With NaNoWriMo upon us, many of you are thinking seriously about your daily word count. Here are some tips to maximize that total.
- Get an early start – If you wait until the end of the day, you’ll be racing your clock to get those words down, and that can pile more stress on an already stressed writer. Set your clock half an hour early and sit down to put some words onto your pages.
- Carve out some time – keep a notebook and pen with you at all times. Waiting for that latte? Get a few words down. Does that roast take half an hour to cook? Write! You can transcribe to the computer on your day off. Just get those words onto the paper.
- Be a little Type-A – schedule your writing time. Yes, I mean actually make out a daily schedule and put “writing” on your calendar! If it’s written down, you’re less likely to blow it off or find other things to do with that time.
- Ask and ye shall receive – let your friends and family know that you’re trying to finish that book. Ask them to respect your schedule and give you the time you need.
- Silence your internal editor – this should go without saying during NaNoWriMo, but it’s good advice any time at all. When you’re trying to get the words out, ignore that Doubting Thomas voice in your head that says it’s all crap, that it has to be perfect, that you’ll never finish. Just keep plugging away. Edit later!
And here’s a Bonus Tip: everything that comes into your head is fair game for a NaNoWriMo word count! If you’re plugging along, and suddenly realize that you need to know more about rattlesnake milking for your character’s new hobby, then write down “I need to know more about rattlesnake milking – do some research here!” Bold that section and come back to it later, when you’re not busy writing.