I guess my
post should be titled “What I Wish I Knew at This Time Last Year”, but that’s
really long. You see, 2010 was my first “official” year as a NaNoWriMo
participant. I’d love to sit here and tell everyone about how successful I was
but….. I can’t. Why? Because I failed miserably. I didn’t plan anything out beforehand. I just
went in with the mentality that I was going to “wing it.” Not a good idea for me.
I hit a huge
wall at the middle of November and I could not get around it. I was lost and
confused. I live in a pretty rural area so I didn’t really talk to anyone who
was also doing NaNo, so there was no one for me to really vent to. My support
system was seriously lacking. In fact, it was pretty much non-existent.
In order to
survive nano, here are some suggestions for you that I learned from last year:
Have a support system. It doesn’t have to be huge or
anything but make sure you have people cheering you on as you push through to
the finish line. Tell your friends what you’re doing even if they may not
necessarily understand the process. It’ll be hard to give up if you know that
everyone else knows what you’re up to. If you have friends like mine, they’ll
give you some crap about giving up so easily.
Know what your story is about and
where you’re going.
For some people, it’s easier for them to follow the “Just wing it” approach,
but for me, I learned that wasn’t the best idea.
Give yourself “rewards” when you’ve
hit your writing goal for the day. It can be a nice dinner somewhere or something simple like
ice cream and a movie with friends. Make sure
to let yourself have a little fun this month, too. If you have a significant other, have them give
you a massage after you’ve hit a certain word count. Sometimes rewards are the
best encouragement.
Keep in
contact with fellow NaNoWriMo participants. We’re all in this together. That’s the beauty of this blog. We’re
all going through the same thing so it’s nice to share your struggles and
successes with others who understand. If only I had this blog last year…. Ha ha
One last
thing: Do not re-read what you’ve
written until the month is over. Just don’t do it. You’ll waste precious
writing time and want to fix things before it’s necessary. Remember, write in
November, edit in December.
The best
advice I can give to any NaNo newbie to survive this month is not give up. Keep
writing no matter how big the “writing wall” may seem. Don’t critique yourself.
Just write. And breathe. That’s pretty important too. J
We can all survive this month and get to that 50,000 word finish line if
we stick together and keep writing. You
can continue to do this! Let’s make it to the finish line together.
Are you ready for tomorrow? Is there anything you wish you knew before your first NaNo?
Melissa Wright is a twenty-something writer with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She has loved writing stories, creating
stories and interesting characters since she was five years old. Her first
novel, The Risen Dead, will be out for purchase early 2012. You can follow her
on Twitter @melissameginn, on the
NaNoWriMo site (search for melissameginn) and follow her writing journey on her
blog, The Undeveloped Story.
