Today I just got my book printed out for the second time, so now it’s time to FINISH COMPLETELY editing the thing! It makes me excited because, well, after that is the fun part. Or maybe the not so fun part. There’s probably both in there, but I am trusting God wholeheartedly because He is the one who gave me the idea, the strength the write that book, all 56061 words. He’s not going to leave me now. He has a plan, and I’m going with it openminded.
The real reason I signed on here today is because one my of my fave bloggers Helene has a writing community and check list for you for FREE in honor of NaNoWriMo! And it’s amazing. Don’t miss out on this! With NaNoWriMo coming up fast, these resources will definitely come in handy.
I also thought now would be a good time to give you a complete guide to what NaNoWriMo is, how to prepare for it, and just some tips I have.
What is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month taking place through the entire month of November. Your goal is to write 50,000 words through the whole month. I know, that’s a lot! Don’t freak out yet. I have tips coming. It is a great way to keep track of your progress and get motivated to write!
Let’s prepare!
Create your account. Obviously a no brainer. Come be my writing buddy here! Don’t worry about account details yet unless you want to. I still have a lot to add, so that’s probably the first thing you should do.
Create your novel. This will be one of the first things it asks. You can fill in as many details as you want. I just put my current title, the genre, and a quick summary. See it here.
Take lots of notes. I have like 15 drafts on my blog of quick notes or quotes to go into my book. These are your ideas. They don’t need to be organized right now, just let them come.
Put together an outline. Now is probably a good time to organize since there’s a week left. You can always add and change things, but you at least need to organize your ideas you’ve taken and put together an outline of your story. I personally do my outlines chapter by chapter, but you could do it part by part or page by page. It’s all up to you and your preference, but I do recommend you have something to go off of.
Here are my tips:
Just because your goal is 50,000 words, don’t worry about it. The whole point is to get you writing. So that blah blah blah words per day thing is nice in that it keeps you on track, but don’t let it control you. It doesn’t matter if you “win” or not. God has a plan for you. Some days you’ll exceed your goal, but others it will just be an “off” day, and that is okay.
Need motivation? Click here. I wrote this post last year, and I still agree with it. This will help some with motivation, but just remember to ask God for help and what His will is for you.
Connect with others and share your ideas. Find somebody else who is participating in NaNoWriMo (it could be an online friend!), and connect with them about your stories. Encourage each other, pray for each other, give feedback to each other, and so on. Who wants to be my writing buddy?!
Need help…
on using NaNoWriMo? Leave comments. I’ll help you out.
finding a writing buddy? Contact me using my contact page or leave a comment, we can work together!
with motivation? Again, reach out, and I’ll give you some. I can even do more blog posts on it.
NaNoWriMo is meant to be fun while helping you write, so treat it like that. If you don’t finish, that’s okay! It doesn’t define you as a writer. God has a plan for each and every one of you. If you trust Him completely, you’re going to see him doing work in your life. Thank you all for encouraging me in my writing – it really means the world to me!
