Kobo Writing Life is proud to again be a sponsor for Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month), a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. Starting at 12:01 AM on November 1st, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
We are delighted to be offering a special prize to all Nanowrimo participants, so be sure to check out our listing on the Nanowrimo Sponsor page.
We’re also offering a special prize for winners – a free editing sample from our trusted partner in finding editorial support, Reedsy. But you can’t win that if you don’t complete at least 50,000 words.
Here is a quick checklist of items that can help you reach that 50,000 word goal and get that book written:
MAKE TIME TO WRITE
Ideally, just an hour a day can be enough to ensure that you stay on track for your 50,000 word goal. That’s about 1666 words per day which is achieveable if you remain focused. The trick isn’t in FINDING that 1 hour per day, it’s MAKING that hour. Some people do this by getting up an hour early or going to bed an hour later than normal. Others do it by choosing not to sit in front of the television or hanging out on social media. If you take a critical look at how you’re spending your day, you’ll likely be able to make that one hour, even if you do it in two half-hour chunks.
ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE or WRITING BEGETS MORE WRITING
One of the benefits of participating in something like Nanowrimo is creating the habit to write every day. Even if it is only for 15 minutes or half an hour, the act of writing every single day results in helping you build confidence that you can actually do this if you invest the time into it. Set up time/make time every single day to write, and, soon enough, it’ll become a habit.
QUANTITY, NOT QUALITY
Don’t worry about getting the words perfect, or about editing your work as you go along. Doing anything other than just putting one word after another onto the page will just slow you down. Just GET THROUGH that first draft. Don’t worry, once you finish the novel or novella, you can always go back and do a re-write. That’s what second and third drafts are for. But you can’t work on the second draft until you complete the FIRST.
DON’T DESPAIR, GET YOUR BUTT BACK IN THAT CHAIR
If you’ve missed a day or are falling behind where you’d hoped to be, don’t let that get you down. We all have off days, and we can all get back on track. Don’t beat yourself up. Just pick up and get back in the ring. Remember, every single word you write is another word closer to that goal, and another word you didn’t have there just a moment earlier. Each single word you write is a mini victory in your writing career. Every single stride you make forward is a stride toward that goal. Onward and upward! Full steam ahead! Butt in chair, fingers on keyboard, get yourself back at it. It’s never too late to keep making those small victories.
We’ll be posting more tips about writing and Nanowrimo in the days and weeks to come.
But in the meantime, try to get some rest now, because you’ll have a busy and very productive month ahead of you!
