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Preparing for NaNoWriMo the 2014 edition

December 27, 2019

10/14/2013
It’s October which means all over the world writers are gearing up for NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. It’s a project with a basic aim – during the month of November enthusiastic writers from across the globe set themselves the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in a single month. (Some crazy people set themselves 100,000 word challenges and other seemingly unattainable goals but let’s just leave them off to the side, shall we?)

Here is the link to the official site http://nanowrimo.org/

In 2012 I wrote a series of blog posts on how to prepare for this epic event. If you haven’t read them they cover topics such as like plotting, meal preparation, eliminating distractions and even exercise.

They were:
Part 1 – Plan Your Writing
Part 2 – Plan Your Life for NaNoWriMo
Part 3 – Plan the month of Writing – or tips to
succeed.
Part 4 – Plan to Care for your Body ( A Guest post from physiotherapist & author Terri Green)

This year I have a few more suggestions I’d like to make. I completed NaNoWriMo again last year and it was kind of rough. The reasons for that were many and varied but largely I ignored my own advice and made things harder for myself than they needed to be.

Here are a few general tried and true tips that I think you should follow even if you don’t go read my other highly detailed posts.

1. This is not the time to genre hop.
If you think you’d like to write an epic fantasy but you don’t have a plot and you usually write sweet romances, chances are you will fail. You’ll stall, you won’t have structures or the habits you’re used to using to fall back on. Write what you know how to write. (I didn’t do this last year and while I did finish there is no way that novel is even a little bit salvageable).

2. Do some planning.
I don’t mean a detailed plot map, unless that’s how you usually roll, but have a think about your story in the coming weeks. Have a beginning in mind, gather a cast of characters in your imagination and get some vision together. It will make it easier.

3. Get Ahead.
If you can get even a little bit ahead it seems to bode well for success. Tell yourself it’s 2,000 words a day not 1677, even that really helps. If you can while that story is fresh and you’re feeling it hit that word count hard the first few days. This year 1st November is a Friday. Make that weekend count. If you can really get a good start then you will be set up for a good month.

4. Every day counts – make that every minute.
The fifteen minutes you usually waste waiting at the school gate sitting in the car, your lunch break (right I know, no one gets an hour anymore), the ten minutes you have while you wait for the pasta water to boil and the pasta to cook now all have value. You can maybe squeeze out a few hundred words during each…that might be half your daily word count. Set a timer and do a sprint for 15 minutes or half an hour, you’ll be amazed how many words you generate. This small blocks of time we usually waste really keen make a big difference to your NaNoWriMo success or failure.

5. Get a support crew
It’s often recommended you tell everyone your writing a book this November. (I don’t hold with that necessarily because people don’t seem to care overly, you may spend valuable time explaining this to someone you barely know and you just won’t get that time back and let’s face it they probably think it’s a nutty pursuit.)

I recommend you tell all the people that matter. For me this has two prongs. So to me that means tell the people you live with because they need to know and they can help you or hinder you. Tell your friend who you know will drop past wanting to have a coffee/ a wine/ a whinge or talk about themselves ad nauseum (not that I have any friends like that). Tell that person on the committee you refused to assist on that you still can’t help. You get the idea.

Basically, tell people who will want time you don’t have so that they understand why you’re distracted and you can say “Hey, remember I’m doing this write a novel in a month thing, can we maybe see a movie in December”.

And tell your cheerleaders – your husband or boyfriend who wants you to succeed, tell your writing buddies so you can have them call to check on you and you can discuss plot holes, writers block and all the people who want to suck your time. These are the people who will keep your bottom in the chair (“Don’t move, I’ll make dinner” or “Let’s do a writing sprint – go!) and who you need in your corner so you need to tell them.

6. Have fun
Writing is fun (sometimes/usually). Setting out to write a book in a month (well a first draft anyway) is a silly idea, it’s a fanciful notion so enjoy the whimsy of it.

We’re so sensible and grown up most of the time. We keep our feet firmly planted here in a reality made up of jobs and mortgages, of orthodontist visits, carpools and spreadsheets. We’re polite to people who probably don’t deserve it and we put our needs aside for others.

This November enjoying the art of make believe. Relish the opportunity to create a new world full of new characters and adventures. Celebrate the idea that you can have new ideas and take chances all without leaving the comfort of your keyboard.

Comments

Melissa
10/14/2013 12:21:16 pm

Great tips. I’ve attempted NaNoWriMo the last couple of years & failed both times… must get more organised for this year!

Sarah Belle
10/14/2013 03:02:40 pm

Excellent advice, Monique! I am a NaNoWriMo virgin but will be popping my cherry this year – definitely with your advice!
Reply
Monique
10/14/2013 03:50:07 pm

Melissa I really think organisation and planning are the keys to success.
Reply
Monique
10/14/2013 03:50:46 pm

Sarah Belle we can cheer each other along!

Cinthia Ritchie
10/28/2015 05:25:15 am

Love these idea, and so helpful, too. This is my first year attempting NaNoWriMo and while I have my novel somewhat mapped and my characters profiled, etc., the idea of writing, and producing, each day is rather daunting. Scary, actually. I love that you said that it’s a silly idea. Because it is. But it’s also kind of a brilliant, too. Cheers and happy writing.
Reply
Monique
10/29/2015 04:27:06 pm

Good luck Cinthia. If you want to buddy up on the NaNo site let me know. It is silly but also lots of fun.

Erika
10/28/2015 05:52:38 am

Thanks for the advice – this will be my 3rd year, and I’m hoping a different approach might let me win this time!
Reply
Monique
10/29/2015 04:27:49 pm

I’m sure you’ll win this time…think of all you learned from the last experiences…you’ll nail it!

Julie Valerie @Julie_Valerie
10/28/2015 08:48:26 am

I definitely think the key to NaNoWriMo is having your ducks in a row by November 1. Outline, plan, plot. And then WRITE your tail off! It’s so much fun. But I do wonder who chose November as the month. Ugh! Such a busy time of the year.
Reply
Monique
10/29/2015 04:29:57 pm

November is actually a good month for me…and I like ending the year on a writing high…

Pauline Wiles
10/28/2015 09:35:57 am

Love these tips, especially about getting ahead and making the small bits of time count. Thanks, from a first time NaNo-er!
Reply
Monique
10/29/2015 04:28:43 pm

One thing I love about NaNo actually is it holds a mirror up to how much time we waste…not a bad reminder for us writers.
Reply
Monique
10/29/2015 04:30:24 pm

Good luck!!!! You can do it.

Jackie Bouchard
10/28/2015 03:17:09 pm

Great tips! I’ve only done Nano once, but I finished, and that book eventually got turned into “Rescue Me, Maybe.” One of these days I’d like to do it again – but, man, it’s tough! Best of luck to you!

Tracy Krimmer
10/28/2015 04:43:30 pm

I’m not genre hopping, but writing a YA romance instead of adult 🙂

Cassandra Piat
10/29/2015 03:24:39 am

That sounds like a lot of hard work and a lot of fun 🙂 Thanks for the great advice. Will have to give it a try one day!

Sandie
10/29/2015 04:16:05 pm

I lol’d at “I ignored my own advice”.

I’ve not done NaNo, but your tips are awesome.
Reply
Monique
10/29/2015 04:29:19 pm

Thanks Sandie!

Melissa Sugar
10/24/2016 03:23:05 pm

Fabulous post chock full of informative tips for getting a jump start on NaNo and crossing the finish line. I especially like the tips about getting ahead when we can. You never know when you won’t be able to write on a certain day, so getting ahead really helps. And even those 15-30 minute increments add up. I’ve written some of my best work while waiting on kids to finish soccer practice or waiting for them to come out to the car at one place or another. I have complete solitude and nothing like a television to distract me and usually no one to interrupt me. Thanks for sharing your suggestions. I wanted to let you know that when I clicked on the links you provided for more NaNo tips ( you’d written in previous years or maybe from other bloggers- not sure now) the links didn’t work. It could be a problem on my end. I don’t know if anyone else had the same problem. I got one of those 404 page messages. Just thought you would want to know, in case you need to fix a broken link. I’m sure everyone else is as eager as I am to read more of your helpful ideas and tips. Thanks again and good luck with NaNo this year.

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What did we learn during NaNoWriMo 2012?

December 23, 2019

12/3/2012

Wow it’s December 4th already here in Australia, so a little bit of time has past and the dust has settled on the NaNoWriMo experience.

This was definitely not my best NaNoWriMo to date. On the creative front I never really fell in love with the characters in my book, they were uncooperative and they frustrated me. I usually write characters I like and these girls were annoying.

I started writing in third person and ended up switching to first person with all three characters telling their own story and that definitely worked better. Still, even with that I don’t see myself going back and doing anything with the book.

So that aside let’s focus on what was achieved and how and what went wrong and why.

I’ll be honest I always consider finishing NaNoWriMo to be a huge achievement but this year, despite what I said above, it was mammoth for me. My November was insanely busy. I had so many social functions I can barely believe my husband’s 50th birthday party was only a month ago – it feels like a dim memory. Add in a weekend away and a school reunion and several birthday dinners and I didn’t know who I was some days.

Of course I also had work to do. That’s new for me in general and especially with NaNoWriMo. I run a boutique PR consultancy and this time last year we were not busy and now we are. It’s wonderful and I’m loving what I’m doing but that definitely meant more to juggle.

So given all of that I am pleased with the outcome.

Now to the nitty gritty.

I lost 3,000 words about a week in. My computer did some weird update…I’m not sure even now how it happened as it seems to autosave every five minutes but it did happen and it really took the wind out of my sails. So our first lesson is be very careful with your technology. I can’t guarantee that won’t happen again, as I still don’t know how it happened but save, save, save.

I wrote some posts about being organised and I totally think that is the key to success. I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been as I had lots of work deadlines at the end of October but still stocking up on food, preparing meals ahead really saved me. It was great to throw that pasta bake in the oven and write for forty minutes while it cooked for example.

I set my computer up a bit differently based on the advice Terri Green provided on this blog and I didn’t get the crippling sore neck I often do, which was a huge win.

You also really need to follow some basic principles…try and get ahead at the start, write more than the 1667 word minimum each day, use every 1/2 hour block you have because every 200 words makes a difference.

The lesson I learn every time I do NaNoWriMo is the same – I waste a lot of time in a day I can find an hour a day to write…the time is there if I go in search of it but it will not find me or be obvious about it’s whereabouts.

If you did NaNoWriMo in 2012 what did you learn?

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Songs for my NaNoWriMo characters

December 23, 2019

11/21/2012

My NaNoWriMo novel isn’t going to plan and frankly the main characters are annoying me…but here is a theme song for each.
For Ashley – Missy Higgins – Scar.

For Sophia – Sting – Fields of Gold
And for the lovely Cat – my favourite character – California Dreaming by the Mamas and the Papas.

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Struggling with #NaNoWriMo – a song for you

December 23, 2019

11/8/2012

My NaNoWriMo has stalled but I’ll be back on deck tomorrow. Life intervened as I knew it would. Lots of people are looking and blank pages and screens and thinking “I’ve got nothing!”

Or they have too many thoughts and can’t make them sensible on paper…

For all of us writing and struggling and persisting a song Just Jack – Writers Block. Have a fabulous day. I hope your muse shows up for coffee.

Comments

Imelda Evasn
11/8/2012 07:26:46 am

November is always tricky for me, but that’s why I took up the challenge – so I wouldn’t give up altogether. Back on the horse shortly!
Reply
Monique
11/8/2012 07:31:49 am

Maybe we can hop back on and ride off together to a quite place where we aren’t interrupted.

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NaNoWriMo – the final prep post.

December 23, 2019

10/28/2012

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts November 1st or this Thursday. Hopefully if you’ve not done it before, or done it in a crazy panic some of my Preparing for NaNoWriMo posts here on the blog have been helpful.

Part One – Plan your writing
http://moniquemcdonell.weebly.com/2/post/2012/10/preparing-for-nanowrimo-part-1-plan-the-writing.html

Part Two – Planning your life
http://moniquemcdonell.weebly.com/2/post/2012/10/nanowrimo-planning-your-life.htm

Part 3 – Organising your life
http://moniquemcdonell.weebly.com/2/post/2012/10/how-to-survive-nanowrimo-part-3-organise-your-writing-life.html

Part 4 -Care for your body
http://moniquemcdonell.weebly.com/2/post/2012/10/nanowrimoplanning-series-part-4-plan-to-care-for-your-body.html

I suppose one of the things we should also discuss is – why do it at all?

If you’ve always wanted to write a book and never done it because it’s too hard, you don’t have time, your a perfectionist, you start but you never finish…the list of reasons why could be long…this your chance to churn out a book (that will be fifty steps from perfect) in a short amount of time and then you can say “I did it.” There’s nothing wrong with achieving a goal, is there?

If you have a great idea that’s been churning around in your head this is a wonderful way to get it on paper and then you have something to work with…something to edit and mould in the future.

If you do write but you are the sort of person who has to re-work the same three pages for six months then NaNoWriMo is a great way for you to make some serious forward progress on a book.

Do you assume a book written in a month will be useless rubbish and therefore this exercise is a waste of time? Well as your book stands at the end of November it probably is useless rubbish but lots of NaNoWriMo books end up getting published – after plenty of editing and re-writing down the track. Like Water for Elephants came from Sara Gruen’s NaNoWriMo novel. My friend Pam Cook’s novel Blackwattle Lake is being published by Hachette at the end of November and it was a NaNoWriMo novel. Hearts Afire my latest novel started out as a NaNoWriMo book.

What you end up with is the bones of a novel around which to build.

The main reason you should do it, if you like writing, is that it’s fun! It may be slightly tortured and frustrating fun but at the end of November you do feel pretty darn pleased with yourself, and there’s nothing at all wrong with that.

Comments

Lauren
10/28/2012 12:02:59 pm

hank you for your series of NaNoWriMo posts. I’ve found all of them useful and will use some of the hints throughout November.

I am the kind of person that spends ages editing a couple of paragraphs or pages, so I look forward to pushing on and not editing until after NaNo. I’ve been preparing for almost a month, and really can’t wait until 1st November when I can actually start writing.
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Monique
10/28/2012 12:07:52 pm

Thanks Lauren. I’m the same now…bring on Nov 1st.

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NaNoWriMo Planning Series – Part 4 – Plan to care for Your Body

December 23, 2019

10/19/2012

NANO Body Survival Tips

THIS IS A GUEST POST BY AUTHOR AND PHYSIOTHERAPIST TERRI GREEN.

I have done NANOWRIMO twice, the first year completing 30000 words, the second year, the magic 50000 and there’s just no getting around the fact that if you take on the challenge you will be spending a lot of time facing a computer screen.

In my day job I am a physiotherapist in private practice in an area surrounded by technology companies so not surprisingly I see a lot of people with what I call, Computer Related Aches and Pains (otherwise known as CRAP syndrome). (You won’t find the syndrome under that name if you google it since I made it up.) Here are a few tips to help you avoid CRAP syndrome in the nano month and any other month you spend time tapping at a keyboard.

There are some great websites to help you set up your own workspace more ergonomically. Here are some I recommend.

1. www.ergo.human.cornell.edu
Click on ‘workstation’ for advice on workstation set-up. Click on ‘where it hurts’ for good trouble shooting tips.

2. www.ergonomics.ucla.edu/
A good explanation of injuries and prevention.

3. www.healthycomputing.com/
This one has a good online tutorial.

4. www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
Do a search of ergonomic principles

The main points to address are as follows.

Good lumbar support is essential.
Maintaining the slight curve in the small of your back when you are sitting automatically puts the rest of the spine into better alignment. Most office-type chairs have reasonable lumbar support but this may need adjusting which brings me to the next point.

Adjust your chair. Sounds obvious but often chairs can do more than you realise. Most chairs have a gas lift height adjustment on the right. Some also have adjustable tilt of the backrest. On many chairs the lumbar support can be raised or lowered or the chair back itself may lift up or down to accommodate different body lengths. Don’t have a decent chair or move from place to place? Don’t despair…

Get a back support or cushion. There are stacks of lumbar supports on the market and different products will suit different bodies. Some are contoured; some have chambers that allow for variable airflow and pressure. Some that I have used and like include:- The Body Bolster, Back Vitalizer (but both are pricey but provide changing pressure as well as support), the Body Assist Deluxe Back Rest Cushion and the Obusforme lumbar support cushion. All are available online. Just Google, click and order. Lumbar rolls can also be helpful as can the humble rolled up towel, basically anything that feels comfortable and fits your body well will add to the body happiness quotient.

Adjust your computer screen height. The screen should be directly in front of you and the top line of text at eye height. Check this by holding a ruler or builder’s tape from your eye height to your screen. Common problems are having the screen too low which can cause neck and upper back strain or not sitting front-on which causes prolonged or repetitive twisting and neck or upper back pain.

Lap tops are not for laps for any length of time unless you want to spend a lot of time with your physio or chiropractor. The screen is too close to the keyboard leading to a hunched over, head dropped posture. Okay for a quick fifteen minute email check or nano sprint but a guaranteed recipe for CRAP if you do this all the time. I see a lot of teenagers with sore necks from using their laptop or iPad in bed!! If you use a lap top as your only computer you need a separate keyboard plus a laptop riser or stand. This does not need to be high-tech or expensive. Anything that puts the screen at your eye height will do. A couple of reams of copy paper make a perfectly good laptop stand as do ring binders and big fat old telephone books. A separate keyboard is the one item not to scrimp on. If you write on the go the shorter keyboards without the right hand number pad are less bulky to cart around.

Footrests are essential if you can’t put your feet flat on the ground. Again, you can improvise if you don’t want to have to buy one or are working at the library or your local café. A scrunched up back-pack or a couple of books is better than dangling your feet for hours, although the librarian may not think so. Some people find a footrest with built-in motion works for them. A half-blown up beach ball or a foam roller under your feet is one way to keep moving and improve the circulation. Doing nano is a bit like going a plane trip every day for a month and just like on a long plane trip you will be a lot less achy if you…

Stand up. A lot of offices are now using work stations that can move up and down so you can sit or stand up to work at the computer. You may be able to set up a standing workstation at home and alternate between sitting and standing. Failing that, just make sure you stand up and walk around at least every hour. Recent research has shown that walking for a few minutes every 20-30 minutes does not just help the muscles and joints but also has an effect on leveling insulin and blood glucose levels. And what do writers need for concentration and inspiration? A steady supply of glucose to the brain. So instead of reaching for the chocolate bar to up the sugar levels, try having a walk or stretch instead. Or at least, walk to the kitchen the long way.

Stretch.
Bodies are not designed to stay in the one position all the time. When you sit a lot certain muscles get tighter than others. The tight spots are usually, neck/shoulders, low back, hamstrings (back of knee and thigh), hip flexors (front of hips). I won’t go into specific stretches here. That’s a whole other article. Yoga can be fantastic and several five minute bursts can be just as effective as trying to find a bigger chunk of time. The yoga poses that are good for writers include, spinal twist (you can do a modified version in your chair), cobra, child pose, triangle, and warrior. Good old shoulder rolls and neck side bends are great for neck stiffness. Try doing a few whenever your fingers are idle and the brain is in neutral.

Exercise.
Yes. The ‘E’ word. ‘But I won’t have time!’ I hear you protest. Perhaps getting to the gym or doing-time intensive exercise may fall by the wayside but walking around the house is exercise. A good strategy to stay on top of chores and keep moving is to use housework as a movement break; vacuum cleaner sprints, a power sweep, even a quick swish of the toilet bowl gives your body some movement and gets over the fear of entering the bathroom during Nano because you may not like the tide mark you encounter. If you have stairs at home, taking a few trips up and down every hour is a simple way to build in some exercise. Remember, for preventing CRAP four lots of five minutes worth of exercise is even better than one twenty minute session.

Fresh Air. Grab it when you can. It’s great for energy levels and great for morale. A little bit of sunshine is even better. A lot of office workers have low levels of vitamin D especially in winter because they do not get enough exposure to sunlight. There are tables available online that tell you how much you need per day as this varies depending on where you live, the time of year and your skin type. And Last but not least…

Try a Timer. It’s easy to get so absorbed in your writing you don’t realise you have been sitting in the same position for two hours. Try using a timer, your phone or a screen saver to remind you to get up and move. Writing to a timer can also make you work faster and more productively. Just don’t get one of those loud ticking ones because at some point you may want to throw it across the room.

Thanks to Terri

Comment

Jenn J McLeod
10/20/2012 09:14:30 am

Sensational! I love Terri Green’s advice. (I remember giggling my way thru a Hearts Talk column one day). All great advice and I mostly follow, but the feet motion is a new one. Will do. As for Nano, my two books I sold to Simon & Schuster were the result of Nano (and RWA’s 50k in 30days) in 2010. So go for it everyone. You never, never know.

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How to survive NaNoWriMo – Part 3, Organise Your Writing Life

December 23, 2019

10/14/2012

Part 3 of this series is all about organising yourself to maximise your writing time and achieve results during NaNoWriMo…

I’m not an expert but I have ‘won’ or completed NaNoWriMo four times and failed once so I know what didn’t work for me as well as what does.

Some of these ideas are fairly obvious and others may not be but I hope that at least a couple help you reach the elusive 50,000 word mark.

Apart from the first tip they are in no specific order.

1. Lie to yourself
Yes, you did read that correctly. To successfully finish NaNoWriMo you must write an average of 1,667 words a day. Now that you know that fact forget it. What you need to do to succeed at that challenge is in fact write 2,000 words a day from the start. I can hear you now saying “But Monique I don’t want to write 60,000 words. Just 50,000 will do me fine.”

Of course! However the psychological value of being ahead is huge – I can’t stress that enough. It’s a daunting task, so once you slide behind you get overwhelmed easily (ask me how I know). If you’re ahead you feel better. If you’re ahead on day 14 when you hit a wall or get sick or a life crisis hits well…it’s not the end of the world. So lie to yourself it’s a 2,000 word daily minimum. (You can thank me later!)

2. Write every day
Now if life is working with you not against you and you can follow the first piece of advice easily then you are already writing every day but if you have a day when your car brakes down, your child gets the vomits, your friend comes over to cry on your shoulder the best advice I can give you is find fifteen minutes or half an hour and write as much as you can. It’s heartening to see your word count go up, you won’t brake the rhythm and more importantly you keep your head in the story.

3. If possible go hard and go early.
If you can get ahead, I mean have a 3,000 or 5,000 word day at the start then you have a huge advantage in terms of word count and for all the reasons I stated in my first tip. The first part of the story the ideas usually flow. You have lost to describe about the characters and their emotions and their world. This is the stuff you’ve hopefully been thinking about in October and now, while it is fresh try and get it down on the page. Before the slef-doubt and the inner critic stop by.

4. Know they self
I am not a morning person. This is a fact. If you know me, you know this to be a very true thing. I am not a person who is going to get up at five in the morning to write. You might be that sort of person but are useless after eight at night. Know yourself and try and work to your strengths. You do have to find ‘extra’ time to reach this goal so you also have to be flexible. Maybe you can’t get up two hours early but you can get up half an hour early, get dressed, make the lunches and sit down for a half an hour at eight. Or stay up for half an hour later. I’m saying stretch yourself a bit but don’t set yourself up to fail.

5. Sprint
On the NaNoWriMo forums they have things they call sprints. People all over the world start off and write as many words as they can at a certain time for fifteen minutes or half an hour. These are great to join but you can do them alone. It’s 10.30am and you write like a maniac till 11am. You’ll be amazed how many words you can do in that time and you might well keep going…

6. All time counts
As writers we often say “I only have fifteen minutes” or “that’s not long enough to achieve anything”. Well bansih such thinking. In the car at your kid’s soccer training, the train trip to work, your lunch break, while your child watches Sesame Street – these moments normally wasted are now used for writing. And remember how I told you to record all your favourite shows to watch later – well I’ve given you a few hours there already. In fact the average American watches 4 hours a day of TV…or 28 hours a week…so you’ve now got an extra 28 hours a week to write or over 100 hours in November. (Back to the know thy self point…you may be better to still watch an hour as a reward when you hit your words if the cold turkey approach won’t work for you). Also try and limit/monitor how much time you waste on social media, surfing the net etc…they’re time sucks…and they’ll still be there in December.

7. Do not edit
When I was about 18 two of my good friends dated Swedish twins. When I would drive them around and ask for directions they would say “Yust go for-ward”. Which meant of course, “Just go forward” instead of the more popular straight ahead. To successfully complete your manuscript in November follow that advice…no going back, no revising and no editing. (If you have a linear story it is easier to write chronologically as well to prevent the urge to edit but not everyone does – still the advice holds.)

8. Back-up your work
It’s obvious and yet….

9. Rewards
This links back to number six. I once had the most boring job ever…I just didn’t have enough to do but I had to look busy (long story). So I had an elaborate reward system running in my head. I rationed out when I could have a coffee, when I could go to the loo (because I passed reception and might get a 15 minute chat in as a bonus), when I could have lunch (as late as possible so the afternoon was short). Now I do the same with writing and I know lots of people do. You can make that phone call/coffee/dash to the corner store when you hit a certain word count or after a certain amount of time…it does help.

I have other tips but I’d love to hear yours.

And I’m adding a 4th part to this series in the form of a guest post on taking care of your body/physical self during NaNoWriMo. It’s solid advice for writers all year round…stay tuned.

Comments

Lauren James
10/14/2012 07:01:17 pm

Hi Monique,

Thank you for this series of blog posts on preparing for NaNo. I’m participating for the first time this year and even though some of these tips I’d thought of, others wouldn’t have crossed my mind. They’re definitely going to help.

My biggest problem will be not editing. When I’m tempted, I’ll be sure to remember “Yust go for-ward”

Cheers,
Lauren
Reply
Monique
10/14/2012 07:13:02 pm

Please say it with a strong Swedish accent Lauren, as I always do! It’s very hard not to edit…I think that’s huge for everyone.

Pamela Cook
10/15/2012 09:15:56 am

Great advice Monique. Especially the “go forward” (said with an accent!) and the rewards. Keeping track of your word count on the nano site is great – seeing that line go up is a wonderful motivator and seeing it flatline or go down can help you get your butt back in the chair. Good luck all nano-ers!
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Monique
10/15/2012 03:05:42 pm

That line going up is a HUGE motivator Pam, so true!

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NaNoWriMo – Planning your Life

December 23, 2019

10/7/2012

We’ve planned out our writing in the last post so now we’re planning our life for November so we can actually get ourselves through the month.

1. Calendar
You probably have some things that you can’t move – for example work, your mother’s birthday, your child’s dance recital, your school reunion so block those things in.

I’ll use myself as an example I work from home so that’s fixed but my schedule changes a bit so I will block in what I can. My November also includes among other things:
1st – bookclub
3rd/4th – weekend away/husband’s b’day party
8th – selling my books at and helping run the school Night Markets
14th – tickets to a musical
17th – school reunion
18th – family outing with another family

That’s a lot of stuff so that’s it I need to say a big fat no to any more social engagements in November. I’m not big on the word “No”. In fact I’m shocking so I just have to be tough.

2. Prepare for anything you can in advance
So if you have birthdays in November for example, go and get the gifts now in October. I’m selling my books at the Night Markets so I’ve already ordered the books, postcards, a banner and other promotional material so that I’m not running around on the 8th doing that.

3. Tell people you’re doing NaNoWriMo
This isn’t something people will guess at so you need to tell them – “Hey I’m writing a 50,000 word novel in November, so if you want to meet for coffee we better do it now or in December”.

4. Plan to make the most of small increments of time.
Do you have half an hour to wait while your child does soccer practice? A 40 minute train trip to work? A lunch break and somewhere you can drag your computer? Plan to use this time so – keep your battery charged to write – or use this time to make the phone calls or send the e-mails you usually do at other times and use that time to write.

5. Do a menu plan (especially if you make or plan the meals at your place)
Most of us spend a lot of time planning, shopping and preparing meals. It’s so much easier with a meal plan. It’s not that hard. Plan meals that are quick, you can use a slow cooker for, you can make ahead and freeze or you can delegate. (We don’t eat take out so that’s not part of my plan and I think you need veggies)

Monday – spaghetti & meatballs (pre-made), salad and delegate to the kids (Just reheating and boiling pasta)
Tuesday – slow cooker roast chicken and veggies (slow cooker)
Wednesday – tacos (premade meat) and delegate to the kids
Thursday – chicken stir fry (use leftover chicken) under 15 minutes
Friday – bbq steaks and salad (Delegate to hubby)
Saturday – hm pizza ( buy dough or make it) and have family assemble
Sunday – soup and quesadillas

6. Do a cook up
Some things you can do to prepare are easy and versatile and will get you several meals some examples:
– make a batch of bolognese sauce (for pasta, pasta bake, lasagne)
– make a batch of meatballs – subs, spaghetti & meatballs, on pizzas,
– make a batch of chicken kebabs and freeze in marinades – eg lemon & herbs, satay, pesto
– make a freeze some soup
– make a batch of twice-baked potatoes

7. Get Ahead
If you can get your laundry up to date, have your Christmas list written, do a big grocery shop then it will help you.

I have more thoughts on this but I would love to hear your comments.

I also have a cooking blog that is more than a little neglected but there are some good recipes over there…

Comments

Carol C
10/7/2012 09:35:12 am

Great meal ideas – I will be stealing these for November!
Another tip would be to organise your writing space. Clear out all the clutter and only have items relevant to your Nanowrimo story. Now to tidy my desk …
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Monique
10/7/2012 10:08:57 am

Good advice Carol…

I thought of another one…set your DVR to series record any shows you can’t miss…TV can be such a time-suck!
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Allison Tait
link
10/7/2012 09:31:36 pm

Great tips! I have a posse all primed for NaNo this year, so I’ll be sure to share!
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Monique
10/8/2012 07:38:06 am

Thanks Alison. Part 3 will be up in a couple of days!

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Preparing for NaNoWriMo – Part 1 Plan the Writing

December 23, 2019

10/3/2012

If you don’t know what NaNoWrimo is you can check out all the details here http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard

Essentially in the month of November thousands of people around the world set out with a common goal…to write a 50,000 word novel in that single month. That sounds easy enough doesn’t it? Ok it doesn’t sound easy and it’s not easy but it is doable.

I have completed this task several times and so now I am here with some advice to help others.

I’m giving this advice now – in early October – because a little bit of planning really does help. You know that expression – plan to fail, fail to plan. I’m a HUGE believer so get ready…this is a three part post.

There are lots of writers who write thousands of words year round….I admire those people but they’re probably not worried about completing NaNoWriMo. For the rest of us we get stalled, life intervenes and we lose confidence so hopefully these tips will help.

Part 1 – Plan Your Writing
Part 2 – Plan Your Life for NaNoWriMo
Part 3 – Plan the month of Writing – or tips to succeed.

You’re not allowed to write any of your novel in the lead-up but you are allowed to think about it and map it out a bit so here are a few tips for preparation and for the month of November. If you have any I would love to read them in the comments section. (Hint! Hint!)

1. Do come up with a rough story idea…and have a good hard think about it. Waking up on November the first unsure if you’ll write a mystery, a romantic suspense or a teen romance will not make your task easier.

2. Have a starting point – this may not necessarily be the start of the novel, although that is nice and simple- but a point at which you can get up and sit at your desk and write.

3. Do not write a story you’ve tried to write before and failed at…you need to be charged up to make this work and if you’re ambivalent or stalled before you start..you will fail.

4. If you have some plot or scene ideas write them on palm cards or make a file so when you’re blocked later on you can refer back to them eg Cindy loses her keys at the laundromat or the zombies go for coffee at Starbucks or drive along the Amalfi Coast.

5. You can do character maps/profiles so you for your characters so these may help get your brain in the zone and also give you ideas to draw on.

6. If you’re visual thinker make a Pinterest board or cut photos from magazines…I have a Pinterest post here. http://moniquemcdonell.weebly.com/2/post/2012/09/using-pinterest-to-help-write-and-inspire-your-novels.html

7. Get a memory stick to back up your work

Next up Plan Your Life…this is actually the really important one….

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A November wrap up – a little late

December 13, 2021

We’re drawing to the end of 2022 if you can believe that. No, I can’t either.

It’s been a crazy year with lockdowns and life changes and adjustments for me.

Compared to recent years, it looks like I’ve had a light publishing schedule, but the truth is I’ve been working away on a couple of pen names that have kept me very busy. These pen names write books in different genres and they’ve been lots of fun to develop.

So while books under my Monique McDonell name, there have been fewer books, I will have published 9 full-length novels, 2 novellas and 7 short books (10k) this year. That’s around 500,000 words…and I also have my March 2022 Monique McDonell novel drafted so that’s another 50,000 words. No wonder I’m a little tired.

Anyway, what I’m here to talk about is my November (yes I am aware it’s now December). As well as finally getting to see family after 4 months and some travel to see my daughter who lives 6 hours away (Sniff. Sniff) I did some cool writing things.

First of all one of the great gifts of 2022 for me has been the writing community here in Newcastle, NSW where I now live. I was invited to join both the Hunter Romance Writers and the Newcastle Romance Writers groups. There is some overlap of membership but the groups are quite different and I love both for different reasons. The Hunter group is smaller, tends to meet online but has more indie authors like me, whereas the Newcastle group meets in person and is a wider cross-section of people (more chances to make friends).

Newcastle Writers Retreat 2022 Attendees

Anyway, to that end I helped organise and was lucky to attend the first Newcastle Romance Writers Rereat in November. We probably shouldn’t call it a retreat – it was more of a one day conference. regardless of the name it was a truly awesome day.

It was a full day of writing, presentations and roundtables. Eighteen of us attended to discuss everything from great openings to conflict to book marketing.

As none of us can get to the Romance Writers of Australia conference due to COVID travel restrictions and border closures, this was a nice dose of professional development and camaraderie in a year where both have been lacking.

Lighthouse Arts

Another exciting thing that happened this November was I’ve been part of the inaugural group of Artists in Residence in the Lighthouse Arts Program.

Here’s a little about the program. Lighthouse Arts aims to increase the sustainability and visibility of the arts and culture sector of
Newcastle City and the Hunter region.
Lighthouse Arts is an initiative of Hunter Writers Centre inc., a not-for-profit, incorporated
association established in 1995 and the peak literary hub of the Hunter region NSW.
Initial funding for Lighthouse Arts has been received via the Industry Response Taskforce grant from the City of Newcastle to provide support for cultural practitioners. Access to Nobbys-
Whibayganba headland has been obtained under a licence agreement between Hunter Writers Centre and Port Authority NSW.
The project site is Nobbys-Whibayganba headland. Read its history here.
Lighthouse Arts’ purpose is to provide supportive, professional and accessible spaces and
presentation opportunities that foster the development of creative practitioners affected by
Covid-19, to build a legacy for future creatives and for audiences to experience diverse art forms
and culture.
The project includes: Studio Spaces for Artists-in-Residence on weekdays and, on
weekends, a live events space, an Arts Trading Store and an exhibition space known as The House
of Stories.
The program invites creative practitioners to help build a community to produce or advance works
and offer your original, contemporary creations for exhibition and for sale.

The project was meant to kick-off mid year, but it didn’t due to more lockdowns, so we headed up the hill to the Lighthouse in early November. My residency has included a gorgeous office every Tuesday to focus on my writing in. I’ve met loads of other writers and creatives as well. I applied to participate with the key objective of connecting with local creatives and I’ve done that.

Sadly, I have only one more week, but it’s truly been a privilege to have the experience and the opportunity.

National Novel Writing Month

Once again I participated in National Novel Writing Month. If you follow this blog at all you’ll already know it’s a global challenge where authors, established and aspiring, commit to writing a 50,000 word novel – the first draft at least – in a month. If you’re new to my blog, you can get the scoop here.

I’ve been doing it on and off since about 2006 and most years – unless I’m travelling – I manage to hot that target. This time I was working on a book for a new multi-author series I’m part of in 2022.

Anyway, as that little image shows – I completed my book. Yay for me!

So no wonder it took me a little while to get to this blog post – that was a lot to cover and catch up from.

Onward through December and into an amazing 2022, I hope.

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Thanks to Terri Comment

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Lighthouse Arts

National Novel Writing Month

Thanks to Terri

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