Each year several hundred thousand people sit down to write with the goal of composing 50,000 words on a novel. That’s a challenge for a new writer.
So how many people reach that goal? From some surveys that I’ve taken informally, I think about 15%.
Are those novels any good? Certainly, some will go on to be published.
The question becomes, how can you have a successful Nanowrimo experience? As a writer with over fifty novel-length works published, I know the secrets.
Here are a couple of keys.
- Turn your inspiration into discipline. Sit down each day and write, so that writing becomes a habit. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t hit your writing goal for a day. The fact that you sit down and write every day will help you reach your goals. Some days, you will exceed your goals. As the month wears on, and you feel worn out, keep writing every day. Like exercise, writing can become addictive. You’ll soon find that you don’t feel whole until you’ve written that day. People often get writer’s block simply because their whole brain—both left and right halves—aren’t focused on writing. The creative mind is occupied trying to solve other problems, the ones that you are thinking about at work, or in your family life. So you have to focus your mind on your writing by working on your prose every day, both first thing in the morning and last at night.
- Practice isn’t enough. You must also study. If you’re going to proceed with confidence, you need to understand stories. You need to feel assured as to what your next steps may be. With that in mind, I’ve put together a little Nanowrimo guide, filled with daily lessons and inspirational thoughts in order to keep you writing and to help you write better.
