Are you NaNo-ing?

Are you joining me for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this November? I've been preparing myself for the month long writing marathon for a few weeks now. If you've missed any of my tips check them out here.

✅ Finishing the first draft

Done is better than perfect. If your goal is to write 1,667 words a day during this November writing challenge, don't fret too much over the quality of your work. Remember that it's better to produce something now and revise it later than to not write at all. The only way to create something great is by making mistakes--and lots of them. during the creative process, it's important to silence your inner critic and go with the flow, even if you're not sure where it's going to take you.

Have faith in your characters, even when they take detours. To get the most out of your NaNoWriMo experience, try to write without judgment and listen to your characters. You never know where they'll lead you! The point of NaNo is not to produce a perfect book or stick religiously to an outline; it's about breaking through mental barriers and releasing your creativity. So go with the flow, and see where your characters take you.

But don't skimp on quality just because you want to hit 50,000 words. Although often forgotten, NaNoWriMo's ultimate goal isn't just cranking out a large number of words. You want to create something that can actually be called a story, not some desperate attempt to vomit 50k words onto paper. The point of this challenge is less about the end result and more about teaching you how to stick with writing, hone your discipline, and connect with your innermost thoughts expressed through prose.

Find new ways to inspire yourself. Try creating a Pinterest board to get inspired for your book. Grab images of people that could play your characters, or pictures of settings that resemble where your story takes place. You can also find artwork with the same feeling as your novel, which will help you understand what sort of emotions you want readers and character to experience.

If Pinterest doesn't sound appealing to you, try making a blog post with all the images instead, or even go old-school and create a physical bulletin board. Either way, take some time before diving into writing to explore the world of your story.

Don't think too much about what you have already written. Instead, let the ideas and words flow without worrying about the previous chapter or paragraph. By not overthinking, you can focus on using your daily time wisely and getting all the words onto the page before editing.

Get accountable. Writing every day can be a challenge, so to increase your motivation, join or create a Facebook group where everyone posts their daily word count. You'll not only stay on track and writing regularly, but you'll also get that satisfying feeling of success each time you post about how many words you wrote for the day!

Every day, I'll go live on Facebook and Instagram to announce my daily word count and let everyone know if I had any trouble writing that day. If you're up for the challenge, post your own word count in the comments section of each post. Let's see how far we can get by writing together!

Happy Writing!

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