Tempted to Quit NaNoWriMo? 4 Techniques That Will Keep You Writing
You’ve written 20,000 words or maybe even more. Inspired, you were cruising along, engaged with your characters and plot. Everything was perfect. And then, all of a sudden, your brain plays the cruelest of tricks. It goes AWOL. Absent without leave, abandoning your burgeoning story. You don’t mind the occasional writer’s block. But this is National Novel Writing Month, and you’ve got a goal to attain.
As you sit there facing the page, though, you’re more tempted to quit than anything else. Is your only alternative to force yourself to write nonsense just to reach a word count? No. As frustrating as this experience may be, this doesn’t mean your writing month is coming to an end or that your book is doomed.
Here are my favorite ways to deal with the sudden roadblock in writing:
Get Disorganized: Really? Well, kind of. A book doesn’t have to be written in order from page one to 250. You’re not sure how to get your character from point A to point B in the story, yet you are itching to write a particular scene that will happen later in the book (or even your final page!). Don’t remain stuck and frustrated. Instead, follow inspiration. Write that later scene(s). Don’t be afraid to use this out-of-order technique. In the end, you can go back, reorganize and tie elements together. But in the meantime, you can take full advantage of inspiration.
Hang Out With Your Characters: Your story isn’t just happening on the page. I find that if I get out, sit at a café or take a walk, I can really think about my characters — as if they were friends or family members. What would my main character Rafael do if he were to walk into this café? How would he react to that person sitting at the bar? If I crossed him as I’m walking down the street right now, would he look up? Would he ignore me? What would he be thinking as he sat on a bench on this gray Parisian day? These are the sorts of questions I ask myself. When I get back to my computer, I have a better idea of what inspires my characters — and more of a chance of carrying my story forward.
Is This Really What Should be Happening?: There are writers who start out with a strict, detailed summary. There are writers who sit down and let inspiration guide them each day. I do a bit of both. In either case, don’t become trapped by an earlier idea. For instance, you absolutely wanted Ann and David to meet at the park, but now, it seems as if the story would be much better if they didn’t meet at all! Don’t force the story into its original mold. Be daring. Move forward. Break from your earlier plan. You’ll surprise yourself and end up with a better book.
Delve Into That Boring (but necessary) Stuff: Actually, to make editing less of a tedious task, deal with it throughout the writing process. If you’re not in the writing mood today, it might be the perfect moment to go through and clean up what you’ve already written. Sometimes that can give your creative juices the jump start they need for another day of writing… tomorrow.
** For some great editing tips, check out this post by my fellow author and editor Vicki Lesage: http://velvetmorningpress.blogspot.fr/2014/11/behind-scenes-editing.html.
Happy Writing!
Adria J. Cimino is the author of two soon-to-be released novels and is co-founder of indie publishing house Velvet Morning Press (http://www.velvetmorningpress.com). She spent more than a decade as a journalist at news organizations including The AP and Bloomberg News. Adria writes about her real-life adventures on her blog “Adria in Paris.” (http://adriainparis.blogspot.com/).
