How To Finish The NANO From A Person Who Didn't

Last year I participated in the NANO. I didn’t make the 50,000 goal, but I did write 35,000 words, which I was very proud of and I learned a lot about me and my writing habit. My friend Patricia Woodside is blogging about how to be successful in NANO. She has some great tips, check them out HERE

I thought I’d offer a few tips too.

Have a realistic goal

Don't set yourself up for failure before you can begin. Set a goal you can write daily and sit down and write.

Be prepared

Before you begin, do your homework. Write your outlines, plot your story out. This will help you as you work though the book. You can write from the seat of your pants, but it's nice to see the path you want to go. As a panser, I was glad I'd taken a plotting course before starting the NANO. I was able to see where I wanted to take the story and I found it easier for me to sit down each day and write.

Find your time to write

If you don't have a writing schedule, create one. I don't write everyday so it was a challenge for me to sit down and write every day. I found I did my best writing at certain times of the day. I took advantage of those times and I wrote.

Life can step in on your goal

During the NANO I had a family emergency that threw my mind for a loop. I honestly didn't want to write on some days, but I forced myself to keep writing. Be prepared for those days you don’t feel like writing. If you can write passed your daily goal, write because you will have some words stored up if life steps in.

Have a support team

Some days I wrote because my team was working towards their goals and I didn’t want to let them down. On those days I was in a funk, that team was there to encourage me and not let me wallow in my pity.

Write with no editing

Don’t worry about how your writing sounds, write. You will have plenty of time to go over your work to see if it makes sense later. Write and write some more.

Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t make the final goal

I was kind of sad that I didn't reach the 50,000 goal. However I didn't beat myself up over it. I reminded myself how proud I was for writing the 35,000 words. The whole reason for doing NANO is to get you writing and completing a book. If you have 25,000 words that’s better than 200 words. Each word brings you closer to a finished book.

I think the NANO is a great way to schedule yourself to write every day. I learned I could do it if I have to. Even though I had a few personal issues, I tried to work through them. I hope this tips are helpful for you.

Writing is hard job, but it’s one I enjoy and I look forward to participating in my next NANO.

Will you be participating in the NANO this year?

How To Have A Successful NANOWRIMO

Do you plan on participating in the NANOWRIMO for 2012? I’d like to offer a few tips to help you have a successful NANOWRIMO.


SET REALISTIC DAILY WORD COUNT - If you write 1500 words a day don’t set a 3000 word goal and stress yourself out trying to reach it. All you’ll end up doing is shutting down and not completing your goal.

PLOT OUT YOUR BOOK – I recommend you do this before you start the NANOWRIMO, maybe a month before. It’s nice to know where your story is going and you won't get stuck trying to figure out your plot as you write.

LISTEN TO YOUR CHARACTERS – I plotted out the story, but my characters decided to go a different way. Instead of trying to stay true to the plot, I let the words flow and was surprised by how the story developed. Sometimes the characters know best.

LIFE HAPPENS – Life still goes on as you write, so be prepared for emergencies or happy events. If you have the time, write extra words, because there will be some days you might not feel like writing or something happens that prevents you from writing. You’ll have those extra words to help move you forward and you won’t be so behind on your writing goal.

HAVE FUN – If you’re not enjoying the writing, you won’t meet your goals. It will feel like you’re forcing yourself to write. This won’t help your story and you’ll probably end up dropping out. Have fun with it; let your imagination go free.

REWARD YOURSELF - One of the things I looked forward to was my reward for my commitment.  I had two rewards for myself. One if I completed the 50,000 and one if I finished the 30 days.  I saved a copy of Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins as my reward for staying the course of the NANO.  The 50,000 reward will be saved for another goal.

These are just a few tips I learned in my journey last month.   Hopefully they will help you on your journey.

Please share what you learned or share a recommendation to help others make their 2012 goals.

I DID NOT WIN - NANOWRIMO 2011

I signed up for the NANOWRIMO in hope of adding more words to my young adult WIP. If I made the 50,000 goal that would be fantastic, but I wanted to commit myself to writing everyday.

No I didn’t win this year, I finished with 35,000 words. I’m excited about those words, because it moved my story from 26,000 to 61,000 words. I think that’s great.

I want to share a few things I learned last month.

LIFE DOESN”T STOP - If you expect this, do not sign up for NANOWRIMO. Life doesn’t stop. Sometimes it throws you a few curve balls. Mine were a few tough ones. My God son was shot and was in intensive care (he is still in intensive care) my grandmother died. Yes some serious stuff.  I honestly had a few days that I didn’t want to look at the computer screen or think about my story. I felt bad about this but I realized you can’t force the muse.

WRITE EVERYDAY – Even if you write a 100 words, you’ve added to your goal. I tried to write something everyday even on the bad days I found myself writing something. I might not have met my daily goal, but I wrote something.

DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP – The goal of NANOWRIMO is to write. If you don’t write everyday this might seem foreign to you, but you have to get out of your comfort zone and write. Don’t worry about if the words are perfect or make sense, write. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t make your goal move forward to the next day and write. You might surprise yourself and exceed your goal.

WEEKENDS ARE HARD – I found the weekends were my hardest time to write because I normally wrote on my lunch break and at night. On the weekends, life takes over and it was so hard to get time to myself to write. Sometimes I could get up early and write, but with a teenager in the house, that was rare.

MOTIVATION – I highly recommend joining a group or do NANOWRIMO with a friend you can check in with daily.  This so helped me to stay motivated and not give up. I loved reading how well they were doing in reaching their goals. It helped motivate me to continue writing.

I want to say that I’m glad I did NANOWRIMO this year.  It helped motivate me to finish the story I was working on.  It introduced me to some amazing writers who I look forward to reading their books one day.  It showed me that I can commit to this writing and reach my goals. 

Stop by Thursday and I will share my recommendations for a successful NANOWRIMO.

Did you WIN this year? Share your experiences in NANOWRIMO.

NANOWRIMO - Week 3

This is week 3 and I'm moving right along with my writing. Last week was a little rough, because I didn’t know where to go with the story. One of my writing buddies, suggested I needed to resolve the story. She was right.  I’m at the last arc of the story and it’s time to find out what happens with the characters. Do they meet their goals?  Do they learn from their journey?

I can say that these last couple of days have been rough. I’m not use to writing everyday, but I’m making myself do something even if its just 200 words its better than nothing at all.

One of my goals for 2012 is to write 100 words a day.

How is your NANO going?