NaNoWriMo – The Last Week
Are you caught up on word count? Many aren’t, few are actually ahead, and a few of us are comfortable. Most of us however are scared that we just are not going to be able to make it to the end with enough words. 50,000 words is no small thing for most of us. Some of us do not have solid plots, some have gotten distracted by the plot bunnies and are now lost in the woods with no bunnies to speak of. Some of us are just worried about the next real life obstacle to get in the way, things like having a baby or moving across country or the power going out for a few days. All valid concerns. With NaNoWriMo though, valid concerns are never good excuses. NaNoWriMo is about creative insanity and so nothing should be allowed to get in your way unless death hits. With that in mind, here are some tips that might help you hit that 50,000 by November 30th.
GET TO A WRITE-IN!
Yes, it might seem scary, a bunch of nerds from every walk of life descending upon a coffee shop or book store and taking over every writing surface available. They don’t bite though! Ok, maybe some do but I have yet to get bitten when I didn’t ask for it! (long story!) This year like others I had let life get in the way. I didn’t want to meet strangers, and I just didn’t feel like making the effort to get to write-ins. Like past years though when I finally managed to get out to them it was amazing. I get so much writing done at them. Yes, I get some social time too and this Mommy of 4 needs that geek time like a fish needs water. (balanced nitrates, low ammonia, and the right beneficial bacteria of course!) So I have been going to a few write-ins and sure enough, every single time, I catch up on word count and leave feeling amazing and kicking myself for not going to them sooner. So get to a write-in! It could literally save your novel! To find a write-in, go to the NaNoWriMo forums, then your region, and there should be a list of the write-ins in your area on the left bar near the top!
Jump into a Word War
These challenges can be found on the forums, on twitter, and in chats. Links and details are on the official NaNoWriMo site and not to hard to find. If you have issues though feel free to contact me and I can help you. The idea is that a time limit is set, everyone involved starts writing at the same time, and then when the time limit is up, they see who wrote the most words. Granted those words will chances are not be brilliant but they will help you hit your goals! Sometimes there is a game that goes with the word-war where the person with the fewest words has to do something for the person with the most words. When I have won I have asked that others find me a new song to fit the mood of the chapter I am writing to help me with the mood. I have learned of some great no-name bands this way!
Your Not Above Bribery!
Something that seems to help some writers is a reward system! Do your friends want to go out and see Catching Fire this weekend? Tell them you can’t until you have caught up on word count and that if they want to help they can come over and bring great coffee and clean your poor apartment while you write! If you don’t have supportive friends (and you might not know you do because you think it is too silly to ask for help!) then maybe set some bribery goals for yourself. You get that next kitkat just as soon as you write 5k more words. You get to go out shopping for a new pair of boots (Because for most of us the cold snuck up on us while we have been writing this month!) just as soon as you decide who is going to die next in your novel! Or maybe you have been telling yourself you are just too old to keep going with that action figure collection, now is the time to bribe it back to life one inch of writing at a time.
Word Challenge
My last tip is a desperate one I only turn to when I am feeling blah about what I am writing. I will go to a forum and look for a challenge. Often it will be to try and include certain words in your writing. A fun one though is just posting on your social media pages and asking people to give you three random words and then you have to try to put them into your novel some how or other. Course if you tell people what your going to be using those words for, they seem to become more challenging but it also helps bring in support for your novel writing and that can be priceless!
The month is not over, you can do this! Happy NaNoWriMo!
