Now some of your may be wondering what this even is. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month that takes place during the whole month of November, starting at the first and ending on the last (at midnight of December 1). Each contestant of NaNoWriMo writes a 50,000 word novel in this time span. Crazy? Yeah, but whoever said writers were sane?
Starting this November will be my second year doing NaNoWriMo, but my first year doing the 50,000 word limit (For more on NaNoWriMo follow the link! :). I am still a rookie when it comes to NaNo but hopefully I can share what I did wrong last year and help you all avoid having a mental and/or emotional breakdown from stress during November! :)
1. Don't start late.
I did start late last year, because I didn't actually hear about NaNoWriMo until November, so my book ended up being a total mess because of bad planning. But if you haven't heard about NaNoWriMo until now, it's okay, just try planning for the next year. Or if you haven't started planning your novel until now... well better get cracking and FAST!
2. Avoid procrastinating
If you are in school, procrastinating during November will lead to nothing but ultimate disaster. It's okay to take breaks, but if you have a schedule keep to that schedule. Balancing writing a 50,000 word novel in a month, school work, and a social life (that for many writers suffers during November) is tough and it is very easy to lag behind on your word count and school work.
3. Never over drink on ANYTHING!
Too much caffeine will make you over jittery and for some people (like myself) unable to think because of too many stuff running through their heads at a hundred miles an hour. So good to stick with water or tea....
4. Calenders are your best friend
The month of November on my calender has become my best friend. A lot of contestants for NaNoWriMo follow a technique of writing around 2,000 words a day. So it's good to mark down how many words you wrote a day to make sure you're keeping up with your word count (believe me it is very easy to start lagging behind)
5. Try not to stress out
If you've done NaNo before you probably heard this before, "Don't to stress out. There's always next year." I hate it when people say that. But seriously, try not to take it too seriously, there is always next year and NaNo is meant to be fun... kind of. But try anything to de-stress yourself at the end of the day or at anytime you feel stress; yoga, tea (avoid the coffee at night), Pilates, a good book, anything to calm yourself. Especially if you are an already stressful person.
So here are some of my tips on what to do during November! I hope you will check out NaNoWriMo, even if you aren't a writer you can try it. It is seriously fun and helps get rid of your inner critic for at least a little while! :)
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