Standing on the Edge

You’re almost there, don’t look down.

As I sat alone thinking about what to sort of pep talk I can give you the day before NaNoWriMo ends, eating whipped cream straight from the can and drinking wine, I felt like the idea was right on the edge of my mind. Which is when inspiration struck.

Because, here we are, on the edge of the end of this crazy adventure. It’is so close we can almost taste it (and it tastes like whipped cream).

At this point in the journey there isn’t much I can say to you except to ignore all the words you’ve written. I’m being serious. Ahead, behind, on par? Who cares? I don’t and you shouldn't either. Take these last few hours and write. Write your hardest, as much as you can. Throw yourself into your story and see what happens.

Don’t look back, don’t think about the pitfalls of the journey, don’t reminisce on the great days where the words flowed like water (wine?) - just write.

Race for the finish line because it’s right there over that last little rise. Run for it with all your might. You can do it.

Go! Go! Go!

Stop reading this. Why are you still reading? Oh, because I put words here, is that why? Okay. I’ll stop now. I have writing to do too!

Take a Deep Breath...

We’re not done yet, but look how far we’ve come

Every year about this time I tell people to take a moment and look at their word count. Don’t obsess or even think about if it’s more or less or on par with where you wanted to be. Just look at it.

You wrote those words. That is all you.

It doesn’t matter if you are ahead, behind, or on par, what matters is that you have written words. You have done something incredible in these three weeks and you should be proud of yourself no matter what.

Now, take a deep breath. Hold it for a second and let it out slowly. It’s been a hard three weeks for most of us. Which means that is time to remind you about self-care.Which is why I want you to take a moment to take a good deep breath before diving back into your stories.

If you’re behind you probably feel like you don’t have time for this, but it’s important to make the time. Breathe with me and relax. As much as you want to make either the NaNoWriMo goal of 50K words or your own personal word count goal, it’s not the end of the world if you fall a little short. Take care of yourself first then worry about those numbers.

In the end, what really matters is that you made the effort. You wrote a lot of words.

Go you. 

Okay, time to get back to the writing for all of us!

Ride the Rollercoaster

Time to sit back and enjoy the ride - even when it goes off the rails

Remember back on November 1 when I said that the weeks of NaNoWriMo tend to follow the same general track for most people? (If not read it here) Well, congratulations, you made it to week three. We’re at the halfway point now. In an ideal world, you should have 25,000 words by the end of today. Too bad this isn’t an ideal world. It’s scary as hell rollercoaster ride.
We all experience ups and downs in the writing process. You’ve been working yourself hard for two weeks here. You’ve written a lot of words even if you are nowhere near crossing 25K words today I want you to be proud.
Look at those words. Just look at them. You wrote those words in two weeks. That was all you and that is an awesome accomplishment. These are words that you may never have written if you hadn’t attempted to do NaNoWriMo.
If you listened to my advice in the above-referenced blog post, then you have been building a buffer of words for the days when the words don’t come so easily.

If you look to the right you will see my stats for 6 consecutive years. Some years, like 2011, I really needed that buffer. Not sure what happened, but I had some trouble going into week three. Some years I stated behind and picked up the pace. But in every single year you will notice that I have days where the words flowed like waterfall and days where I would have better luck getting blood from stone than words on the page.

We all have these days. Every year is a new kind of rollercoaster and I can never predict how my year is going to go. I've learned to accept that these low points happen. I hate them, but I accept them. I never beat myself up over the days where I just cannot make the words happen.
But those days where I can write? I write. When the words flow, I let them carry me away. Low days or high days makes no difference. In the end, I have written. Some years more than others.

This is me telling you that anything is possible. Ahead, behind, or on par - keep writing on. Not every day will go well, not ever year will go well, but you're squeezing out a few words. Focus on that. You are writing.

The Benefits of Being Bad

How Terrible First Drafts Can Make You a Better Writer

It took me three attempts to end up with my first completed draft of a novel. Each failed attempt taught me something new about how to write. And I was excited when I finished the novel. So excited that I printed the whole thing off and started reading it.
It sucked.
If I am being honest, there were some great lines. A few nicely conceived scenes. I loved the characters, but the story itself has holes you could swim a whale through. Maybe a couple. In the end, I shelved that novel and some of those characters and scenes proved to be the basis for things that ended up in other novels.
I never focus on how bad this novel is because the important thing is that I learned a lot in this attempt. Lessons that have stuck with me over the years.

Being Bad is Good
When you let yourself be a terrible writer for the sake of finishing that first draft you learn the most important lesson of all. How to finish a first draft.
Awkward prose can be smoothed out. Rough scenes can be polished until they shine. Plot holes can be repaired. However, none of this can happen until that draft has been written.
We can only be good writers by starting out as bad writers. It’s a part of any learning process. You get better through practice, but you need to allow yourself to be a bad writer before you can be a good one.

You Got a Problem with That?
Not even joking here. Some people have a harder time letting themselves be bad for the sake of getting it written that I have encountered a lot of useful tricks over the years. I don’t use any myself
because I’m okay with being bad. Give some of these a try:

• Type in a white font
• Type in a font so small you can’t read it.
• Turn off spell check features
• Never read back on what you wrote
• Type with your eyes closed.
• Tilt your laptop screen to an angle where you can’t see it.
• Write in unerasable pen if you're doing this by hand
• Try using a program like 'Write or Die' or 'Written Kitten' to keep you focused on writing the words instead of the quality of what you're writing.
• Word sprints or wars - engage your competitive bone to focus on writing faster instead of better. 

Got another suggestion? Leave it in the comments and help your fellow writers out. Editing is for later and now is for the writing.

And one last reminder before I let you go back to your draft-

Comparison is the Thief of Words
Don’t compare the words that you have put on the page with the images you have in your mind. Or to your favourite novels. Please, let this draft be bad. Let it be terrible and clunky and cringeworthy. Most importantly, let it exist.

Buffering…

And GO!
Did you stay up until midnight just to get those first few words in? Not everyone does that, but I always do and I do it for a very good reason - life. Remember when I talked about that last week? Life happens to all of us.
For many people the first rush of creativity at the beginning of NaNo makes you want to rush to get those words on the page. Some people try to pace themselves. You do you, but if you’ve never done NaNoWriMo before or if you’ve never attempted a project like a novel then I’m going to give you a little advice based on how NaNoWriMo generally goes. As most veteran NaNoWriMo writers will tell you that for many the month will follow a general outline.

• Week One is excitement - a new story! We’re writing. We’re creating. THIS IS GREAT!
• Week two is hell - your novel sucks. The story sucks. You suck. This is the week where doubts often creep in.
• Week three is distractions - you’ve been working hard and not playing. Your brain is looking for the shiny.
• Week four is a mix of emotions - Excitement or panicked rush are common depending on how things are going. A lot of incredible feats of writing are accomplished in this week.

If you’re lucky you might not experience the rollercoaster as advertised, but week two and three tend to be where life gets in the way and people fall behind on their word count goals. This is when a lot of people give up. Don’t do that. You can do this. I believe in you so let me give you some advice.

Build a Buffer
While things are exciting and new, get that word count up there. Double, triple, quadruple your daily word count if you can. Build yourself a comfortable word buffer to fall into when things get rough.

Buffering Brains
Although not everyone has that initial rush. Some stare at that blank page in terror as it mocks them. They struggle to get started. Is this you? Is your brain looking a lot like a webpage that never loads? If it is you, I have advice for you as well.
Write a word. Just one word. Any word will do. Put another one after it. Now, try for another and another.
Part of NaNoWriMo is learning to turn off the inner editor that is constantly telling you how bad your writing is or how your prose is pathetic - or whatever yours says. Inner editors have their time and place, but that place is not when you're trying to write a first draft of a story because of one generally acknowledged truth of writing.
First drafts suck. Always. No exceptions. Some suck more than others, but no first draft is publishable. Editing is what makes a novel good. Right now, you just need to write that clunky and awkward prose. Use your crutch words liberally if you have to. Just write even if you write “My inner editor sucks’ over and over until they go away and leave you alone to write your draft in peace.

Okay, that’s enough procrastinating for you. Go put one word after another and start your novel!