Nanowrimo Boot Camp
A quick and dirty guide to surviving national novel writing month
It’s nanowrimo again — the time of the year when all common sense goes out of the window and you try to write a novel in a month. Just for kicks. Nanowrimo is great fun but it isn’t for the squeamish. If you’re serious about completing nanowrimo then you shouldn’t be reading this but, for what it’s worth, this is the method that works for me. Here are some quick tips and dirty tricks to help get you through the month.
Do the Math
50,000 words in a month. That’s only 1667 words per day — you can do that in an hour if you leave your inner editor at the door. You’re not “writing a novel”, you’re writing 50,000 words. Don’t panic at the thought of writing so much; break it down into manageable chunks. A great novel is something written by Dostoevsky. A nanowrimo novel is just 50,000 words. THAT’S ALL.
Are you a Tortoise or a Bunny?
Slow and steady wins the race, but hard and fast is also fun. Best not get hung up about this. You’re writing a novel, not having an orgasm. Aim to write 2,000 words per day as quickly as you can. If you…
