Nano: Tips and Tricks: Word Count

I have few favourite games to play with word count to keep me pounding the keys when I would otherwise give up.

Word Wars

First, try a word war alone or with a friend (or with strangers, there's word war threads in the Nanowrimo forums!)

Set a timer for 5, 10, 15 minutes and then go go go. Do not stop writing for that entire period of time, no matter how much you want to, or how ridiculous your story is getting. Keep going.

Then, do it again, and try to beat your first total!

Other than word wars, there are few tricks I play on myself to get my word count up there.

Word Count Games

I try to set a goal for the day - usually 1667, but trying whenever possible to stretch past that to an even number - so instead of 8335 on day five, I might aim for 8500. More words is always better!

In addition, when I sit down to write, I'll start with a length of time - something short, because I can write in sprints, but if I tell myself to write for an hour, my attention wanders. So, let's say... I'll write for 7 minutes. And then I look at my word count and I decide to write until I round up to the nearest 50 or 100 words. And then I'll look at my total words written for the day, and try to round that up to the nearest 50 or 100. 

And then I'll do another 7 minutes of writing, or I'll play back and forth at stretching to my next round number for total words written or total for the day, until I'm satisfied with my word count and can set Nano down for the day!

Beat a Buddy (in Word Count, This is Not Whack-a-Mole!)

Another popular word count booster is to find someone in your region, on your buddy list or in the forums in general who has a slightly higher word count than you, and race to beat that word count. This works best if they're also writing when you are (so with a friend, or someone posting actively in, e.g., the word war forum) as their word count will keep increasing and you'll 'have' to write to keep up. 

Nano 2014: And so we write...

This being the first weekend of Nanowrimo, it's probably going to be the easiest. Unless you've got lots of plans and no time to write, this weekend you should be filled with the joy of Nanowrimo. Your story idea is fresh and exciting, you're filled with wonder at knowing you're sitting down to write when so many other novelists are sitting down to write, and you've got nothing but wide open possibilities ahead of you.

Now, you may be the sort to be intimidated by that blank page.

Here's my first tip for you:

1. Do not be intimidated. 

Ha, you say. If it were that simple, I wouldn't be struggling to start in the first place!

Okay, you're not wrong, of course. The blank page can be scary. Figuring out what your first words should be just might be your first big challenge of the month. Here's the thing: even though the first sentence or page of a published novel might make or break that novel - it will NOT make or break your Nanowrimo novel. And here is why: This draft is for you. 100% from start to finish all about you taking your idea and your characters and your setting out for a spin and seeing what comes of it.

REVEL IN  YOUR OWN IMAGINATION!

Let yourself run wild. Put down anything. Start with "Hello!" Start with something utterly mundane. Borrow from a famous book - maybe your story *does* start with a dark and stormy night. Run with it. I promise that after November ends, you can come back and change those words. You may find your entire first thousand words are unnecessary and that the story really starts much later. Or heck, maybe it starts much earlier!  But for now, let it start *somewhere.*

Tip two:

2. Capitalize on your enthusiasm.

Some people worry about burn out - they don't want to write too much for fear that they'll tap themselves out too early on. Many people point out that Nanowrimo is a marathon and not a sprint - and I absolutely agree with that sentiment. However! If you sit down to write and you are filled with the spirit of the thing - do not force yourself to stop writing at 1667 words (the daily word count if you spread the task evenly across all 30 days of the month). Write until you feel like stopping. Write until you're satisfied, until you're no longer feeling driven to keep going. Get those extra words in now, while they are easy and you feel good about them.

For many people, there is going to be a time this month when you no longer love your Nanowrimo novel. When the words start to dry up, you don't know what happens next, and worse, you no longer care what happens next. The only thing that will keep you going then is sheer determination to finish. Having the extra words then will put that little bit closer. It will buy you a few days of messing about with zero words written or with only a hundred or two words written, until you make it through your funk.

Finish day two of Nano today having written with great abandon. Now that all the people and places and plots that you've been preparing are materializing on the page, give yourself permission to play with them, to let them explore, to let them get themselves in and out of trouble - planned or not. 

Enjoy this weekend, and write!

Update: My Pre-Nano Status

Monday night I went to Toronto's NaNoWriMo kick-off event and I had a fantastic time!

This event really starts off the 'season' for me - I find it impossible not to feel filled with Nano spirit after meeting so many people all gearing up for the event. It's also a treat to spend time with all the friends I've already made through Nanowrimo, but whom I don't really get to see during the rest of the year.

So, my preparations for November this year are mixed right now. I have about four pages of notes on ideas that I could use in my story. I have some vague character ideas, and I know that I want the whole shebang to end happily, of course.  

My big concept this year is an esports-themed contemporary romance, with the new team manager of a team with a pretty big legacy falling for one of the player's on the team. Unfortunately, her manipulative ex is a player for a rival team - a detail that wasn't exactly on her application for the job.

I also have a list of player names and team names and I've got a vague, slightly undefined idea of what the game will look like (think DotA2 with objectives to take that give bonuses to teams, with still that base defense premise).  

What I lack is a solid idea of how the plot will flow. I have a starting point and ideas for little conflict and a few big conflicts along the way, but nothing set 'in stone'. Hopefully that won't come back to bite me ;)

Good luck to you this year! Drop me a note in the comments to tell me how prepared or unprepared you feel as we head into the final pre-Nano hours!

Prep Phase: Non-Writing Prep

With a week left to go, the last component - after writing prep and commitment - is the non-writing prep.

This is when you need to:

• consider your schedule
• consider your writing space
• check out your region on the forums and potential meet-ups
• plan for reduced chores/easier meals/etc.

Schedule

In order to write 50K in a month, you need to plan to write a minimum of 1667 words per day. Some days you will write more (check back next week for a post on buffers) and some days you will write less, but overall, you will want to average 1667 words. How much time it will take you to write this will depend on how quickly you write in general and on how much time you actually spend writing and how much time you spend thinking, plotting. 

Pull out your calendar for November, with your work schedule, your school assignment due dates (and build in time for working on those assignments), reading you need to do for classes, appointments, classes you're taking, childcare responsibilities, social commitments and so on.

Figure out which parts of the month will be quieter, when you can try to write some extra words, and identify those parts that will be busier, when you might feel lucky to squeak by with your daily word count intact.

Go down to your average week day and average weekend daily schedule. Do you usually have an hour or two in the morning to yourself? Maybe in the evening?  How about a lunch hour at work when you can handwrite a few hundred words?  Identify spaces in your day to day schedule when you can get some words down on the paper.

Writing Space

Plan now where you'll try to get most of your writing done. Maybe you're going to stop at a coffee shop on the way home every day for an hour or so. Perhaps you have a home office that will suit. 

Think also about distractions and minimizing them. All time you spend answering your children's questions, people-watching or checking out your Twitter feed will be minutes you're not investing in writing your Nano story. Plan your writing space to minimize whatever it is that distracts you the most. Write better in silence or with sound? Alone or with people around? Internet available for encouragement and quick research or will you sink time into playing Facebook games instead of working? 

Lastly, some people like to load up on snacks and writing totems. If you write better with a speciality tea in your mug or a bowl full of M&Ms, then buy them now. A writing totem - maybe a hat you will wear, a good luck charm to rub or a candle to burn - may also help get you into the mood to write. We'll talk more about settling down for writing sessions next week - but start thinking now about what you might like to include as part of your writing ritual and make sure there's a home for it in your backpack/at your desk/in your coat pockets, etc..

Nano Region

Your home region on the NaNoWriMo forums is going to be a great source of support and enthusiasm. Everyone there will either be doing Nano or has done it in the past. Everyone is excited about the event, and the forum should be a source of great positive energy. You'll also find information here about meet-ups that your local Municipal Liaison has prepared. Hopefully there's one or two taking place that you'll be able to attend. I find that my odds of completing NaNoWriMo increase when I have met other local people who are doing it as well. I think I feel obligated to complete my 50K when I know I'll be meeting up with other people who are trying to do it too.

Turn to your Nano Region when you need to commiserate, when you want to go out and write in the same space as other writers and when you want someone to brainstorm with. It's much easier to have a conversation in this space than, I think, the Nano forums at large.

Reduced Responsibilities

If you're in charge of cooking for a family - or just yourself -, try to plan meals for the month as much as possible in advance. This is not the time to try out a lot of new, complicated recipes. This is the time to freeze lasagna and cabbage rolls and casseroles in advance. It's a time for pasta with meatballs, for frozen pizzas, for breakfast for dinner (which I find is faster and easier to cook than most dinners). This isn't the time to roast chickens and turkeys, to make ratatouille or anything that requires an hour or two to prep. 

November is also not a good month to embark on a massive cleaning spree. Get your fall cleaning done before the 1st of the month. Plan to decorate for Christmas after the 30th. Do not commit to anything new this month - this isn't the time to become your kid's room parent at school, nor to volunteer at church or anywhere else. It may sound a little selfish, but you will have your hands full of 50,000 words. Load up on added responsibilities and obligations in the post-Nano-season (aka the other eleven months of the year!)


November is nearly upon us. 

Prep Phase: Commitment

50,000 words in 30 days is a big task. It's 1667 words per day, every day for the entire month of November.

The single biggest thing you need to do before November 1st is commit. 

Don't just sign up on the website, set up your profile, come up with a story idea.

Don't just tell your friends and family, strangers on the internet, readers of your blog, your beloved pet that you're doing Nanowrimo this year.

Commit to yourself. Know and acknowledge that it will be hard, that you will have to *work* at it to finish your 50K.  Know that you will probably need to sacrifice something - social life, chores, sleep - and commit to doing that.  Promise yourself that you will not let anything keep you from finishing Nanowrimo, as hard as it may get. 

If you want a shiny banner like this one:

*

If you want to feel the raw satisfaction that comes with accomplishing your goal, you need to commit now.


*2008 was the first banner I found when I went looking for a winner banner in my admittedly messy computer folders. 

Prep Phase: To Pants, Plot or Somewhere In Between?

There are many different approaches to NaNoWriMo - and none of them is the best way for everyone. Some people like to start the month with a blank document and see what comes to them as they write. Others like select a genre and have the most basic idea - perhaps a major character and their primary conflict. Some prefer to have a much clearer idea of what they will be writing, creating character sheets, elaborate plot outlines and worldbuilding to their heart's content.

Others fall elsewhere on the spectrum.

Personally, I embrace the official line of thinking regarding working on something new - if you are too attached to your project when you start, you will have a harder time writing as quickly as NaNoWriMo requires because of the quality level. If you've been thinking about a project for years, you will have a hard time letting go and allowing for glaring mistakes to creep into your draft. Your inner editor will be louder and more fiesty, and generally harder to shush.

My approach starts with something fresh, a new idea. It requires a premise, a character cheat sheet, an 'ideas' cheat sheet and nothing else. If I plan too much, I get too invested and that makes me write more slowly and cautiously. If I plan too much, I get frustrated when new tangents present themselves but I feel like I can't explore them because PLOT OUTLINE. It makes me want to write linearly, which means if I'm really stuck, I can't skip ahead to an easier scene. And most importantly? It means I get bored. All of these things spell disaster for me when I'm doing NaNoWriMo. 

If I don't plan at all? I inevitably run into a wall and have no ideas for how to get out. My story has no direction and I panic and flail and give up.

I need to be armed with a basic idea of where I'm going and some tools to get me out of the weeds, but nothing too rigid!

Genre

Know your genre and its expectations. Know why you want to write in a particular genre - do you love reading it? Do you watch a lot of television in this genre? Perhaps you've written this genre before? Have some familiarity with your genre. Know the tropes and common elements - both so you can avoid them if you like, but also so you can fall back on them if you hit a real wall.

Premise

I always want to have a core idea - a sentence or two that gives me a couple of characters with a goal and a conflict. They don't need to be pretty, or spot on - they just need to give me a sense of where things are going to go. These sentences will give me the start of my cheat sheets, and they will get me through the month. These sentences also give me the grounds for brainstorming - who is involved, what are they trying to do, what goes wrong?

Characters

I usually want my main character - I tend to write in either first or limited third person. I will want to have the basic details: name, general appearance, personality and goals. I also want a sense of who there is in that person's life, but only in very basic terms: annoying co-worker, klutzy friend, lenient boss, sexy vampire lover. I don't want to get a lot of specific details because too many will make me feel locked in and also obligated to use the character. 

Names

Names are one of the hardest part of character-creation for me. I have a really tough time coming up with the exact right name for a character, and trying to find one from the various available resources (more on these in a later post) can suck up hours of precious writing time during November. So my strategy during the Prep Phase is to make a list of potential names. This list will be ten or twenty names long, and whenever I write a character in November whose name doesn't immediately come to me, I'll grab a name from this list. The name might not be the perfect fit, but it'll work as a placeholder for this draft, and because I take the time to prep this list, I know that at the least, I like the names for whatever universe I'm working in.

Plot

Do not outline. At least, I do not outline. Instead, I recommend brainstorming ideas for concepts to include in your draft - these can be characters, scenes ideas, crazy items that you want to make use of, settings that you really like, a conflict - anything you can sum up in four or five words. "Epic rap battle between gnomes," "haunted house," "charity misusing donations to buy alcohol" - these are all good ideas for a cheat sheet. Some might get a little longer: "Joe confronts Claudia about missing page in book," "Mariah plays D&D for the first time", "killer uses toaster and a lime."

These ideas will be your 'get out of jail free' cards during November. Use them when you get stuck and have no idea what should happen next. Once you've started writing, you may also find your brain drawing a map of your story through your idea cheat sheet, and that is completely cool. Don't lock anything in, but instead let yourself play with the possibilities. 

I like to have a list of 20-30 ideas before I start the month. More is always better. One year I assembled these ideas into a vague order that I might use them in, but whenever I got stuck, I never hesitated to grab them out of order. 

November is: NaNoWriMo!

Nanowrimo is nearly upon us now - November 1st is when thousands of authors, both new and old, around the world will start putting words down on paper and computer screens. The goal is to write 50K words in 30 days, and to revel in the experience alongside other writers.

This will be my twelfth year of Nanowrimo. I've written while doing my undergraduate degree, while doing a graduate degree & working a job or two, while working full-time, while working part-time, while pregnant, with a newborn, with a newborn and a preschooler, and this year I'll be writing with a toddler and a child in junior Kindergarten. 

Fun times, folks, fun times.

I've got a record of 7 wins and 4 incompletes. Never a loss, because I always got words down that I wouldn't have otherwise, and that's always been huge for me. I am *happiest* during November, when I am writing regularly, which speaks volumes about what I *should* be doing with the rest of my year. 

Over the next couple weeks, I'm going to post my tips and tricks for getting prepped for the month of November, as well as reflections on how I'm actually getting ready (or not) and really, any odd ramblings that come to mind as we head towards the big day. 

We've got two weeks to sharpen our pens, focus our minds and creativity, create our personal maps for success, and make sure we kick things off with a bang! I'm eager to get started, are you?