November is coming!
Happy October everyone! While the cold weather blows in, and the pumpkins come out writers are getting their ducks in a row to prep for National Novel Writing Month, commonly referred to as NaNoWriMo.
I've written about this before and what the challenge entails, but as a refresher, this is where writers work towards a 50,000-word goal by the end of the month. The online and local communities will host write-ins and word sprints, timed races to see who can write the most words in a short burst of time. Meanwhile, on Twitter, fellow writers cheer each other on even when the words aren't flowing, which fosters a conversation built around creating something new and perseverance.
Now I've never reached the goal of 50,000 words in November. I've achieved this in other months, like July, when work is much calmer, but this year I'm making a strong effort to get there. Part of what I can do to help boost my chances of success includes planning. Here are some of the ways I'm using October to prepare myself for this massive undertaking.
1. Get work stuff out of the way now
My job gets chaotic in November. As a teacher, November signals the time of the end of the first marking period. Students typically submit a project in this time and those need to be graded along with the day to day planning. To make time for writing, this year I'm making a concerted effort to get as much done as early as possible. If it has a deadline in November, I'm bumping it back to October. Fingers crossed that this will result in a smoother transition from work time to writing time.
2. Plan ahead for the writing
This past post touched on this topic and detailed my plan for the plot I will be building in November. Having a solid outline from which to pull ideas for scenes can help capitalize on the time spent creating content. Less thinking, more doing.
3. Set clear expectations
I'm fortunate to have a partner supportive of my writing, but even the most patient person can struggle when a full-time working mom, can't sit down and hang out after the kids go to sleep. It doesn't help that my anniversary and Thanksgiving are all in the same month as well.
4. Celebrate with a growth mindset
Even with all the prep in the world, NaNoWriMo going to be tough. Maybe I'm dooming myself from the start, but while I'd love to hit 50,000, I'll consider 30,000, double last year's achievement, a personal victory.
Sure I can get upset that things happen, probably will, however, isn't it more positive that I focus on my 2018 stats thus far? (These counts do not include anything other than words in a book.)
April: 27,000 words
July: 52,000 words
August: 13,000 words
November: TBD
Currently, I am at 92,000 words for this year, which if I'm being honest with you, I didn't fully realize until just now. I had to go look it up while writing this post. I felt like this had been an off year and felt a little down about it.
Woah.
Sure, I knew I'd written a book, but I didn't actually comprehend what that meant regarding words on the page. When I hit 30,000 in November, that will put me at 122,000 words for this year. If I hit 50,000, I'll have written 142,000 words this year.
Good God, no wonder I haven't seen any movies, and I always have a headache.
As far as what I'm working on, well, I'll let you in on that next week.
What goals have you set for yourself in November? I'd love to hear from everyone reading. Comment below!
Onward!
Kathryn
