Good afternoon (or evening depending on where you live),
I've reached an important (or not very important as I'll touch on later) goal in this month long sprint that is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo as participants call it. I hit the 25,000 word level - or half way to winning - on day seven of the month. This sets me up in great position to finish and I don't need to worry about feeling rushed as the end of month nears as can happen if you fall behind on the word count average needed per day (1667 words average per day needed to reach 50k in 30 days).
Pausing for a moment (and not much more) at this milestone, I'll make a few short observations and suggest tips to writers new to this sprint
First - don't look back, think about where you are, or stop for long to celebrate the small successes. The best advice I can give is to keep moving forward. Stopping to edit your words, fret over plot-holes, or even to celebrate hitting 25k word can hurt your chances at finishing in 30 days. The only thing that matters is to keep the story moving, run-away freight train style - for the entire month.
A second piece of advice - stop making plans for the novel. This can be the death of inspiration and is almost as big a problem as editing as you go. Stop the dreams of publication or the trilogy that may or may not spring from this NaNo effort. Again, this advice is for beginners. You want to make the writing process streamlined and simple. Think only of the current spot in *this* WIP, not the future, other books, or how you're going to sell it.
As for my NaNo novel - Preface to a Suicide - I'm about half way through the manuscript. There are some plot-holes and inconsistencies, but I'm not stopping. All those issues can be fixed in revision. The dramatic finish looms in my mind and I simply need to cross the 20k word bridge that gets me there - 1 day and 1667 words at a time.
From Las Vegas,
Stephen John Moran
I've reached an important (or not very important as I'll touch on later) goal in this month long sprint that is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo as participants call it. I hit the 25,000 word level - or half way to winning - on day seven of the month. This sets me up in great position to finish and I don't need to worry about feeling rushed as the end of month nears as can happen if you fall behind on the word count average needed per day (1667 words average per day needed to reach 50k in 30 days).
Pausing for a moment (and not much more) at this milestone, I'll make a few short observations and suggest tips to writers new to this sprint
First - don't look back, think about where you are, or stop for long to celebrate the small successes. The best advice I can give is to keep moving forward. Stopping to edit your words, fret over plot-holes, or even to celebrate hitting 25k word can hurt your chances at finishing in 30 days. The only thing that matters is to keep the story moving, run-away freight train style - for the entire month.
A second piece of advice - stop making plans for the novel. This can be the death of inspiration and is almost as big a problem as editing as you go. Stop the dreams of publication or the trilogy that may or may not spring from this NaNo effort. Again, this advice is for beginners. You want to make the writing process streamlined and simple. Think only of the current spot in *this* WIP, not the future, other books, or how you're going to sell it.
As for my NaNo novel - Preface to a Suicide - I'm about half way through the manuscript. There are some plot-holes and inconsistencies, but I'm not stopping. All those issues can be fixed in revision. The dramatic finish looms in my mind and I simply need to cross the 20k word bridge that gets me there - 1 day and 1667 words at a time.
From Las Vegas,
Stephen John Moran
