And I am back from my unprecedented hiatus. I didn't have a post ready last week and NaNo jumped out of the screen and tried to strangle me, so there was that recovery mode thing writers always talk about.
So! Today I will be sharing seven things that I have learned that help me through NaNoWriMo along with Beautiful Books hosted by Cait and Sky. And since I have nothing else to say why not just go straight to the post because if you keep reading this you're wasting your time because now I'm just ranting and was that sentence long enough?
1. Don't burn yourself out.
2. Little goals work!
3. Write on a schedule.
4. Plan to finish earlier than the day of.
5. Don't procrastinate.
Need I explain this? The sooner you get it down, the faster you can reach 50K. And don't procrastinate anything that needs to come before writing—that just pushes your whole life back and you don't get ANY writing done.
6. Write with an "I can do this" attitude.
The Little Engine That Could analogy. We all know it. If you think you can do it, believe you can do it, then you will actually do it. Magic! Your Hogwarts acceptance letter will be coming soon.
7. Don't stress over what you have left—celebrate what you have now.
If you're at 20K, good job! Reward yourself. If you're still at 10K, that's an accomplishment too. Most people won't ever write that many words in a single story. It's easier to look at your progress and say "I'm at 25%" than to say "I still have to write 75%". Feel good that you made it that far, keep your chin up, and keep pushing and eventually that 75% will be 0%.
Overall, how is your mental state, and how is your novel going?
What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?
I've been walking for days now. I've been looking for days, and finally I see it. Jawai stretches across the copper sands, nestled defiantly between scorching white salt flats and jagged mountains I can't even see the peaks of.
I was really tired. This is literally just me approaching Thanksgiving break like hallelujah!!
Who’s your current favorite character in your novel?
Uh...I don't really know. Probably Eli, but it might be Ruby. Or maybe it's the dog (and for those who suggested it, yes, I might make it talk :P).
What do you love about your novel so far?
The setting. I also love how I'm killing two characters birds with one stone and doing research on deserts for a school paper and this book, because I'm an ignorant smol know-it-all who thinks that camels live in Australia.
Have you made any hilarious typos or other mistakes?
Nope! Last time I wrote without editing, I couldn't even figure out what I was trying to type so I'm editing as I go this time and so far my typing appears to be English.
What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?
Probably end because that's when everything is dramatic and that means dramatic deaths, but so far the middle is pain. Luckily, my school report is helping me think up conflicts to dump on my MC because her life is b o r i n g.
What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!
FOOD. No, I tried to eat while I wrote, and that didn't work out because a) I found my food more interesting and b) I got the keyboard all sticky. I do listen to music, because what is writing a book without The Maze Runner soundtrack? I write anytime but the afternoon because my brain is dead THANK YOU A LOT SCHOOL.
How private are you about your novel while you’re writing? Do you need a cheer squad or do you work alone (like, ahem, Batman)?
Oh gosh, I write in a public space and my nosy siblings are always curious, and I used to be soooooo private about my writing to the point where I would close all the tabs I used and cover the screen with my body which is really difficult because it's big and I'm small. I'm not that extreme now, but I still give my siblings the death stare when they linger too long.
What keeps you writing even when it’s hard?
Sheer determination to write at least a thousand words. Because I can't fail. If I failed now, my life would be reduced to binge-watching Jane Austen movies and eating french fries on ice cream. So no failure.
What are your top 3 pieces of writing advice?
See above list of SEVEN! BOOM! *mic drop*
What about you? How is NaNo going for you? And if you're not doing NaNo, how are you faring on your current projects? Got any advice to add?
Next week I will try to post something less NaNoWriMo related, so expect the very first book review on this blog!!
Smiles!
Nicole
Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteThe Beautiful Books link up is always so much fun to read. I hope you meet your NaNo goals!
It is! I love reading everyone's answers. And thank you!! (I hope so too :P)
Delete"because I'm an ignorant smol know-it-all who thinks that camels live in Australia." What are you talking about???? Camels DO live in Australia! There are so many camels in Australia that we apparently export camels to Saudi Arabia.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a desert sounds like a really cool place to set a story. Good luck with Nano!!
That's so cool!! So maybe I'm just an ignorant smol person who didn't know that camels live in Australia. ;P (although I meant living wild, if that's any clarification)
DeleteAnd thank you so much! I'm trying to survive. XD Thank you for stopping by and commenting!