New week, new day, new challenges to conquer and of course: a new post. If you are new here welcome and if you are one of the tribe, faithfully creeping on the blog every over week to read the new post that goes up: welcome back. The past few weeks have been very interesting and eventful hence, the lateness with which is post is going online. Taking a break from the emotionally and spiritually heavy stuff to talk about a passion of mine, the very one that led me to creating this blog in the first place: writing. Today, I want to share with you my experience and the tips that helped me when I wrote my first book this past November. Saying those words, reading them, thinking them still sounds/feels as weird as it did when I first finished writing that book and I am still getting used to it.
Let me start by saying that I have always had a love for letters, ever since I was a kid. I had a passion for books and words which kind of explain why on so many occasions I was told that I talked too much (many years ago. This statement doesn’t apply anymore as I have learned to use my words sparingly and only when needed). I used to read a lot as a kid and actually started writing when I was thirteen. Nothing really serious: occasional stuff here and there, mostly poetry. And then I transitioned to writing fiction stories. Again, light stuff to keep creativity going and entertain my classmates during breaks and empty hours in middle school. Then life happened, shit hit the fan and I went from writing fiction to writing my heart and feelings away in a similar fashion than I do on this blog. Fast forward a few years later: I created this blog with the encouragements of my person (my sister💖) and a few of my close friends.
I know you are telling yourself “well this is all great and fluffy and cute but how did you actually come up with the idea of writing a book?” Well it didn't actually "just happen". I had been curating that project for years however, I couldn’t seem to find the time, motivation or even words to get started. But then something really magical happened last year: I found out about a movement called NANOWRIMO which stands for NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. Every year in November hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world take on the challenge to write a novel of at least fifty thousand words in thirty days. Sounds crazy? Well that’s because it is. The idea behind it is not to win or meet the fifty thousand words: the idea is for you to get started on that book you have always wanted to write and have a support group of struggling randos to do it with so that you don’t feel that desperate, lost and clueless. Sounds weird? It is. But take it from a participant: it is a fun as it is weird. Misery loves company. Writing a fifty thousand words novel is the only time were this say will not make you feel bad at all.
I jumped on the NANOWRIMO wagon last November and ended up writing my fifty thousand words the day before the challenge was supposed to end. I guess that qualify as being a winner but it’s beside the point (still worth mentioning though). So today I am sharing the tips that I found helpful in writing a fifty thousand words novel in thirty days. So without further due let’s get into in.
I jumped on the NANOWRIMO wagon last November and ended up writing my fifty thousand words the day before the challenge was supposed to end. I guess that qualify as being a winner but it’s beside the point (still worth mentioning though). So today I am sharing the tips that I found helpful in writing a fifty thousand words novel in thirty days. So without further due let’s get into in.
Tips #1: Have a plan
Don’t just jump into nanowrimo thinking you’re going to wing it. You won’t. Unless you are some kind of writing guru/god/goddess or your creativity just flows non-stop in a way that can make a novel make sense. If yes, good for you! If you are not any of these just plan ahead. The week before the nanowrimo challenge is actually dedicated to brainstorming ideas and lining up your plot, your characters and the overall make up of your novel. Don’t squander that week: use it or you might end up regretting it later.
Note: It is okay to have something lined up before the challenge starts and actually change your mind. It happens. It happened with me: I started off with a fiction novel with a solid plot, characters and a story already lined up. But my heart wanted something else: my heart wanted the book I was longing for for so many years. So two weeks into the nanowrimo challenge, I ditched my fiction novel and went for a memoir and I absolutely do not regret it. It is okay to change your mind and start over but if you do, just make sure which way you are heading. Everything doesn’t have to be planned down to the “t” but have a general sense of what you want your final product to look like and work from there.
Tip #2: Do not panic 😱
I will finish you mere mortal *insert evil laugh*
Panic has a weird way of messing up with your creativity. I have been there: I know what it feels like when your brain start turning into mush because you think “fifty thousand words, thirty days… What on God green's earth was I thinking?!” If this is your first time, you will come to that realization a few days before of after the challenge and it will hit you like a brick on the head and, if you’re anything like me, you might have a panic attack and start hyperventilating and then everything you had planned will just go down the drain. Just breathe and know that you will be okay. It sounds overwhelming but it can be done with a little organization and a lot of motivation from your part. Leading me to my next tip.
Tip #3: Plan for a set amount of time to write in the day ⌚
If you want to do this you need to have some kind of organizational skills going on here. Do not try winging this otherwise it will get ugly really fast. Have a set amount of time during which you plan on writing. Every day. It doesn’t have to be long but it has to exist. That is how you get it done and make sure that you write something during that time. A word. A phrase. A sentence. A paragraph. A page. Just write something. A little bit goes a long way. I have had times where I didn’t feel like writing a word and next thing I knew, I was down on my third page with two more pages to go and I had to just shut everything off and go to bed because I had to be up the next morning going to work. Now I know it sounds difficult sometimes to do that. I know it very well because when I was writing that memoir, I was involved in the organization of a wedding, it was busy season at work and on top of that my work hours require me to be up at 4 am in order to be on time because my commute is two hours long each way. So really the last thing you want to do it is write when you are exhausted and all you want to do is sleep. But I did find a way to squeeze into my day a quiet time to put in my daily words.
Note: Life happens. Things don’t always go according to plan. Be flexible. If you missed a day it’s okay: just jump back on the wagon and pick up where you left at. Make up for that time that you missed and perhaps, pick up the pace to meet your missed day goal as well as the goal for the day you get back on track
Tip #4: Write everywhere, whenever you can 🌏
On top of the set writing time that I had, I was writing everywhere, whenever I had a chance. If you are a fan of having a physical notebook, invest in a good one and whenever you get an idea write it down. If you don’t have your notebook or if you find that notebooks are not practical, you can do what I did: write notes on your phones and at the end of the day (or when you are ready to write) send them to yourself by email. That is how I did it. I wrote everywhere: on the train, during lunch break, on the bus, in an Uber ,etc… As soon as I had a moment + an idea I got into the zone and wrote it so that I did not forget them.
Tip #5: Just write ✍
The fifty thousand words novel that you write during the nanowrimo challenge is meant to be your rough draft. Not the final one. It will be the foundation you will build on to get that polished, glorious book of yours that you will parade around. So of course it will be just that: rough. Don’t be too concerned or obsessed with the fact that you have way too many typos or that your story doesn’t make sense. You will have an opportunity to refine your work during the “What now?” months (January and February I think) but during the nanowrimo your only goal should be to write as much as you can. Resist the urge to go back and edit. I know I had to fight that urge every single minute. And I did not work on my chapters in a particular order. And to be honest, to this day (five months later), the order of my chapters is still changing. I have added some things and taken some things away because I am that much of a perfectionist and some little things bug me that much. Point is: just put those words in and you will worry about everything else later.
Tip #6: Writer’s block happens: Push through it.
I have been blogging for six years and writing for fourteen so I am very familiar with writer's blocks. It doesn’t freak me out as much as it used to (still does though… a little bit). It won’t always be nice and easy to write and inspiration won’t always flow easily. Sometimes you will feel stuck and frustrated but when you do, you don’t get stuck there: you have to push through it. Remember tip #5? That’s when you’ll need it the most. Write something. The more you will dig and write those words, the higher your chances at finding gold will be. And perhaps the words/ ideas you will get from pushing through your writer’s block will be better than the ones you thought were great. It has happened before so don’t let a writer’s block stop you and keep you from greatness: believe in yourself and believe that you can get past it. And you will.
Tip #7: Take a break 👯: Eat a kitkat (or not)
You do not have to eat a kit-kat but you will definitely need a break and snacks. Now... Your amount of sleep might be limited if like me you are caught in ten thousands different things. But you absolutely need a break when writing. A break is to your brain what rebooting is to your computer: you need a break to refresh your mind, give your eyes a break and avoid that hand cramp (if you actually like writing with a pen on paper or a typing machine. I'd love me one of those...). It might seem like a waste of time but it will actually make you more efficient and motivated (sometimes). Take a break. Do something else. Get your mind totally off that novel for a few minutes (or hours) and come back with new ideas and a new perspective. Just DON"T PROCRASTINATE and you'll end up on the dark playground. You don't want to be there. It's not worth it. I know because I play there EVERY SINGLE DAY to my dismay. It's fun for a minute then it turns dark: just like the name indicates. Don't do it.
Tip #8: Write with people (if you can)
Get together with other struggling writers and watch your confidence level go sky high. Sounds bad but it's comforting. And I am very sorry if anybody is reading this thinking "what a jerk". I am truly sorry but desperate situations call for desperate measures. Not only will your confidence level go up but you will be able to motivate each other and actually putting your brains together might bring about new ideas for your book. When I was doing the NANOWRIMO challenge, I attended write-ins with other people. We were provided with free snacks (wait… whet? 👀) and on top of that you get to meet great people and hear all about what they are writing about (some stories were really interesting) So I highly recommend that you attend a write-in if you can. If you can’t NANOWRIMO has forums gathering the people writing the same genre you are writing. So it is also definitely a place to go if you need a pick me up.
Tip #9: Don’t be intimidated
This is your journey. You are the only one who gets to set the pace. Some people are natural at writing, for some others it’s a struggle. Some people are neat and organized and some others are a total mess but there’s a method to the madness. Whichever category you find yourself in, do not be intimidated. Do your own thing and stay in your line. And last but not the least...
Tip# 10: Have fun 😎
Oh em gee! Just have fun with it. When you get all wrapped up and caught up in the idea that you need to win, that’s the time where you need to back up, take a breather and remind yourself that there is nothing here to "win" (except a certificate) Well technically you get a chance to get your book published later on (if you want) but that’s not the point of it. The point is to write and get your creativity on and have fun doing it. My memoir wasn’t always fun to write because it was emotionally supercharged and some days it fell like I was reopening old wounds to pour out some wisdom and share my life experience. But nonetheless I had fun with the whole process. It was madness from day one to the end but it was so much fun and if you don’t even meet the fifty thousand words mark and get to “win”, you should at least be able to look back with fondness and say : “I had so much fun and I would do it again”
A little bit of a lengthy article but this is in a nutshell my experience and my tips for anybody willing to participate into a NANOWRIMO event or even write a book. Some people I know have mentioned that they would love to read the book but I am still in the editing stages. I poured so much of myself, my story , my heart and my emotions into it that reading and editing that book feels like reliving some of the things I talked about. So I am taking my time to not be too overwhelmed but also to pull back when I need to in order to override my brain and remind it that I do not dwell in those emotional places anymore because some days, those emotions feel very real. I am anticipating doing another NANOWRIMO this year and I am hoping it will be easier this year but you never know. The same things can sometimes come with different levels of challenges. So we will see. If it is something you would be interest in doing leave a comment or reach out by email and I would be happy to connect with you.
If you have made it to the end: congratulations and thank you for taking your precious time to read through this article. Whoever you are reading this, you motivate me to want to write and get better at my craft. So thank you.
Until next time,
The Happiness Fairy 👸
P.S: Want to know more about the NANOWRIMO movement? Click here. Happy browsing 😊
