It goes without saying that to complete the required 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo takes more than a lot of writing - a good bit of discipline and organization are helpful as well! Prior to commencing with the manuscript madness I decided to do some research, make an outline, and develop my characters. This was extremely helpful; all went well until I finished my MG draft with only 32,000 words to show for it! After that I had to begin a sequel; with no outline or research done - I had severed the tie to any kind of prepared writing - and was free writing! Since I am a type A person, this was extremely disconcerting. The funny part about it was that some of the text was - as I had expected - horrible. However, some of the text was brilliant. What I learned from this unexpected turn of events was that I need to loosen up a bit; allow some spontaneity to season my writing.
For any of you truly sane writers out there who have never plunged into the National Novel Writing Month pool... a few suggestions:
1- Do it! At least once. It will give you a glimpse at what it takes day in and day out to be a professional writer. During the month of November my average daily word count was about 2,000 words. Stephen King writes at least 2,000 words everyday...everyday!
(Is that really what I have signed up for?! ^_^ I think so.)
2- Aim for writing between 1,800 and 2,000 words instead of the basic 1,667. If you do that you will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving - without writing! I actually took two days off, and finished two days early. Aiming high lessens the stress - that way you can concentrate on writing, and not word count.
3-Prior to November - Prepare by doing your research, making an outline, and, if you have the time, doing an in depth development of your cast of characters. Knowing your characters really well is a great way to create an idea if writer's block should set in.
(Or you miscalculate your outline! ^_^)
4- Finally, join a NaNoWriMo support group. I participated in two FB groups during the month of November. In both groups, the members have bonded so much that we are all going to continue networking throughout the year - discussing things pertaining to writing, and also just as a place to say hello to friends.
After taking a few days off to recover from the intense typing I'll start some more research for my tentatively planned MG series, and then do a rewrite of my WIP.
Congratulations to all those who participated in NaNoWriMo!
