and Iâm an aspiring author! I currently have three unfinished manuscripts (one that Iâm still working on, but I put in the back burner).
Iâm a college freshman taking Computer Science, I love to edit videos and, of course, write, Iâm currently reading The Fourth Wing, I dabble in art and music sometimes, and Iâm a person who works a little too hard for what itâs worth lol.
Day NINE into NaNoWriMo. How is everyone holding up? Last night, I didn't get that much work done because:
A: I wanted to focus on my schoolwork for a little bit
B: I developed some bad habits that really hindered my ability to write the amount I needed
But, instead of being mad at myself for it, I just went to bed. I knew my limits and knew I shouldn't push any further. It's just going to waste time, and it wouldn't make my lost hours of sleep worth it.
It made me realize that there is an underlying importance in knowing how to balance your life and this challenge all at the same time. So I have some tips right here for you.
Circle your goals around your life:
And what I mean by this, is you don't need to write 1,667 words every single day to achieve 50,000 words. If you need to, you can schedule OFF DAYS where you don't need to hit a goal, but it's very much welcome to do so. For me, my off days are on Saturday and Sunday because I work. On days I'm most free, however, I put my goals at a higher standard than those where I know for sure I won't have that much time for writing.
There is no shame in not
You don't need to write 50,000 words in a month:
I know the whole point of NaNoWriMo is, quite literally, in the name: National Novel Writing Month. A novel is around 50,000 words. But, personally, I see NaNoWriMo as a great way to get ANY writing done, and to instill great writing habits. If your life is way too busy to write 50,000 words in a month, try shooting for 40,000 instead, or even 25,000. As long as you try to set writing goals for the month, you're doing NaNoWriMo right.
Some writing advice get passed off as something every writer has to do. The truth is, these tips might not work for everybody! NaNo participant Nicole Wilbur offers some alternatives to popular writing advice that may be a better fit for your writing needs.
While there are no definitive writing ârulesâ, thereâs certainly writing advice so common it feels like itâs become canon. Most popular writing advice is generally good â but what if it doesnât light up your brain? What if a particular tip doesnât resonate with you?
 If this popular advice isnât working - try these alternatives!Â
Common advice: Make your character want something.Â
Alternative: Ask what your character is most afraid of.
Your character usually wants something â the MCâs goal driving the story is a common plot, after all. That something needs to be concrete, meaning the audience will know definitively when theyâve achieved their goal.Â
(Is âfound independenceâ concrete? No. Signed the lease on their first apartment? Yes.)
But if you arenât sure yet, or what they want doesnât feel motivating enough to support your inciting incident, start with a different question: what is your character afraid of?Â
Katniss wants to survive, with her family, yes. But sheâs terrified of helplessly watching them die.Â
Common advice: Identify your storyâs theme and stick it on a post- it above your computer.Â
Alternative: Use the characterâs arc to create a main idea statement, and craft several related questions your story explores.Â
English class really made âthemeâ feel heavy-handed. In my grade nine English class, we listed the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird as: coming of age, racism, justice, and good vs. evil.Â
While these are the topics explored in the book, Iâve never found this advice helpful in writing. Instead, I like to use the controlling idea concept (as in Robert McKeeâs Story) and exploratory questions (as in John Trubyâs Anatomy of Genres).
A controlling idea is a statement about what the author views as the âproperâ way to live, and itâs often cause-and-effect. The exploratory question is â well, a question you want to explore.Â
In Itâs a Wonderful Life, the controlling idea is something to the effect of âLife is meaningful because of our relationshipsâ or âour lives feel meaningful when we value our family and community over money.â The question: How can a single person influence the future of an entire community?
Common advice: List out your characterâs traits, perhaps with a character profile.
Alternative: Focus on 2-3 broad brushstrokes that define the character.
When I first started writing, I would list out everything I wanted my character to be: smart, daring, sneaky, kind, greedy, etc. I created a long list of traits. Then I started writing the book. When I went back to look at the traits, I realized the character wasnât really exhibiting any of these.
Instead of a long list of traits to describe your character, try identifying three. Think of these like three brush strokes on a page, giving the scaffolding of your character. Ideally, the combination of traits should be unexpected: maybe the character is rule-following, people-pleasing, and ambitious. Maybe the character is brash, strategic, and dutiful.Â
Then â and this is the fun part â consider how the traits come into conflict, and what their limits are. What happens when our ambitious rule-follower must break the law to get what she wants? Sure, a character might be kind, but what will make her bite someoneâs head off?
Common advice: Create a killer plot twist.
Alternative: Create an information plot.Â
Readers love an unexpected plot twist: whether a main character is killed or an ally turns out to be the bad guy, theyâre thrilling. But plotting towards one singular twist can be difficult.Â
Instead of using the term plot twist, I like thinking in terms of Brandon Sandersonâs âinformationâ plot archetype.Â
An information plot is basically a question the reader is actively trying to work out. It could be like Sarah Dessen's Just Listen where we wonder "what happened between Annabel and her ex-best friend?", "why is Annabel's sister acting strangely?" and "who is Owen, really?" Those all have to do with backstory, but information plots can be about pretty much any hidden information. Another popular question is "who is the bad guy?" - or in other words, "who is after the characters?" The Charlie's Angel franchise, for example, tends to keep viewers guessing at who the true antagonist is until the last few scenes.
Nicole Wilbur is an aspiring YA author, writing sapphic action-adventure stories that cure wanderlust. As a digital nomad, she has no house and no car, but has racked up a ridiculous number of frequent flier miles. She chronicles her writing and travelling journey on her YouTube channel and Chasing Chapters substack.
Woo! You made it past the first week of writing, and now itâs your second Wednesday of NaNoWriMo! Have you been writing every day? Have you been meeting your goals? If not, thatâs totally fine. Look back on what you HAVE accomplishedâyou deserve a round of applause and a break.
A lot of people are losing motivation and easily getting burned out. Iâm gonna share some tips that will help you balance your writing productivity (and not just for writing, but for basically every other aspect of your life). I will teach you the art of taking breaks
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The Pomodoro Technique
What is a pomodoro? Itâs when you split your work into intervals with short breaks in between. The intervals can vary, but the standard interval is usually 25 minutes long, followed by a five minute break. It might not seem like a long time for a break, but thatâs more than enough, from what I can tell. Especially when your break is just sitting there and letting it simmer.
After a certain amount of intervals, you can treat yourself to a long break. For me, I do six different intervals (thatâs three hours of work!) and watch some documentaries to reward myself. This is a really great way to both instill staying focused and productive, and taking regular breaks! Thereâs a ton of pomodoro timers online, in app stores, and, the best part is that you can totally make your own. If you have a timer and some time, you can do it anytime anywhere
Having something to look forward to
Did you know about this psychological study meant to record reward systems? Picture this:
A group of kids were told to take a math test. They had some knowledge, but itâs not like we were testing them on their knowledge.
No, the ones conducting the study wanted to see the effects of reward systems on productivity and work morale. So, they told them to think of something that makes them excited, then, they took another math test to compare the scores.
Compared to when they first started, the children did SUBSTANTIALLY better when they thought of something that excited them.
The best part, almost every child had thought of the same thought. They didnât think about winning a million dollars, or going to Disneyland, or riding a private jet. The one thought that made a majority of these kids excited was Jello.
Am I telling you to take breaks by rewarding yourself with Jello? No. But what I am telling you, is that rewards can be much simpler than you realize. Before you work, plan on doing something to reward yourself once youâre done. Not only will it boost productivity, but itâll make everything worth it once youâve gone through a day well-spent. Who knows? Maybe your ideal reward is Jello.
Knowing your limits and when you push them
Itâs important to test your limits by pushing them. I believe that knowing how far you can go and what youâre capable of, and knowing when to quit is one of the most important aspects in life. Of course, itâs not a binary system, and there are some margins for error. But, thatâs the great part about it, we can constantly see where our limits are, and we can even stretch our limits!
However, no one ever tells us what to do once we get there. What happens when weâre at our limit? What happens when we feel exhausted and burnt out? Well, I propose a formula for you. If you feel exhausted and you want to take a short break, I would go down this list:
Shower
Eat and drink water
Sleep
If you feel tired, the first thing I want you to do before trying to sleep is to take a shower. So many problems in life can simply be solved by making sure youâre clean.
If youâre still tired as hell, eat a snack and, most importantly, DRINK SOME WATER! A lot of people feel exhausted when theyâre dehydrated and they donât even realize it.
If youâve tried the previous two steps and youâre tired, just go to sleep.
Letâs be honest, as the first Monday of NaNoWrimo, itâs going to feel like a DRAG!
But, just think of it as the days before. Think of it as the first day of NaNoWriMo. Think about what you want to accomplish in your writing today. Do you want to write that inciting incident? Do you want to incorporate that twist? Or do you just want to finish writing that chapter? Whatever goal you have today will make today so much easier to get through.
And I want you to think of a reward once youâre done. Perhaps youâll go out to eat once you met that goal! Studies have shown that people who have something to look forward to after their work is more motivated.
When her vision had stopped blurring, the tears running tracks down her cheeks and dripping into the curves of her ears, Arete found herself looking not up at the clouds, but a thatched roof.
Thank you for tagging me, @sarandipitywrites! I don't know exactly what's going on in your own nine lines, but, I can feel the tension in your words. "How would Murtagh use him before throwing him away?" Ahhh, it's just so good!
My entire draft is incredibly rusty, but, that's the nature of a first draft, right?
Anyone is free to join! I don't really know nine people to tag, haha.
Anyway, here are my nine lines (ngl, it might be a little bit over):
The lighter sprung to life and Adra tossed it to its master.
As his beard caught aflame and the room turned to ash, she closed her eyes and let the fire roar in her ears. It wouldnât be long before the wind would catch the smoke and alarm the guards, but Adra couldnât leave.
Not yet.
âLet this thread be reunited in the Spindle City,â Her voice was a mere whisper in the roar of flames, the cinders threatened to kiss her cheeks, âMay the Weavers guide your soul and bring you one step closer to the ultimate tapestry. Weber der Zeit, Weber des Raums, Weber der Schopfung, Weber der Zerstorung, leiten siene Reise.â
She wasnât sure if the tears were from the roaring flames or her blackened soul.
Youâre doing this for the good of the people.
tagged by @notwritinganyflufftoday - thank you! find her lines from her magical boys WIP (yes, you read that right) here.
i'll go ahead and send no-pressure tags to @nettleandthorne, @winterandwords, @ahordeofwasps, @atbondolas, @juliannepepper, @authoralexharvey, @innocentlymacabre, @kaiafosterwrites, and @sleepyowlwrites, plus an open tag for anyone who wants in :)
now because i'm super excited for it, have another excerpt from The Art of Empty Space:
Murtagh Sead was attractive. Beautiful, even. But behind his sparkling jewelry and shark skin eyes lay a hunger that made Lienzo's skin crawl. Not for flesh â Murtagh's eyes would linger on Lienzo's crooked canines and the depigmented patches on his face and neck, but never strayed much farther â but for something more. A political game in which Lienzo was little more than a playing piece.
Loyalty. He'd called Lienzo 'loyal.'
And when he had Lienzo's loyalty â when he owed it to Murtagh â what would he do with it? How would Murtagh use him before throwing him away?
Donât forget why youâre writing in the first place: yourself. One of the main reasons you should be writing is so you can enjoy the process, and if you burn out, whoâre you writing it for?
Remember to take regulated breaks. Maybe Iâll make a post talking about how exactly to go on breaks during NaNoWriMo.
Day 3- ouch. Reached my goal and got 200 or so over but still. Not exactly my most focused today. I was hoping to get further ahead than that but it was a struggle just to get that first sprint started. Hopefully after some sleep it won't be as hard to get that momentum going again.
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Day 2-wasn't able to do as many sprints back to back, but I'm fairly consistent with my pacing (roughly 400 words for a 20 minute sprint). So it takes a little over an hour of writing to hit the daily word count.
The other pacing thing I'm worried about is with the story itself. How much time do I spend on one story beat before moving onto the next? I know that structural and flow issues will be addressed in a second draft, I just don't want to reach day 20 and run out of plot. I guess in that case I'll use the remaining words for scenes that could fit elsewhere or scene descriptions to refine the tone. But I'm getting wayyyyyyy ahead of myself.
Speaking of ahead, I'm definitely going to try to add on an extra sprint and see if I can get 200-300 ahead of goal. Simultaneously trying to get ahead if possible while also reminding myself that there's a lot of month ahead. One word at a time.
