It's less than a week into NaNo, and I'm already realizing what a LONG month November is going to be. I'm just shy of 14,000 words, so the word count is going well, but two thousand words per day is a big commitment. Also, did the people who thought up NaNoWriMo realize that Thanksgiving is sort of a major holiday? I'm trying to get ahead because I know how crazy my Thanksgiving week will be, not to mention the baby shower I'm hosting for a truckload of ladies next week. How do other people plan their NaNo writing around life events? Any tips that don't involve getting up at 4am, or ingesting large quantities of methamphetamines would be greatly appreciated.
On the plus side, this is the first time I've used Scrivener to plan out and write a novel, and that has helped a ton. Things seem to be flowing better than in previous novels, and having a beat sheet has kept me on track with where I want to go next. Being a former pantster, I thought outlining would stifle my creativity but I'm actually having a blast with this book. I've also had time to shower this week--several times--and even cook a few meals, so my family is on board with my holding a laptop at all other times of the day.
How about other NaNo'ers out there? How's it going? How are you staying motivated? Anyone else scouring their kids' Halloween baskets for writing fuel?
My NaNoWriMo is going awesome. I had set my own goals to meet, as well as the regular NaNo ones, and so far I am blowing it out of the water.
ReplyDeleteThe way I work around the "I have work that I can't write during and kids and a husband that like to actually eat food" is that I make sure I use every spare moment that I get to write. I don't get up super early but I do stay up a little later than my norm and get some words in. Then when I have days off from work I try to get more than just the 2,000 words in. Like yesterday I had a whole day to myself, I had made sure errands were done and then I just sat down and wrote. I got 7,600 words done yesterday after a bunch of writing and then deleting and writing over. I was proud of myself.
What helps me is that when I set a goal I tend to get obsessive about it, which may not be healthy, but so far it has worked for me.
(Oh and the coffee IV and continuous chocolate help the writing... I guess my next goal will be to hit the treadmill with vigor!)
Cara
Cara--that's amazing! Congrats on your progress. And yes, continuous coffee and chocolate are a given. Keep going!
ReplyDeleteWell done on your words. I'm at 13500 so not too bad but not too great either. Keep at it. x
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