This thread is for anyone looking for an answer to a question, in need of encouragement, or just wanting to chat about your NaNoWriMo project for 2021.
Feel free to also post words counts, exchange your https://nanowrimo.org profile, or share helpful tips!
Friendly reminder that NaNoWriMo's word count goal is 50,000, which averages to about 1,667 words a day!
This is a really good idea for a thread, and since no one has posted anything yet, I guess I'll share a tip that has really helped me:
Take breaks, and don't feel bad about it. Especially if you're not really feeling it. Don't force yourself to reach your daily goal in one sitting.
1667 words in one sitting is definitely doable, but it's still a lot. If you don't feel like writing then go do something else for a bit and come back to it.
Also breaking things down just makes it 1667 words per day feel so much more attainable. Like, saying "I'm going to write 500 words, three times a day," it sounds a lot less daunting than "I'm going to write 1667 words a day."
And don't forget to take care of yourselves too! Staying up til 3am to work on your project may feel good in the moment, but you're probably going to regret it the next day.
Breaks are HUGE.
In the same vein, I recommend taking advantage of word sprints: set aside some time where you'll write heads-down and see how many words you can write before a timer goes off. I do a lot of 15 minute sprints throughout the day, but if you're really in the zone you can up it to 20-30 minutes also. Try to beat your own word count and compete with yourself! And, of course, take a quick break after each sprint. You've earned it. :)
IMO, I write the most words in a session when I repeatedly do 15/20-minute sprints with 5/10-minute breaks between each.
^^
Don't stress yourself trying to do it all in one sitting!! Of course, inspiration will hit you over the head every now and then and you could write your daily word count AND MORE in a single sitting, but if you aren't feeling up to it, try writing in little bursts throughout the day! Sprints are a lot of fun.
Also, once you hit your word count for the day, if you still have energy and ideas then GO ABOVE AND BEYOND!! It's pretty inevitable that you'll fall behind at least once during NaNo so it's a good idea to give yourself a little cushion so you don't get discouraged.
I love writing sprints! It only takes a couple of them to get me into the writing groove.
Something I forgot to mention in the initial post was the "No Plot? No Problem!" Book written by Chris Baty, the founder of nanowro. It's a great resource for all the basics of nanowrimo and has sections for each week with writing tips and tricks! Check to see if it's available at your local library!
Honestly, one of the things keeping me going is the sheer determination to outwrite @andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer). So far, I'm succeeding >:)
Honestly, one of the things keeping me going is the sheer determination to outwrite @andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer). So far, I'm succeeding >:)
Haha, I've had some wildly busy days but I'm comin' for ya! :)
Honestly, one of the things keeping me going is the sheer determination to outwrite @andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer). So far, I'm succeeding >:)
Haha, I've had some wildly busy days but I'm comin' for ya! :)
I refuse to let you win :) now if you'll excuse me I have some sprinting to do-
This thread has been pretty quiet for a while and now that we're getting close to the end, if anyone is trying to catch up I find that sometimes listening to really frantic and fast paced classical music sometimes helps (ie. stuff like the Can-Can, William Tell, Hall of the Mountain King). I have a playlist that I can share if anyone wants.