THE PLAN
I decided that I had to come up with some kind of plan, some strategy, procedures that would work for me. Actually I don’t know that I decided anything of the sort nor that I came up with much of anything in advance. More accurately, this strategy sort of emerged in the process.
The format
There are probably lots of different word processing programs that would work fine for NaNo. I ended up typing on Microsoft Word and then sending myself regular backups via e-mail attachment. During the month you submit only your word count number to NaNo and then once you reach 50,000 words, you cut and paste the actual document into their little window thingie for them to certify the word count. I discovered that their counter calculated just a little differently than mine – so I made sure to have a few extra before submitting. By the way, I ended up with 61,000 last year. I don’t remember my count at the end of the first November, but I did choose to continue after submission to finish writing the ideas I had and I think I got to nearly 70,000 words by mid-December.
Build a routine
I have learned enough about myself to know that I need routines – particularly in my writing habits. Time of day is very important for me. Some things work well in the evenings or mid-day, but things like walking or writing must be early in the day while I am feeling somewhat energetic. I realized that for a project this ambitious I was going to need to get started very early in the morning so that I could get it done before my day got busy with other obligations – or I would fall behind and get discouraged. Many of my writing friends use very different schedules, but this is the way I must do it or it ain’t gonna’ happen.
Write early in the morning
This may necessitate me being a bit more diligent about a decent bedtime so that I can wake up early. Once I am up and moving, I begin with a few basic practices.
Word count: 2000 words/day
To reach 50,000 words in 30 days means writing an average of 1667 words per day. My goal is to write 2000 words each day. I choose to do this for a couple reasons. First, it gives me a small bit of a cushion so that I can take a day off once in awhile or in case of an unproductive day. But maybe the real reason is the psychological edge. If I am walking with other people, it is not wise for me to walk behind them. For some reason, I “feel” behind and quickly get discouraged and end up slowing down until I get farther and farther behind. But if I walk at the head of the pack, I will push myself to walk much faster and will find extra energy in the process. That has always puzzled me a bit because it sort of seems like the natural thing would be to walk faster if I am feeling left behind, but it doesn’t seem to work that way for me. I notice something similar at play in my writing. Feeling ahead of the game is motivating and exhilarating to me, where falling behind invites the negative vibes and procrastinations.
No editing now
In order to serve my word count goal, I postpone editing for another time. Generally I don’t take time to fix things unless it is something easy and/or obvious. If I know that I don’t like something or it isn’t flowing well or I want to try changing it to something else, I find ways to take note of those thoughts – usually without deleting much of what I’ve already typed. Since my goal is to crank out the words, I don’t want to waste time fussing and deciding what works best at every little point. But I do make lots of notes to myself by using parentheses and braces and brackets and the bold and italics and color highlight buttons with abandon. An added benefit: all of these extra notes end up in my word count. Is that cheating? According to whom? It’s my book; I’m the author and I make the rules – and I have decided that this is perfectly acceptable. Remember; I could be typing “I am writing a novel during November” repeatedly every day if I wished to. Nope, I have discovered that this works for me and I’m the boss. I guess you could say some control issues have surfaced and I rather love being the one in charge.
Speaking of which, there are those squiggly lines that keep popping up and trying to take authority. They try to tell me that I’m doing something wrong. It is my nature to notice them and to want to fix them and sometimes I do. But sometimes I choose to ignore them. And sometimes I yell at them and express my displeasure – through the keys, of course. Seriously. Not kidding. Yep, yep, it helps the word count. Hee-hee.
Writing wardrobe
One fun part of my routine is that I can write in my PJs – which provides a couple benefits. First of all, it is fun and comfy and rather rebellious. Secondly, it feels like an artistic writer thing to do. You know? You hear about eccentric writers who have their own signature garb. Why not? Thirdly, it kinda’ helps define my boundaries. I’m a person with often blurry boundaries between the different parts of my life. I tend to have too many things going on at once, trying to meet multiple demands, starting projects and not finishing, etc. You probably have at least one other goal for November besides NaNo. Lots of my writer friends have real jobs and/or school. So yes, there are other parts to my life, my day, my schedule. My writing uniform helps remind me that I must finish today’s writing quota so that I can then get dressed and ready for the rest of my day.
Internet
During the rest of the year, in my non-November schedule, my normal practice is to get online as one of my first waking acts. This is not a good idea during NaNo so I generally avoid the internet until I get most or all of the day’s writing done. It is astounding how productive and creative I can get when I am not “tuned in” to the interwebs and how dull I become when I’m online. And yes, I admit that this unplugged practice appeals to me for the rest of the year as well. I do love me some technology, but I’ll keep thinking about implementing this change.
Write every day
I have experimented with various ideas about whether to write every day or not. I thought maybe I would write on Monday through Friday and take the week-end off. Some NaNo buddies tend to write in bigger bunches. Methinks that plan would not work for me. Again I hate to feel behind, but mostly I need that routine, that daily-ness, that regularity. I have noticed that the “here I am again, I can do this thing” is a gradual muscle builder. By writing 2000 words a day, I do have that cushion so I can take a day or two off if I choose to, but I seem to prefer to at least flex those muscles and keep the habit alive – because yah, once I break the routine, it is so easy to let it go again… and again… and it is so hard to get it back. Ack!
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