Whilst I personally do not have a job, I do have University assignments due tomorrow, Wednesday (A Script I will put up here) and an exam next Monday, so my writing may be pale in comparison till after the 8th of November, which possibly means that with a week gone I will have to do 12,500 words (if you break up your work pattern for a weekly, rather than fortnightly or even an overall monthly total) in a week and that's not even including other things which may get in the way between now and then such as birthdays, deaths and satanic rituals.
So with everything in the way and this being my first year trying it, I give you 5 tips on doing NanoWriMo effectively...but before you say, oh but if it's your first year, how do you know...read the name of the blog.
1. NanoWriMo has a Nano in it for a reason.
For those not exactly up-to-date with International System of Units, Nano is a prefix for a fairly small measurement and you should keep it as such. With my first ever post about Brevity, I showed that you should really write as concise and as close as you can and remember to always think of what you want to say with your novel, even if you're just mucking around, try and piece together how you feel about it.
2. Don't think you're gonna get published or to a lesser extent paid.
Write for fun and for love, because at the end of the day if you don't write for either you're really going to have nothing. I felt that starting this blog and for doing anything creative in general is that you never remember the individual dollars you spend, but you do remember the time and the fun you had, even in the worst moments when it's 3 A.M in the morning and you need just a thousand words extra, you'll think of your cool hands wrapped around a warm mug, your music on in your headphones and the thought of your characters killing each other Blake's 7/Battle Royale style would just make your night...write it, everyone loves face-off's...except Nicolas Cage
3. Plan if you can.
This goes for writing as well as time management. You got a few minutes waiting for a friend to pick you up, just look over a piece, even just writing a sentence will get you there. Hemmingway mentions in A Moveable Feast the way he writes is scribbling up to a point of excitement or even, dénouement, just so he can continue the story later on. I think of this as a perfect way. Try and give yourself a bit of time to write everyday, even if it's when you've woken up too early and you don't wanna disturb your family or other housemates.
4. Everyone out of the pool
TURN YOUR INTERNET OFF.
I imagine, expect and want a very large drop in my 30 page view once November starts. I will blog whenever I can about subjects which come up from time to time, but mainly I'll be giving tiny updates on NanoWriMo, but don't expect the Morning Rollcall to stop, because that's what I love doing the first thing when I get up in the morning.
So remember, when you're writing the only other program you should have on is maybe iTunes, Foobar, Windows Media Player or WinAmp...no videos though. You need to be committed to this and distractions is something you don't need. I don't mind if you're going out with your friends, getting drunk or hanging with your family, but if you're just watching kitty cat videos, on Farmville or constantly refreshing your Facebook page, GTFO. Put it this way, if you have to refresh any page more than twice, open your word document, keep it on your desktop!
5. December is EdWriMo
One of my favourite quotes regarding writing is that the best work is written, it's re-written. With that in mind, I think if you've put in the hard yards of writing at least a good four to five hundred thousand, you should edit it as well. You don't necessarily have to print it all out and go through it like an untrained nurse looking for lice, but it's worthwhile to look over it and see where you've gone wrong. I suggest reading it aloud to your cat or dog or to your prospective partner tied up in a chair...remember one for yes, two for no, three for cut it...the paragraph that is.
I will be posting small extracts and sections of my work weekly on Google Docs (starting November 7th) and then linking them from here to show my progress. I hope somebody out there is doing NanoWriMo as well and is kicking some ass.
By the way, WTFAYD means what the fuck are you doing? It was originally gonna be WTFRUD, but that may have been considered a poor political stab from last year.
BELOW: 9000 HOURS IN MSPAINT CALENDAR detailing several things which just make me feel good...in general, also pictured: Heroes....for a larger version to download, leave a comment
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