October 10, 2012

Going for the Words: ROW80 UPdate

This past Sunday, I asked for advice about joining NaNoWriMo: Write Me, Maybe. As I've come to expect from my wonderful writing community, the comments rocked!

A special thank you to those who commented with advice and encouragement: Donna McNicol, Jo Michaels, Melissa of Melissa Writes, Elizabeth Anne Mitchell, Beth Camp, Mitsuraki, Alberta Ross, Christina of The Girl Who Writes, and Shan Jeniah Burton. Without your comments, I would not have had the courage.

For the last two years, I've talked myself out of it. I have three kids. I've never written close to 50,000 words in a month. What if I can't do it? And on and on. But I've been talking about stopping the excuses and having flexibility with focus.

How is 50,000 words flexible, you might ask?

It's not, but how I view a successful completion of NaNo is. If I end the month with 30,000 words, am I failure? It's 30,000 words I didn't have before. So, I decided to go for the words and signed up.

Now, I need to reassess my writing goals, especially leading up to NaNo and during the month of November writing. I'd also love some Nano buddies, so if you are participating this year, please friend me here.

But for today, I'm just going to soak in the new badge and commitment. New goals and plans will be announced on my Sunday post.

If you missed my post on Sunday and have participated in NaNo, I'd love some more tidbits on how to survive my first NaNo. Please share.


Leigh Caroline said...

Whoot! Welcome to the insanity that is Nanowrimo!
I've only won 4/9 times I've tried it previous to this year, though some years had really extenuating circumstances. The best advice I can give you:
1. Meet up with your local group if at all possible- Seriously, I have met some of the most AMAZING people over the years through Nano. If nothing else, it's always fun.
2.Have a plan for when you get stuck-One year, any time I was stuck, something exploded. I cleaned it up in edits, but having something that I could just throw in anywhere in the story and get the action moving again was the only reason I won that year. Ever since then, I try to find something that will either amp the tension or change the scene when it happens as an emergency plot hole. This year it's likely to be homocidal clowns coming out of the nearest small container.
3. Bribe yourself to make word count- Get leftover halloween candy, allow yourself 1 piece every 500 words. You'd be amazed how many words get written when I want another Reeses cup! Tea, coffee,sugar, whatever tempts you, declare it off limits for the month except when you're actively writing, and then at certain word count goals. I also make myself treat bags for every 5k. One year, I'd had my eye on a really gorgeous tea cup at the local tea shop, but it was too expensive to frivolously just go buy. I told myself, if I managed to get to 50k, then I was allowed to buy it. I hit 50k, and got my tea cup!
4. Don't stress about it- I've seen more people quit partway through because they feel like they can't handle it. Don't. One year, I went into the last week with 25k, and yet managed to win anyway! I've seen others pull off even more miraculous last minute wins. It's not over until it's December 1, don't count yourself out early!
5. Word wars, as often as possible- Either with twitter folks, other war rooms, and if they're still doing it, there's even an aim chat that usually has people in it all of November, Wrimo, and their attached war room, though I'm spacing on the room name for that one. (Bet if you poke in there, someone will be around and might remember. If they threaten to roast you, just play along, it's all in good fun)

Really, it's a fun experience, and a great way to bash out a draft. I wouldn't know what to do with my November without it!

Lena Corazon said...

Yes, yes, yes! I am so thrilled to hear this. I have somehow "won" 2 CampNaNos, and last year's NaNoWriMo, though I'm not *quite* sure how. My advice? Don't worry about things being perfect, just throw words onto the page and move on. I prefer to pants my way through things, but I found that having a bare bones roadmap made the last couple of weeks a *lot* easier. Also, if you can, sprints might be useful--nothing like forcing yourself to sit down for a short amount of time and churn out as many words as possible.

Just added you to my buddy list!

Elise Fallson said...

Good luck Tia! I'll be rooting for ya from the sidelines. (:

Jo Michaels said...

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!! You're my first NaNo buddy :) *emotional* I can't wait!! WRITE ON!!

D. Ann said...

I agree with everything Leigh said. Although I haven't won my 2 NaNo attempts (mainly because I fell victim to her #4) there's a lot I learned.

Like Leigh said, find local write ins. Some of the best writing I got done was sitting in a cafe with other NaNo'ers or in the NaNo class I took. Why? Because they understand the pressure. If you have a good group, there's usually someone who's hit a wall around the time that you have. You can take a break, talk a little, and then once the creative juices come back, you start again. Also, they're great to challenge to word wars since you're right there and you can hear the clicking of their keyboard spurring you on.

2) Know what you're spending limit is if you meet at a place that requires a purchase and bring snacks! One of the problems I ran into the 2 times I did it was I was on a college budget. The closest weekly write in happened at a moderately expensive cafe. While I budgeted for a breakfast pastry, being there for sometimes 6 to 7 hours meant I needed to eat again. I didn't pack anything to snack on so when other's brought out their goodies, or would order lunch, I would order food as well. It started to add up which was why I stopped going. I couldn't afford to spend $120+ on cafe food on a student budget. Also, keep in mind if you guys meet in a library. Most of them won't allow food and it sucks to sit down, start writing, and 30 minutes later have to leave to go eat because you're starving. I've done this numerous times during college and I never ended up going back to the library. I'd just go home and study there.

3) Plan, Plan, Plan! That was the main thing that kept me from crossing the finish line. The first time I did NaNo, I found out about it a few days before. The second time, I remember on Oct 30th. Neither gave me enough time to actually plan out a story. The first year I knew the beginning and the end but I didn't know what to do with the middle so I crashed and burned once I got there. The second time I gave up before I hit the middle because the story I started with I ended up hating a few thousand words in. This year I've already come up with the idea and will be working on the outline well before Nov. 1st rolls around.

4) Don't be afraid to jump around. I don't know your writing style but I know some people have to write from beginning to end. Sometimes that doesn't work for NaNo because it's really easy to fall behind in word count. What got me as far as I did for both NaNo's was jumping around to the scenes I already had planned. It allowed me to take a break from the wall I'd hit in a different scene but still keep my word count up and the story flowing. Eventually, I would figure out how to break down that wall and go back to the scene I was stuck on.

I hope these help and I'm glad you joined in on the crazy fun! ^_^

Elizabeth Anne Mitchell said...

I'm glad my comment helped! I'll be cheering you from the sidelines *throws confetti*

Tia Bach said...

Leigh Caroline, Thanks for the great advice. So encouraging!

Lena, Yes to sprints!

Elise, Thanks!

D. Ann, I'm all about planning!

Elizabeth, Thanks for the cheering!

Chris Loehmer Kincaid said...

Good luck with NaNoWriMo. I did it last year, without signing up, because their goal is just not attainable for me either. My goal, this year, as last is also to write 30,000 words, which should finish out my current WIP. That's close to what I wrote last year for the month of November. Whether I sign up for NaNoWriMo or not, I still am going to spend the month with fingers on the keyboard trying to finish my novel. I think it is all about what really works for you.

Steph said...

One of these years, I'll join the NaNo fun. For now, I'm working eight plus hours four days a week away from home and then working on a major edit/ghostwrite for a client. Who knows? Maybe next year. All the best. I look forward to reading about your success. TTFN

Beth Camp said...

Last year, I was stuck between two major writing projects. Nanowrimo helped me jump into just one for the month and get going! You have great advice from those who've been there before. This month-long commitment allows you to see how much you CAN write. Don't worry about word count. Whatever you write will take you closer to your overall goal. Some folks outline before starting. Others wing it. Just believe in your self and write. I wish you well.

Tia Bach said...

Beth, Steph, & Chris... Thanks for the encouraging and kind words. I hope you'll pop back by in November and help me through! ;-)

alberta ross said...

Yay you're in - will be a buddy - looking foward to the fun - sprints always sound good - for me it is always a problem of finding any going on in my time routines but did mange some and they are a great incentive

Tia Bach said...

Alberta, I know! I need to find some early morning sprints. If I wait too late in the day, it'll never happen. So excited for NaNo, glad we're doing it together.