Ask Sally #15 - Survival tips for NaNoWriMo

(I've made up this question myself as I felt it was too much to hope that someone else might ask in time)

Sally, how do I survive NaNoWriMo?

It just so happens that I'm now going into my 5th round of NaNoWriM0. For those who don't know about NaNoWriMo, it is the brainchild of Chris Baty, who had the great idea of encouraging writers to finally get that novel down on paper/computer. The challenge is to write a 50k novel (or 50k of a novel) starting on 1st November and ending on 30th November. Just one month. I've done it four times now, and won it three times. There's no actual prize, just the excitement of taking part in some real 'seat of your pants' writing. The next challenge begins on 1st November 2007, and I'll be keeping a diary of my progress on this blog, along with a word count. If you want to join me, let me know and I'll gladly put a link to your website or blog on here.

November is the month I stop trying to be a serious writer and just have fun with it all. After all, there aren't many competitions about, and the only other thing to do is Christmas shopping.

Here are my tips for surviving NaNoWriMo.

1. Put brain in neutral. If you think about it too much you'll never complete the 50k words. You'll think it's too silly, or that your novel is rubbish. Of course it's rubbish. What do you expect to write in one month? What you might end up with is some good material to rewrite and turn into something good. Or you might end up with a pile of poo. Who cares? No one is reading over your shoulder and you don't have to share the work if you don't want to.

2. Turn off your inner editor A bit similar to putting the brain in neutral but targeted at that little voice that tells you off for using too many adverbs or adjectives (zzzzz) or mispelling words you can normally manage with your eyes shut. Like mixing up of/off which I realised after several hours sleep that I'd done with the beginning of this tip...

3. Join a group of people involved in the same challenge. The NaNoWriMo website has a forum where you can join in with various groups. However, I'm in a nice group on the Writers Dock website, and they've got me through two years of NaNos now. (I'm Lily-Mae over there in case you come looking for me). It can really help doing this with others. It adds a friendly air of competitiveness and lets you know that you're not the only one tearing your hair out.

4. Have lots of characters. Got an idea for one man's experience of living on the planet Zarg? You'll never get 50k words out of that. Better to have 6 men's experience. Or better still, 6 men and 6 women. Everytime you get stuck, introduce a new character, or a new alien, or a new villain.

5. Plot Ninjas. Plot Ninjas are not only fun, they're an essential part of NaNoWriMo. 'What's a plot ninja, Sal' I hear you cry. Well I'm going to tell you. A plot ninja is a disparate object that has absolutely nothing to do with what you're writing and originated from a NaNoWriMo challenge to have each writer put a ninja jumping out of the wardrobe somewhere in their novel. More examples are: Pink Elephants, Turkish Delight, a troupe of dancing nuns (I had to put those in my first ever NaNo, which was quite difficult as I'd set my story in Elizabethan England!). If you're in a group of people doing NaNo it's likely you'll suggest one or two each, and the rule is to get at least one in each chapter. It doesn't matter if they've never heard of Turkish Delight on the planet Zarg, you've got to get that mention in there! Last year the Writers Dock group shared the extracts with their ninjas and great fun was had by all. The novel I wrote last year still has some ninjas hiding among the text!

6. Read Chris Baty's pep-talk emails. Once a week, Chris Baty sends out an email to anyone who's signed up on the NaNoWriMo site. Read it. That man has brilliant motivational skills. How else would hundreds of thousands of writers have got together every year for x amount of years to write a novel that they know is never going to get published?

7. Write 2000 words a day. You can easily finish NaNo by writing 1,666 words a day. Write more if you can. You might finish early and have the rest of November to gloat at the rest of us slowcoaches. On the other hand...

8. Don't try to finish early. Don't mess about trying to get your 50k word count in on 20th November, which is the usual date the verifier goes live on the NaNo site. You'll win even if you log those 50k words at five minutes to midnight on the 30th November. And don't believe those who say they'd written 50k words by the second day of the challenge. It can't be done!

9. Have fun! Look, you're not going to write a Booker winner in one month. That isn't the point. The point is to have fun and flex those writing muscles with impunity. Don't worry about being rubbish. We all are in November!

10. Read Chris Baty's book. I say this without having read it myself, but I needed a number ten. I've heard it's very good and just as motivational as his weekly November emails.