Preparing for Nanowrimo: Tips to Maximize The Writing

NaNoWrimo (a month-long writing project aimed at getting participants to write 50,000 words) is starting in just 2 days and though I'm not participating this year, I know several writers who are.

Make no mistake, this is like an all out Write-a-thon! To meet such aggressive goals one really needs to write almost every day, so let's look at some ways to get those writing juices flowing 

Before you even get started try and clear your mind of all distractions. That means putting whatever issues or concerns out of your mind. The only thing you should be thinking about at this point is WRITING!

1. Find A Good Writing Spot: 

Some people like to get cosy with a laptop on the couch or on the bed. Others prefer the more rigid setting of being at a desk. I've written in several places before: on my bed, sofa, window seat, coffee shop, in the swim room during my kids' swimming lessons. It's wherever you most feel comfortable or sometimes it just comes down to wherever you can get the work done. Choose the one that's less distracting and will make you focus more.

Sleeping & Writing: Why ideas come when we're trying to sleep

Ever have an awesome idea pop into your head just as you're about to fall asleep? It could be a really great concept to improve your next chapter or add another intriguing layer to your main character except the problem is you're very tired and just cannot find the energy to get up.

If you're an author or an aspiring author, chances are this has happened to you at least once. If you're like me, you choose to lie in bed, confident you'll remember it all the next morning, except you don't. In the morning that brilliant idea will disappear into the "ne'er- to- be- seen- again" land.

Write it down

Note to all newbies - GET UP AND WRITE THE IDEA DOWN!!! Unless of course, you have one of those superhuman memories. I should warn you though that there' an off chance you'll wake up in the morning, look at the paper and wonder what the hell is this? All of a sudden that awesome plot twist looks like total gibberish! When that happens I tend to just blame it on the fogginess of my mind at the time the idea was conceived. In any case, it's good to have it jotted down, that way you can re-assess and discard if necessary. 

Why Writers Should Read?

Picking up from last week's post where I spoke of the need to stop reading other people's work, I wanted to focus on why new writers should not only read, but read A LOT!

Stephen King put it best actually... if you don't read you won't have the tools needed to perfect your craft. But I get it, writing is hard, even painstaking at times, so how the heck are you to carve out another hour (or in my case precious minutes) to read when you could be using it to bang out that best seller? We are told to make the time. Several accomplished authors seem to agree you can't be a successful writer without being an avid reader:

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

"Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it.
Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.”
― William Faulkner

"Learn as much by writing as by reading."
 ― Lord Acton

Why Do We Write?

I came across this quote one day during one of my writing ruts when I was searching for inspiration. This me stop and pause for a bit; reflecting on my true desire for writing. For me, it's a mix of things really. Reading lots of books definitely made me want to try writing my own, particularly if the ending left me wanting but mostly because It's really an adventure I enjoy.