Nanowrimo. That crazy event that writers all over the world take part in every year, frantically tapping away at their keyboards in an attempt to reach that magical 50,000 words before the month is over. If you're reading this blog post, chances are, you've not just heard of nanowrimo, but have actively participated, possibly many times. What is not so certain is whether or not you've succeeded. So, with that in mind, I am going to give you my top nanowrimo tips, in order to ensure that the next time you participate is the time you finally succeed.
Nanowrimo Planning
My first piece of advice depends very much on your style of writing. If you are a plotter, or rather someone who plans every aspect of their novel in extreme detail before setting off on your writing adventure, nanowrimo planning really is key. In order to do this successfully, especially if it is your first time, you should use the nanowrimo resources that are available on the website. They actually offer a nanowrimo planning booklet, which will direct you through every aspect of the planning process, from creating carefully considered, 3D characters to making sure you know exactly where your plot is going.
However, this approach does not work for everyone. As I mentioned in my blog about combating writer's block, there are three types of writers - plotters, pantsers, and plantsers. For plotters, planning in depth works well. For the latter two, not so much. However, no matter what type of writer you are, it helps to have a vague idea of where your novel is going for nanowrimo. One approach I suggest for this, is even just to write down certain conflicts that you could throw at your protagonist to keep the novel flowing when you hit a roadblock. By writing these down, you aren't necessarily committing to anything, but they are just there to give you ideas and make sure that you don't have to stop for ages trying to think of what could come next.
Don't Overthink It
One reason why many people fail at nanowrimo, is that they overthink the writing process. No one has ever produced a perfect novel during nanowrimo or even anything that hasn't gone through at least 2 rounds of serious editing afterwards. If you go into this event expecting to come out on the other side with a best seller, you are setting yourself up to fail. That isn't to say that you won't write an amazing book, you just shouldn't expect it to be amazing right off the bat. My first complete nanowrimo novel, Academia dels Maleits: The Sickness, went through one serious round of edits by myself and then a couple more with the help of very dedicated friends and family members. I even added in a whole new chapter in Draft 2, because I decided there was a gap that was just too big to ignore. In fact, it was a gap I couldn't believe I'd left in the first place. When it's released, let's see how many of you can figure out which chapter was added in in the rewrite...
Create An Epic Writing Playlist
Ok, so admittedly this piece of advice is a little controversial as some people believe that you shouldn't write to music. More fool them, I wrote this entire blog post listening to the Moana soundtrack (no shame, there are some tunes in that film!). This piece of advice won't work if you are the sort of person who tends to get distracted and start singing along, but honestly, the right soundtrack can really hype you up for a solid day's writing. The one thing I would say, is try to make sure the mood of the songs you're listening to matches the tone of your book. For example, it can be very difficult to write a tragic death scene while listening to something like Love Is Easy by McFly. I mean, feel free to try, it just might not go so well. I'm always willing to be proven wrong though.
Don't Stop To Edit
Another big reason why people fail nanowrimo is that they feel the need to stop and edit as they go along. This is strongly linked to the second section of this blog to do with not overthinking things. If you stop to cut a scene you don't like every two seconds, or perfect a previously written section, you'll never reach the target of 50,000 words. You can go back over the novel in December to make it all sparkly and transform it from the rough first draft into the masterpiece it's destined to be.
Find Your Perfect Writing Space
This is arguably the most important factor. The truth is, there are some spaces that just don't work for writing , or even some spaces that simply don't work for certain people. If you can find that place where you can really be productive, you will find nanowrimo much easier. For me, it is Sandwichez, a cafe in Barcelona where I've been going for a writer's group for around 3 years now. However, the beach also works. You just need to find a place where you can write comfortably without distractions and this usually works better in a public cafe, where you'll be less likely to get distracted by Netflix.
Do you have any other tips for nanowrimo success? If so, feel free to post them in the comments or contact me directly on glnangle.author@googlemail.com. Good luck for the coming November and here's hoping that this year is the one when you finally complete nanowrimo successfully.