Get a Headstart

Rule of thumb: write more, not less. Especially during those first few days when you've been hyping yourself up and just can't wait to get started. Try your best to get a few thousand words ahead because trust me, you'll need it. When the words start to drag, or something comes up and you end up missing a day or two, you'll be glad you have a bit of leeway.

Don't be Distracted by the Shiny

You know it's going to happen. You're on day 3, you've hit a snag in your WIP and suddenly... doesn't the grass look much greener in that other idea that's been floating around in your head. The other idea? That's the Shiny.

This happened to me one NaNo, I switched to the Shiny New Idea, realised I didn't have enough to go on, and ended up floundering for a good three weeks. End wordcount? Some 7,000 words.

If you get a Shiny New Idea, don't touch it. Note it down so you don't forget, then on you go

Have a Plan

...but be just flexible enough. Plotter or pantser, make sure you have at least an idea of what you'll be doing in November and stick to it. Make a writing schedule, figure out how you're going to get to 1,667 words a day. Carve out the time in your busy (or not-so-busy) month. If it's really not working, then do what you need to do but remember, don't get distracted by the Shiny and allow yourself some time to get into the flow of a new WIP.

Find Your People

I love my writing buddies. I love the sense of community that November brings. Embrace the fact that there will be hundreds, if not thousands of writers in the same boat as you. Find people to bounce ideas off, to exchange encouraging messages, and mostly just yell!! about the struggle that is NaNoWriMo.

Personally, I prefer Twitter but use what makes you comfortable. Tumblr, the official NaNoWriMo website, email chains, whatever! If it works for you, it works!

Hold Yourself Accountable

Find a few accountability partners, and check in with each other every so often to make sure that you're both on track. Tell all your friends that you'll be doing NaNoWriMo and ask them to shame you into writing, if you must. Follow your writing schedule. Set smaller goals, and reward yourself for achieving those.

I made myself a printable calendar to track my own wordcount, because I know I hate the feeling of admitting I'm behind. Not every method works for everyone, so test out a few and see what gets you writing every day!

Version One

...with daily wordcount goals filled in. I used the numbers from the stats graph on the official NaNoWriMo website, so this is for those of you who are aiming for the classic 50,000 words!

Version Two

...with the wordcount goal left blank. This is for those of you NaNo rebels. Aiming for 30k? 100k? 200k? Editing? Or maybe doing a reverse NaNo? Print out this calendar, pull out the calculator and fill in your daily goals!

How To Use

Simply fill in your wordcount in the right box at the end of the day. I'm planning on highlighting the boxes with my mildliners. Maybe a grey for the days I missed target, and a bright yellow for the days I did!

Get creative and let me know what you come up with!

---

Like what you see? Support me through Ko-Fi so I can keep creating! 

To Write

Notebook. When I get an idea, I like to brainstorm with a pen. My brain just works better that way when I need to generate ideas.

Alphasmart Neo. It’s a keyboard with a crappy screen. I bought it secondhand off Ebay, the shipping cost more than the actual product, and my writing buddy almost lost her mind my latest seemingly unnecessary purchase, but it was worth it. As long as I get my butt in a chair and put my shiny high-tech electronics away, there's no distractions. Zip zilch zero. I do pretty much all of my writing on here now.

Ulysses. Whenever I need a place to dump down ideas, I open up Ulysses. The strength of this app is being able to keep all my ideas well organised in different files with the ability to open/create files instantly. I also transfer all my Alphasmart writing into Ulysses, and do organise my chapters there before moving it elsewhere to edit.

To Inspire

Pinterest. I’m not that great at Pinterest, and my boards are messy as hell, but it’s a convenient way to save pictures for later when I’m browsing around on the internet.

Spotify. My phone plan includes premium, and I love it. To be honest, I’m not a huge music person, but it’s nice to be able to save music and make WIP playlists with minimal fuss.

To Learn

The Two Pillars of Story Structure. This is one of my favourite articles on story structure, and I reread it every time I get struck adding conflict to a cool premise. The gist is that your story is held up by two pillars which serve as ‘points of no return.’ Give it a read, I definitely recommend it!

The Snowflake Method. I don’t follow the method outlined to a T, but I have a copy of the webpage printed out and refer back to it constantly when I’m in my pre-writing stages. It’s incredibly useful for getting a birds-eye view of my story.

Helping Writers Become Authors. I find story structure inspires me when I'm stuck, and this is the place to read all about it. From scene structure to character arcs, this site has it all!

As a final note, just because these things work for me doesn’t mean they’ll work for everyone. The point is, find a writing kit that works for you. Then spend the time writing, not looking for more writing tools to use because at the end of the day, no tool will do the writing for you.

What's in your writing kit?