It’s almost here. Later this week is when we all start worrying about our word counts and comparing it to other people’s. In an effort to calm the impending storm that begins on November 1st, here are a selection of final tips that should help you ready yourself for the big challenge.
First, let’s consider practicalities:
Housekeeping
Do as much as much of it as you can, now. Clean your room, stock the fridge and empty the wash basket. Cook extra as part of every meal so you can freeze the leftovers later. For whole month these are the things that will be left neglected as you strain to squeeze out as many words as you can per day. So, give yourself a head start and begin the month of November with a tidy house, fully stocked kitchen and a few emergency meals already prepared.
Stock up on Snacks
Linked with the tip above, ensure that you have some (healthy) snacks to get you through some of the slumps you will encounter throughout November. Snacks that are edible whilst typing are the best kind. And, if you want something like chocolate M&M’s – make it a rule that you can only eat one for every sentence you type, If you’re not writing, you’re not allowed the treat.
Get a Reward Buddy
If food is going to play a part in your rewards system (like earning that chocolate bar for when you hit 5,000 words) make sure you have someone onside who will only let you have it once you’ve actually reached that target. In other words, no cheating. This is important for any reward you might put in place. If it’s something you’ve earned there is nothing more satisfying that having someone else present it to you in an official mark of celebration.
Once you’ve got these in place, here are a few things you can work on to help with the writing come Thursday:
Character Objective
Make sure you know what your main characters want more than anything in the world. Then spend the whole of November taking it away from them. If you understand your character’s main motivation (what they want and why they want it) it is much easier to create plot twists and, eventually, give them their happy ending. Even better, it can help you inject conflict into every scene – especially if you have an antagonist whose objective runs counter to your protagonist’s.
Shape your first line
We all know how important first lines are in novels. Sometimes it can make the difference between whether I read a book or not. So, if you’re chomping at the bit to get started, work on crafting the best opening line you can. Where will you begin? Which character will appear immediately and what will they be doing? How will you hook a reader in just one sentence? Once November begins, you’ll have the perfect start.
Figure out your ending
This can either be taken literally, or figuratively. You might need to know exactly how your novel is going to end in order to be able to work your way towards this from your very first line. If you know this, then you will automatically start placing things into the story to ensure that this ending is possible.
However, if you’re a pantster and have no idea where you might end up (which is part of the fun) think about how you might want a reader to feel at the end of your novel. Do you want a happy ending or would you prefer something more bitter-sweet? Do you want your readers to feel excited and pumped up by the end, or calm and contemplative? Hopefully, this will help you determine the mood of what you’re trying to achieve.
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So those are my final few tips to prepare for the challenge of 50,000 words in just 30 days. If you’re taking part in NaNoWriMo and want to buddy up – please add me on the site. My username is Cat_Lumb.
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Good luck to everyone taking part. But, remember – whatever happens, you’re bound to end up with more words in November that you would have a written without the NaNoWriMo push: so be proud of any progress you make, even if you don’t manage the 50k goal.