NaNoWriMo - Ready, Set, Go

Part 4 of the NaNoWriMo series

by Jeanette O'Hagan

So this is Part 4 in the NaNo series where I give you a pep talk about how to succeed at NaNo and I have a confession to make. It’s the end of Day 1 and I’ve written no words on my NaNo project while my Nano buddies are belting out a thousand here, two thousand there, one prolific writer managing over 4500 words on the first day.

Now there are good reasons for my lack of productivity. The last two months have been hectic (check here) and while I’ve chosen my NaNo project, I haven’t had time to look at it and work out where I’m up to yet. My project is a continuation from last year, I have the major plot points worked out but I need to know what I’ve actually written already. (Which is more than I remembered. I actually spend several hours today rereading my manuscript and resisting the urge to edit as I worked out what areas I haven't covered yet.) Besides my daughter had a major computer crisis and needed my help with a vital project. And our ACW NaNo Facebook group was humming with activity  – people buddying up, encouraging each other, commiserating, celebrating, people to respond to – a whole lot of fun. And I have a blog post to write. Hmmm.

Day one – and zero words. And too major many tasks still due this month that I won’t be able to ignore – so what do I do, fling my hands up into the air and give up … Well, no, that’s not an option.

The fact is that NanoWriMo can be a roller coaster ride – but one missed day or ever a few isn’t going to make or break the month. In the end, it’s not how you start the race that counts – it’s how you finish it.

So, how do we facilitate getting down words on the page? What if we haven’t planned as well as we should? What if the ideas are just not flowing?

Here’s some thoughts:

Make space and time to write  

Where do you write best? Do you have a quiet corner with desk and chair, everything lined up ready to go – or maybe you prefer to write in a bustling café or at the beach? Is it early in morning before anyone else rises, once the kids have left for school, in your lunch hour at work – or after everyone is in bed at night? Or can you close the door and fence off some time for yourself in the afternoons? Wherever and whenever it is – make sure you make the time and space to write each day, or each weekday – or on the weekends. The first step is to hot glue your bottom on the seat regardless of whether the muse is calling you or not.

While routine helps, you can also be spontaneous  

Maybe grab those stolen hours or moments here or there. Have a notebook to jot down ideas – as you wait for the bus, or eat your lunch, or are in the doctor’s waiting room. Or maybe have one beside your bed, near the shower or maybe dictate notes while you’re driving or doing the cleaning. If you aren't writing, you could be mulling over character or plot.

Don’t be afraid of the blank page 

Even if you have no ideas, you can start writing or typing until your ideas catch up with you. It can be surprising where that takes you. Or you might like to start with some writing exercises – or, something I find helpful – read through the last chapter or so that you wrote the day before to get you back into the rhythm of the story. (For more ideas check here).

Remember to give your internal editor a holiday 

That’s right, buy her a plane ticket to some exotic overseas destination, pack his suitcases and wave him/her off for a month’s long trip. Okay, that might be a bit hardcore for some of you but I really suggest that as much as possible, you just write and worry about editing later – preferably in December. So the result may be a rough diamond – but I must admit to being surprised how good the prose can be. And besides, words on a page can be edited but a blank page can't.

Use placeholders. 

Got stuck on a plot point or an item of research? Is it going to take you too long to pursue – mark a note of the problem and give yourself permission to keep going or move to another part of the story. I sometimes write planning notes or brainstorm ideas as I go – and before long the notes begin transform into the next scene.

Don’t forget to take breaks

Take a walk, listen to music, play with the kids, go to the movies or whatever else might stimulate your creativity – just remember to start writing again.

Tap into the competitive spirit

Are you really flagging? Sometimes timed write-offs can give you the stimulus you need. See if any of your buddies would like to do a writing sprint – say of 30 minutes – to see who can write the most in that time. I’ve surprised myself with how quickly the ideas come and it’s great practice at nudging that workaholic internal editor back on leave. Your local NaNo group may have write-ins and other events, where you can write together.

Break the elephant down into mouthfuls 

While 50,000 words sounds huge, 1667 words a day not so much.  How many words do you write in an hour? I generally write about 750 (if I’m doing a sprint – then it could be 1500), so that’s really only a little over 2 hours a day each day to meet my target. Of course, I may not be able to write each day – like today, or possibly next weekend when I’m on a craft camp – but then some days I’ve written 5000 words or even 6000 in the one day (in maybe 4-5 hours) so have always been able to eventually catch up and even surpass my goal. 

So there really is no reason why I can’t win again this November – even if my word count for Day 1 is zero.

So what about you? How are you going with NaNo? Do you have any tips you'd like to share?

And – if you were thinking of joining and haven’t yet – it’s not too late. Sign up on the NaNo site (here) and join us at the ACW NaNo-nauts (here). We’d love to have your company J

Part One: What is NaNoWriMo? 3rd August 2015

Part Two:Why do NaNo? (Pros and Cons)  7 September 2015 

Part Three: Preparing for NaNo   5 October 2015 

Part Four: Ready, Set, Go  2 November 2015 (That’s this one) 

Part Five:  Is there life after NaNo?  30 November 2015

Image courtesy of ponsulak at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jeanette O'Hagan has a short story published in the general market Tied in Pink Romance Anthology  (profits from the anthology go towards Breast Cancer research) in December 2014 and two poems in the Poetica Christi’s Inner Child anthology launched in July 2015. She has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology.  She cares for her children, has just finished her Masters of Arts (Writing) at Swinburne University and is writing her Akrad's fantasy fiction series.  You can read some of her short fiction here. 

You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on her websites  JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .

Preparing for NaNo

by Jeanette O'Hagan

Part Three of NaNoWriMo series

Are you playing with the idea of signing up for NaNoWriMo this November? 

For the first time or maybe for the tenth? Perhaps you are cycling through all the reasons why it won’t work but, admit it, there’s a part of you that’s tempted – just a little. You wonder, what might I achieve? Maybe …

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been doing a series on NaNo – first explaining what it is (here) and then exploring the pros and cons (here). By now you’ve probably worked out that I’m a NaNo convert—I’ve done three November 50,000 word challenges and two Camp Julys and it’s been exhilarating and productive, ending on a NaNo high each time.

But, perhaps 50,000 words sounds a daunting, almost impossible, challenge. So okay, you may only manage 30,000 or 10,000 or 5,000— but you’ll still have written more words than you probably would have done otherwise. And if you usually write poetry or children’s books, or really need to edit your current first draft, you can still join as a NaNo Rebel (see here, here & here) with no loss of face.

So, what have you got to lose?

If you are thinking about signing up –it's a great idea to start preparing now. The more prepared you are, the more you will get out of November.

The first step in preparing for NaNoWriMo — is to make the decision to join & tell someone about it J

Post it up on Facebook, tweet it, tell the world or just tell your best friend or writing partner — you will be doing NaNo this year! Round of applause.

The second step is to sign up. 

Officially the sign up for 2015 NaNo starts 5 October (or possibly 6 October in Australasia) – perfect timing J  

And the third is to find a NaNo community

Enlist friends who will cheer you on, commiserate with you when things get tough, urge you on when you feel like giving up, engage in some friendly rivalry and celebrate your triumphs along the way.

The NaNoWriMo community provides a number of avenues for camaraderie, from connecting up with friends as NaNo writing buddies, to forums, to social media, to local events (including camps and write-ins). 

This year, ACW is forming our own NaNoWriMo Facebook group to provide a fun place to encourage each other as we do NaNo together—the ACW NaNo-nauts. 

The fourth step is to clear your schedule in November and make writing a priority.

Well, okay, that may not be possible. My November is already cluttered with camps, family activities, deadlines and projects, just like previous years. Despite this, each year I’ve been able to make NaNo a priority, with the goal to write each day. I’ve had to miss some days, but then written more to make-up on other days. 

The fifth step — work out what helps you to be most productive.

What preparations help you best may well depend on whether you are a plotter, a punster or a tweener; a NaNo regular or rebel.

Some thoughts:

Plotter and Tweeners

Decide which project you want to work on.

Start preparing your plot outlines, timelines, character sheets, setting and do necessary research.

Maybe invest in writing programs like Scrivener or Novel Factory.

The less you have to work out where you are going with your novel or what scene you need to write next, the more productive you will be.

Don’t despair if you don’t get time to fully plan everything. You can still write out synopses or summaries of the scenes as you go. And, unless the research is crucial to the plot, you can leave a placeholder and come back to fill in the details later.

Pansters

Perhaps you prefer to start with a blank page come November 1^st —willing to follow wherever the muse leads you.

Even so, you could start banking up those creative coals—reading, looking at images, activities or exploring places that inspire. You may also want to set up your writing space, clear your desk, stock up on food, prepare a writing playlist, and get tasks like household chores that are likely to distract you from writing out of the way as much as possible.

Rebels

Think about what goals you wish to achieve and how. How will you measure your achievements (perhaps with word equivalents) and what planning may be necessary before hand.

The NaNoWriMo site has an extensive resources to help in preparation—so check it out here.

In just under 4 weeks the fun begins. Whose in? I’m really looking forward to doing NaNo with you J

Next blog post, we look at getting the most out of November. And remember, we’d love you to join us in ACW NaNo-nauts — for camaraderie, encouragement and a touch of friendly rivalry along the way.

Part One: What is NaNoWriMo? 3rd August 2015

Part Two:Why do NaNo? (Pros and Cons)  7 September 2015 

Part Three: Preparing for NaNo   5 October 2015 (That’s this one) 

Part Four: Ready, Set, Go  2 November 2015

Part Five:  Is there life after NaNo?  30 November 2015

Image courtesy of SweetCrisis at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jeanette O’Hagan enjoys writing fantasy fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. She is currently writing her Akrad’s Legacy Series – a Young Adult secondary world fantasy fiction with adventure, courtly intrigue and romantic elements. She has short stories and poems published in Tied in Pink romance anthology (December 2014) and Poetica Christi’s Inner Child (July 2015), in several upcoming anthologies, and on her website Jeanette O'Hagan Writes. 

She has a medical degree, a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Theology and has completed her Master of Arts (Writing) with Swinburne University of Technology in June 2015. Jeanette loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends and pondering on the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane with husband, two school-aged children and two cats.

Tied in Pink (Romance anthology for Breast Cancer Research) http://www.amazon.com/Tied-In-Pink-anthology-Research-ebook/dp/B00QZBAP0S

You can find her

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JeanetteOHaganAuthorAndSpeaker

Her websites http://jeanetteohagan.com/ http://jennysthread.com/ http://fantasytrekkers.com/ 

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9833645.Jeanette_O_Hagan

Why do NaNo? (Pros and Cons)

Part Two of NaNoWriMo series

by Jeanette O'Hagan

Is it September already? The year is flashing by. In less than two months NaNoWriMo will ramp up into a frenzy of writing across the world. The challenge—to write 50,000 words in one month. Depending on your genre and audience, that’s a small novel or at least a significant chunk of a larger one.

Popular as it is, NaNo has its detractors. It seems that you either love it or hate it.

What’s not to like about NaNo? Some say— 

• It panders to the idea that anyone can write a novel. 
• Anyone can scribble out a half-baked, cringe-worthy mess during NaNo and slap it on Amazon the next day (it does happen) but that’s not a good thing.
• For it contributes to the glut of poorly written, unedited, indie published novels flooding the market, dragging us all down and making it harder for the well edited, well-written books to be found.
• Writing fast without editing or planning only results in a disorganised mess that has to be discarded.
• The pressure of the deadline was too stressful or can result in neglecting family, friends, and work.
• It’s in the wrong month—everyone is too busy with the run up to Christmas, the exams and final year assessments (Australia) or Thanksgiving (USA).
• It didn’t work for me [insert name].

There is a morsel of truth in all these warnings but there are also many, many people (myself included) who have found NaNo a brilliant boost to their creativity and productivity, who have in fact been surprised by the quality of their NaNo draft at the end of the month. And not everyone is so naïve as to assume this draft won’t need editing, critiquing, polishing and proofing. :)

So, what are the advantages?

• For those have always wanted to write a novel—or have stalled in the process of writing, NaNo can give the impetus to get started. NaNo coverts ‘someday’ into ‘today.’
• Some people (me) work well to deadlines.
• Many, many writing experts and famous writers recommend that serious writers should write every day. NaNo gives you the chance to try out a daily disciple in a limited timeframe, encouraged by camaraderie and incentives.
• The NaNo goal is achievable—1667 words a day (a couple of hours writing)— but it is still challenging enough to stretch you.
• The deadline pushes you NOT to indulge in excuses or procrastinating.
• NaNoWriMo provides support through buddies, write-ins, events, write-offs, sprints, daily encouragement emails, and rewards.
• Planning or preparing beforehand can help you make the most of November.
• Writing fast without constantly stopping to edit and review helps you get into the ‘flow’ and allows your creativity to flourish. Being immersed in your narrative world, pays dividends in characterisation, plots, and overall 'feel' for your work.
• Even if you don’t write 50,000 words—or 10,000—each word written counts towards your long-term goals. That might be five or ten thousand more words than you would’ve written otherwise.
• There will be time after NaNo to edit messy drafts but you can't edit a blank page.
• NaNoWriMo recognises that the NaNo draft is not ready for publication. It encourages writers to make December the month of the Edit, and discusses the next steps budding authors can take, including the need for editorial services, and offers discounts on writing programs etc.
• Many NaNo projects have gone on to be indie or traditionally published (and some have become bestsellers).

So maybe instead of listing all the reasons why you can’t do NaNo, you could just give it a go, and surprise yourself.

Interested in joining us come November? 

Next month, I’ll explore ways to prepare for NaNo to get the most out of it. We will also be forming a FaceBook group of NaNo participants leading up to November — for camaraderie, encouragement and a touch of friendly rivalry along the way.

Part One: What is NaNoWriMo? 3rd August 2015

Part Two: Why do NaNo? (Pros and Cons)  7 September 2015 (That’s this one) 

Part Three: Preparing for NaNo   5 October 2015

Part Four: Ready, Set, Go  2 November 2015

Part Five:  Is there life after NaNo?  30 November 2015

Jeanette O'Hagan has a short story published in the general market Tied in Pink Romance Anthology  (profits from the anthology go towards Breast Cancer research) in December 2014 and two poems in the Poetica Christi’s Inner Child anthology launched in July 2015. She has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology.  She cares for her school-aged children, has just finished her Masters of Arts (Writing) at Swinburne University and is writing her Akrad's fantasy fiction series.  You can read some of her short fiction here. 

You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on her websites  JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .

NaNoWriMo Part One: What is NaNoWriMo?

by Jeanette O'Hagan

You may have seen badges and banners proclaiming NaNoWriMo Winner — perhaps in the last few days, maybe at the end of last year — and wondered:

 ‘What the fuss is all about? What is NaNo and what, if anything, has it to do with me?’

My first introduction to NaNoWriMo (pronounced Nan-No-Rye-Mo) was over three years ago when someone (maybe Michelle Evans)  invited me to do ‘the challenge.’ At the time, I had no idea what this strange accumulation of syllables stood for. But I soon found out :)

***

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It started as a simple challenge to write a novel (or at least 50,000 words) in the month founded by freelance writer Chris Baty in the San Francisco Bay Area in July 1999 (the shift to November came in 2000.)

NaNoWriMo is a non-profit organisation that ‘believes your story matters.’

National Novel Writing Month organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential. Our programs are web-enabled challenges with vibrant real-world components, designed to foster self-expression while building community on local and global levels.

Through all our programs, we work to empower and encourage writing and vibrant creativity around the world:

http://nanowrimo.org/about

Since 1999 it’s expanded to be so much more:

• It acquired a website and a strong social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc).
• It is now global – encompassing just about every country or region, including Australia and New Zealand.
• It’s expanded to include other months and challenges (like the just recently finished Camp NaNoWriMo in July and the Young Writers Program in November).
• In the July Camp, participants can choose their own goal (minimum 10,000 words) and are not restricted to novel writing. Participants are put in 12 person virtual ‘cabins.’ It’s often seen as a good introduction for the big event in November.
• The Young Writers Program is a school based program that allows those 17 and younger to set their own reasonable but challenging writing goals.
• NaNo rebels add some flexibility by allowing inclusion of editing, script writing or poetry to personal goals.
• There has been an increased focus on what to do after NaNoWriMo – including editing and revising those rough draft NaNo manuscripts, seeking publishers or obtaining special discounts on writing programs/packages such as Scrivener.
• NaNo also has some really cool merchandise.
• It now incorporates local events – like write-ins, actual (not just virtual) camps, or social nights including in Australian capital cities.
• It has a growing number of success stories with over 100 published books  including some bestsellers. 
• It’s free to participate (though you are welcome to donate to help with expenses and projects).

***

Back to 2012 — Once I understood the challenge, I thought, ‘There is no way I can write 50,000 words in a month. Besides,’ I thought, ‘my November is packed with study commitments, a real-life camp and the end of the year rush — where would I find the time to write that much?’ 

I even had people warning against the ‘evils’ or futility of doing NaNo. But it seems I can’t resist a challenge. 

‘Why not give it a go,’ I thought, ‘Even if I don’t ‘win’ I can’t really lose.’ 

So I did and surprised myself by writing 50,000 words and totally enjoying the process. Now I’m hooked on NaNo and just last month completed my second July Camp – with over 230,000 words written as a part of NaNo challenges in the last 2 ½ years.

I was so enthusiastic about NaNo last November, I wrote an ACW post about it (see here), which prompted Narelle to request that I write a series of five posts leading up to November this year. 

So over the next few months, I’ll be writing a five-part series:

Part One: What is NaNoWriMo? (That’s this one)  3rd August 2015

Part Two: Why do NaNo (Pros and Cons)  7 September 2015

Part Three: Preparing for NaNo   5 October 2015

Part Four: Ready, Set, Go  2 November 2015

Part Five:  Is there life after NaNo?  30 November 2015

We will also be forming a FaceBook group for ACW NaNo participants leading up to November — for camaraderie, encouragement and a touch of friendly rivalry along the way.

So — watch this space. Maybe this year you too could join the challenge.

CampNaNo Winner 2015 banner awarded for completion of Camp NaNo this July.

***

Jeanette O'Hagan has a short story published in the general market Tied in Pink Romance Anthology  (profits from the anthology go towards Breast Cancer research) in December 2014 and two poems in the Poetica Christi’s Inner Child anthology launched in July 2015. She has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology.  She cares for her children, has just finished her Masters of Arts (Writing) at Swinburne University and is writing her Akrad's fantasy fiction series.  You can read some of her short fiction here. 

You can find her at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on her websites  JennysThread.com or Jeanette O'Hagan Writes .