Music as the Muse by Holly Roberts

... especially when the flaky Muse is MIA. (source)

About a week ago I had hit a rut in my novel, and every word was a struggle to write. Then I got online, and began researching soundtrack music that I believe would suit my novel.  I found two songs that sent the blood pumping back through the veins to give life to my novel again just by listening to two songs.  Not only did I feel motivated to write my story veered in new directions.

The past three times I have took on the month long writing challenge it was music that pushed me across the finish line.  I never even did an outline the first couple of times because music always reminded me of the scenes I would write when the time came.  That wasn’t a good idea because ten songs don’t equal a whole book. This music is even a huge part of making my novel lively than it ever has been before.

Music can form the complete setting of what novel you’re writing, and since we are going into the second of writing it can also be that one thing left that is still causing you to chug along.  My novel for this November is set in 1958, and there is a goldmine of music available to help me feeling I’m living in the exact times of my characters.

Some people can listen to music while writing and some can’t.  At the end of the day it is a personal preference, which everyone has a different opinion on. I’ve discovered I can’t function without it especially when writing, and needing inspiration.  This month music has brought me some great scenes. 

Here are two tips I have for using music though if you choose to do so:

1.       Don’t get lost in the music. Sometimes a scene will build up so hugely while listening to a song that it has become overwhelming to write. Let the scene sit, and then write when it doesn’t seem so intimidating to write on paper.

2.       Pick music that fits the feel of your novel. No matter how much I love the upbeat poppy tunes of some music if I’m trying to right a serious, moody novel then that is what I need to listen to for a month.  I tend to stick with darker themed soundtracks, and lyrics that tell stories.  It keeps you focused on the vibe, and the mood needed.

Has music been a help to you this November? What kind of music is it?

Holly (@harmonyholly) is a writer, blogger, photographer, and a lover of creativity.  She took her first try at writing a novel in a month in 2008, and from then she has been reaching for the day she feels she has a novel to publish.

Lisa's Survival Guide to NaNo by Lisa Bouchard

Aaaaaand we're OFF!!!

Squeezing NaNoWriMo into our busy lives is challenging, but with a little forethought we can sail through November and have shiny new novels to call our own.

There are some things we can do without for the month. I’d suggest eating lunch at your desk and writing instead of going out and watching less TV.  Consider watching less TV, there’s nothing good on, anyway. Some things, however, we need to make sure we don’t neglect, like:

--Work or School

--Nutrition

--Sleep

--Exercise

--Family and Relationships

Work is, for most people, non-negotiable. We have to continue to get up every day and head in to the office – on time – or make it to all your classes.  Let’s make a pact not to lose our jobs or fail out of school this November, m’kay? 

Eating properly. Not nearly as sexy as pounding out our novels fuelled by nothing but Starbucks for days on end, but our brains need nutrition to work properly. We all know what good nutrition is, or at least we know it’s not drive through every night or sugary cereals in the mornings. 

Here’s good nutrition in a nutshell: drink water with every meal, make your grains whole grains (whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, whole grain pastas), eat your fruits and veggies without coating them in sugars and/or fats, eat protein a couple times a day. Eat low fat dairy products (not ice cream here) once or twice a day. One dessert every other day. Fruits and veggies for snacks. 

While this won’t pass any nutritionist’s muster, it’s not a bad start. And don’t over caffeinate, we won’t need to once we get used to the next item on our list.

Sleep! We all love it. Waking up well-rested feels great. So why is it we don’t make it a priority? I may be the world’s biggest hypocrite here, I get up very early to write before the kids wake up but I rarely drag myself to bed before 11 pm. This November we will be pushing our brains to the limit, so to bounce back every day we need to let the little gray cells rest. Sleep is as non-negotiable as work, so 6, 7, 8 hours – you know what you need. Make sure you get it.

I’ll be better at it as well. I promise.

Exercise, the bane of modern life. I admit I’ve cut out exercise in an attempt to get more writing time. It worked for me, but in the long run 30 minutes on my treadmill every other day is a small price to pay for still being able to fit in my clothing on December 1^st. I’m fortunate to have a treadmill in my living room, but you could go for a walk to work out your plotting for the day before you sit down to write.

Take your dog out for one longer walk every day. Hop on your bike and ride around the neighborhood. Don’t want to do any of those, or live in the frigid north like me? Check out these online exercise videos.

Finally, family and relationships. You know, those people who like you and like spending time with you. Try not to ignore them. Prepare them in advance, let them know you’ll be writing a novel and on December 1^st you’ll all go out and celebrate your staggering work of genius and their infinite patience.

I find the most important thing about relationships is that people want to feel like they’re special to you. Keeping on top of that should keep peace in your house. And remember, actions speak louder than words here, but remembering to say “Thank you” and “I love you” can keep you out of hot water (at any time of the year).

So, keep these five critical areas in check and we’ll make it through November ready to write our sequels in January.

Tell us what your survival guid is like. Do you find it easy or hard to follow through?

Lisa Bouchard, 10 year veteran of NaNoWriMo, is up at 4 am to write before all hell breaks loose her children wake up. From there it’s all downhill but somehow the novels keep getting written. You can find her all over the internet, starting with her website Writing and Kids, her Twitter @Lisa_Bouchard, and her NaNoWriMo user name is Lisa Bouchard.

Don't Give Up! (Keep Writing) by Melissa Wright

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.