it up later.
Rule #3- Build Habits by Picking a Time of Day to Write and Sticking with It- This was so much easier last year when I was working fewer hours. I'd wake up, do my writing for an hour or so, then go about my day. This year, I still do most of my writing in the morning, but I don't always get it done before work. Combine this with the fact that I have been listening to that internal editor, and NaNoWriMo has been much more time consuming this year. I'm happiest with what I produce after writing for about two hours. That's not always practical when you work full time. I seriously have no idea how parents can work, raise their kids, and write simultaneously.
Rule #4- Always Stop Writing Before You Run Out of Ideas- I can't remember where I learned this but it's probably the best advice anyone's ever given to me about writing period, never mind NaNoWriMo. Nothing makes sitting down at the computer more daunting then having no idea on how you're going to start. As a result, I often stop writing in the middle of scenes just so I know where to start off the next day. It's just a really good idea.
Rule #5- Don't Forget the Rest of Your Life- This is the one I've been failing at this year. I'm behind on my reviews, because writing a book review is the LAST thing I want to do at the end of the day. I've been on the same page of Good Omens for the past four days. I haven't seen Cloud Atlas yet, and probably won't get to the theater in time to see it. My apartment? Looking pretty messy already. I hope to catch up on some of these things next week, which is going to be less manic than this one, but I do really believe that it's important to not completely shut yourself out from the world during NaNoWriMo. If you do, then it becomes like a another job, just another thing that prevents you from doing the things you want to do in life. And then it's really easy to fail to see the point of NaNoWriMo when it only becomes a burden.
Rule #6- Display Your Progress on a Wall- You can see an example of this with my white board above. It's on my refrigerator. Ever time I want to eat, or get a glass of water, I have to face what my word count is. Might as well be one that I'm proud of.
So those are my rules, and how I'm sticking to them/not sticking to them. For those who are doing/have done NaNoWriMo or NaNoWriMo likes projects, what are your rules? Or, if you have any advice at all on writing that you think may be helpful, feel free to share it here.