Chris Baty's Blog, page 71

Resources to Help Your Novel Writing Process

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Today, The Great Courses Plus, a NaNoWriMo 2019 sponsor, is here with some tips to help guide you through the novel-writing process in November:

Just like the novel itself, the process of writing a novel always has a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion. And The Great Courses Plus is here to help with every stage of novel writing you take on.  

In the Beginning… 

We need ideas and inspiration. We have to invent our characters, plot out how we think the story will unfold, and entertain no less than 50,000 potential plot twists—because at the beginning, anything can happen. 

Once we have those ideas, getting them all together and organized into a readable story structure is as big of a challenge as putting together the right words to craft that ever-vital first sentence. 

James Scott Bell is an award-winning novelist and writing instructor and he thinks you have a bestseller in you. With our course How to Write Best-Selling Fiction, you get an intimate introduction into the fundamentals of how to write your bestseller, given from a best-selling author who has mastered the secrets to success.

We all have creativity in us, but sometimes we need help getting in touch with it. Mr. Bell gets you started by offering several fun, challenging, and mind-expanding exercises that help you flex and develop your creative muscle. 

Once you have a few (thousand) great ideas, Mr. Bell provides a writing method called “LOCK” that will help you structure your story in a way that develops into an engaging page-turner. He also breaks down techniques that other best-selling authors have implemented. With these methods and explanations, Mr. Bell provides inspiration and demonstrates what works, so that you will have a plethora of tools to improve your writing and your chances of success.  

How to Write Best-Selling Fiction is jam-packed with techniques to help you bring power to your plot, charisma to your characters, drama to your dialogue, and vitality to your voice.  

In the beginning, you can also consider other Great Courses as resources for inspiration and development: 

The Creative Thinkers ToolkitBuilding Great Sentences: Exploring the Writers CraftWriting Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and TechniquesBecoming a Great EssayistBuilding a Better VocabularyIn the Middle….

We might wonder if this was such a good idea. 

The middle is where 50,000 words suddenly seems like a massively overwhelming and unobtainable concept. This is where nothing works. This is where we are convinced we’ll never get done. This is where our characters are already boring us. This is where we’re staying up all night trying to just make what we already wrote sound better instead of plowing on and moving forward. 

And this is where we step away for an hour. Or a night. Or a day. 

We promise. It’s a good thing. 

Mindful thinking tells us that changing your environment helps you take a different viewpoint. And Dr. Peter M. Vishton, a neuroscientist and professor of psychology, tells us that the best way to deal with the writer’s block, frustration, or the procrastination that affects us all is to attack it at its source. 

In our course Outsmart Yourself: Brain-Based Strategies to a Better You, you’ll get tips for monotasking to make you more efficient at whatever it is you are concentrating on. You’ll learn how practicing meditation regularly can help inspire you. You’ll discover the importance of a good night’s sleep. And he’ll provide you with a toolbox full of several practical, easy-to-implement strategies for finding more creative solutions, solving puzzles, and enhancing your mental prowess. 

So, go feed your mind with a brain snack, listen to a new song, or take a break and meditate for a bit. Your novel will be there when you come back; and with these tips, you’ll return with a renewed vigor and enthusiasm for your project. 

In the middle, you can also consider these Great Courses as resources for meditation, changing your mindset, and finding motivation: 

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to MeditationMasters of Mindfulness: Transforming Your Mind and BodyYour Best BrainThe Psychology of Performance: How to Be Your Best in LifeScientific Secrets for Self-ControlIn Conclusion… 

We are so glad to be marching towards those two most important words in a writer’s vocabulary (“The End”) that we don’t have a thought to spare when it comes to the next two most important words in a writer’s vocabulary, which are: “Now what?” 

Jane Friedman, publishing industry expert and educator, provides you with sought-after secrets of the publishing process that will help you navigate this difficult progression, bypass pitfalls that many novice authors get hung up on, and improve your chances of being considered for publication. In our course How to Publish Your Book, she acts as your personal guide though the entire process from finalizing your manuscript, to writing the perfect pitch, to reviewing contracts and marketing your book. 

You’ll get the candid scoop on what you need to do in order to increase your chances of being considered. The knowledge you’ll gain by having an inside expert teaching you how to position your book for publication gives you a unique advantage and drastically increases your chances of getting noticed in this increasingly competitive industry.

In conclusion, you can also consider these Great Courses as resources for editing, negotiating, marketing, and celebrating: 

English Grammar BootcampAnalysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about AnythingNegotiating the Best DealHow Ideas SpreadThe Everyday Guide to Wine 

All these courses, and more, are available to you through The Great Courses Plus. You can also find genre-specific courses such as science fiction, mysteries and suspense, or literatures most fantastic works. 

Enjoy the process. We’re rooting for you.

Top photo modified from original by AbsolutVision on Unsplash.

Road Trip to Nano:

November is coming. To get ready, we’re taking a road trip to visit Wrimos from around the world, and hear about how their regions can inspire your writing. Today, Cambodia Municipal Liaison Devona Jackson talks about how immersing yourself in other cultures can inspire your writing:

Last year on the Road Trip to NaNo blog, I spent a little bit of my time writing about the capital, Phnom Penh. Recently, I took a road trip to Siem Reap Province which means, “Siamese Defeated”, a place of beauty and rich in history. Siem Reap is stationed on Northwest Cambodia, about 320 km from the capital of Phnom Penh where I am stationed. Siem Reap has a deep history of architecture, and is now the hub of tourism, with one of the nine wonders of the world, Angkor Wat stationed there.   

As I was there for one of their special holidays: Pchum Ben, a three-day festival, where Cambodians of the Buddhist religion go to the local pagoda in their hometowns and offer and pay respect to their ancestors by leaving food, hoping they will come by. It is an interesting holiday to me as an expatriate, but still the same, a time to go visit my second home in Cambodia. There is always something more to discover throughout different parts of the country no matter how many times you have visited. Angkor Wat is just one of those examples for me. There is so much rich heritage, with much potential to document such things to share with future generations.  

This region is full of wonder with many neat things to discover, which leads me to why I have chosen to write and base all of my experiences off this country. First of all, it has become a second home to me. There is so much to write about and learn about this country. One of the things I do is I help educate the future through writing, and help locals discover something that they can do to express themselves, and that it is through writing. As a curriculum and education consultant, I take these opportunities seriously to be able to educate others when it comes to expressing themselves through writing, and learning in general. This is a passion of mine as I get to help others become literate and use that opportunity to learn how to express themselves creatively.  

Second, as I visit various places throughout Cambodia, I encourage others to take those stories they have in their hearts and express themselves. Oral tradition is huge here for many reasons, but something that I have discovered is that many people throughout Cambodia have very interesting stories and it is a great way to document what others have experienced. It has encouraged me to help share others’ stories and allow others to learn from experiences that may not have been experienced in their own lives.

Finally, as you are writing your stories this year, think about what inspires you. For me, it is the people of Cambodia as it helps me to discover new things about the people, the land, and the expatriate community that lives here. As I have lived here for the last five years, I have been able to discover what brings others here to the “Kingdom of Wonder”, a nickname that Cambodia continues to live up to.

Dr. Devona Jackson is the Municipal Liaison for the Asia::Cambodia region and has lived in Cambodia for five years; stationed in Phnom Penh, she started NaNoWriMo in 2017 but begin serving as an ML in 2018.  In 2016, she graduated with her PhD in Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Minnesota.  By profession, she is a curriculum and education consultant for Cambodia Job Foundation, helping other Cambodians gain a greater appreciation for knowledge and self-reliance.  Wedding planning is still the air for this ML with the date set to August 2020.  

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner! Announce your next novel...

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner! Announce your next novel today!

Do you have a plan in mind to reach your writing goal this November?

Put your plan to paper! Download the image above (or view the full image here) to print out our daily goal calendar. Give yourself that extra-special boost of a sticker of accomplishment for every day you get your writing in!

[Image description: 

A calendar that reads: “November 2019: Ready? Set? Novel!”

At the bottom is a legend box, above which are the instructions:

“1. Plan your month. Look through your schedule and pencil in any events or deadlines you can’t avoid (like work or school projects, or a weekend trip.)

“2. Add your goals. Maybe you want to write 1,667 words a day, every day. Or, maybe you want to set smaller goals for days you know you’ll be busy.

“3. Write! Sticker! Repeat! Meet your goal? Add a sticker! Use the legend below if you want to assign meanings to different stickers. For example, a star could mean you met a goal, but a heart could mean you worked for an hour without looking at your phone. Treat (and challenge) yourself!”]

What 335,000,000 Words Have Taught Us About NaNoWriMo

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Today, Novlr, a 2019 NaNoWriMo sponsor, shares what they’ve learned from the millions of words that have been written on their site during NaNoWriMo. Try out Novlr for free!

We are not the experts on NaNoWriMo. We are not the experts on writing. We are certainly not the experts on writing during NaNoWriMo. However, we’ve learnt a lot from the thousands of Novlr users taking on the challenge over the years.

Over 335 million words have been written by Novlr users over the last few years, and those stats have helped us create a list of tips to help you win:

Tip #1: Build in some slack.

It’s not going to go perfectly. You will slip up. Hopefully, you’ll write 50,000 words in November, but to get there, there’ll be days you hit 1667 words, and days you don’t. Our stats show that very very few people manage 30 days in a row, let alone 30 days of over 1667 words.

Build in some break days. You don’t need to choose which days, but expect some days where you don’t hit the daily target. Factor that in to the daily target. Could you hit 1850 a day? If you can, that gives you three days to play with.

However, we also know how important momentum is. Our Streaks feature—which tracks how many days in a row you’ve been writing—is one of our most popular. We recommend seeing how far you can get at 1850 a day—it’ll make the rest of the month easier. And roll with it if you miss a day or two unexpectedly. 

Tip #2: Write, don’t delete.

Writing does not mean writing well. No one, even you, pours perfection onto the page for 50,000 hasty words. So don’t worry too much about the exact words, phraseology, or even the novel timeline, during the month—just smash the words out. 

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to WRITE 50,000 words in a month, so even if you don’t particularly like a sentence, don’t delete it. Leave it there. By the time you come back to edit it, you might have grown fond of it.

Novlr will keep you motivated with celebratory messages as your word count grows… Just. Keep. Writing.

Tip #3: Day 4 is hard.

From analyzing Novlr streaks, we know that Day 4 is hard. Lots of users drop their streak after day three—not just in November, but across the year. It seems getting on a roll has a 3-day limit for many. Knowing this is your weapon against it. Day 4 this year is a Monday—plan to make sure you make it very easy for yourself to achieve your target that day—set the time aside, maybe have two or three times in the day that you plan to write so that there is more chance of being able to do it. 

And not just day 4, but every day 4. Every few days you may find a lull. If you haven’t decided it’s time for a break (see tip #1) then make sure you make it easy for yourself to write. It might help to set a small target for that day: “Today I will write 400 words, either before work, or right after dinner, or right before bed.” Beat the day 4 lull before it beats you. 

Tip #4: Switch it up.

If the unchanging view from your dining room table is becoming too much; if your bum’s numb from the same office chair; or the noise of the kids every time you try to write is driving you up the wall… then it might be time for a change of scenery. 

It might sound simple but in the depths of NaNoWriMo it can be hard to be rational! If you’re sensing writer’s block, switch things up. Leave your desktop computer behind, grab the laptop and get yourself to a cafe, the library, a museum or gallery—or the local pub if that helps. Even consider what you eat and drink, what you wear, what you listen to and who you write with. Change things.

We can see that many of our most prolific writers log into their Novlr accounts from different devices. What we don’t know is if that’s at work, at your mum’s house, at the public library or on your spare laptop…but it seems that a change of scene works. 

Tip #5: Create a purpose list. 

This tip isn’t based on Novlr stats—this one is personal. 

Before you start, write out the reasons why you are doing this. Why did you sign up to NaNoWriMo? What made you decide to do it this way rather than the usually approach to writing a novel? Be that: “I need the outside push to make me do it”; “I won’t make time otherwise”; “I won’t have time later in the year, it has to be now”; “I want to achieve this thing I’ve been talking about doing for years”; “I want to make my family proud.” 

Everyone has a reason, or a myriad of reasons, for taking on this incredible challenge. Don’t lose sight of what that is. Write the reason, or reasons, down on a piece of paper and stick it in your wallet/on the fridge/anywhere. When you are struggling to keep motivating, read it and remind yourself what got you here in the first place. 

Learning from data

At Novlr, we’re determined to use the statistics and data about how people write to find ways of helping support writers better. Good examples of that are our Streaks feature and our positive messages of encouragement as you hit targets, which our users tell us help them write more (and we’ll be looking at the stats around this in the coming months to see what impact it has). 

If you are interested in seeing if Novlr can make you more productive, or as thousands of writers have already found, is the best place to write your novel, try our free two week trial. Exclusively for NaNoWriMo participants, we’re also offering 40% off for a year with our discount code in your sponsor offers. 

Top photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash.

Properly Coded: Creating Characters of Color (Part 3)

Diversity makes stories better, plain and simple. This year, we’ve partnered with the good folks at Writing With Color to get some advice on how to write stories populated with people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In the third part of her sub-series “Properly Coded,” Alexa White gives some advice on writing the communities in which characters of color live:

We have done the research, and looked into character backgrounds, now is the time… for setting. Because no character exists in a vacuum.

Because of the after-effects of segregation, white people often live in white-majority communities. As a result, unless there was an active effort to interact with “outsider” groups, you’re probably going to have a lot of white cultural baggage you’ll project into how communities work.

Here are a few things to look for in creating realistic communities of color:

1- Neighbor relations

White society is often a very segregated thing. Urban centers can be segregated things, or they can be blocks of people close enough to be called family they just live in different houses officially. You can have a whole street that comes together to take care of each other, block parties on the regular, or even just knowing who you can go to if you need advice. 

Depending on the area, your neighbors might be the only ones who come from the same culture, share your language, or cook the same food as you. Or you might’ve moved from a community like that, only to find the culture shock of neighbors who don’t share the same values.

This is also important for fantasy, because historical non-European communities were often worlds different than the European default. The housing structure didn’t necessarily include single family homes (Iroquois longhouses could fit 200), the center of the city wasn’t necessarily the religious structure, and the way necessities were gathered could include unrelated families coming together with a lot more fluidity.

2- Community events

Community schedules can look and feel very different depending on where you are. People in Chinese/Taiwanese diaspora communities can take Mandarin classes with children in the neighborhood. Native spiritual practices and sacred days, still celebrated on reservations, vary wildly. The dance classes might be kathak or odissi instead of ballet and tap. The community center might be bursting with religious celebrations that spill over from the house of worship, or classes for skills outside the realm of learning acrylic paint.

You’ll want to really figure out what will fill up this character’s life in the world around them. Go beyond the narrative of your communities being universal, and go beyond the narrative of what you’ve been told around communities of color. 

3- Family structure

The nuclear family is very white. From number of children to number of adults in a house to who is even considered immediate family, families of color have different defaults per community.

“Auntie” as a form of respect is common across multiple cultures; some count cousins as brothers and sisters, calling them as such; some prioritize three or four generations living within close proximity to each other, if not in the same house.

You’ll want to really look into what family means for different communities, the expected caretakers, and who is considered the wisest of the community.

Bonus! Don’t assume that all structures mirror European authoritarianism 

Native Elders are those who are the most adept at caring for the land, so they are seen as an authority and their opinions are respected. This does not (necessarily) mean they “own” the land or use their powers for authoritarian ends, and those who respect them are mindless. Like Mako Mori said in Pacific Rim: “It’s not obedience. It’s respect.”

You cannot go assuming that all power structures you find when building your setting are authoritarian, or abusive. This is, again, something more often than not found in European settings over anything else. Even if you have a place with the divine right of kings, their values will greatly differ, and as a result, so will their expressions of power

The best part about fleshing out your setting is: you end up with more plot points. Character vs societal expectations is always a great conflict, and can provide you with some really interesting character choices that go beyond “I hate authority” to a nuanced, balanced portrayal. 

Happy research!

~Alexa

Alexa White, also known as Mod Lesya on Writing with Color, is a Mohawk two spirit person from Southern Ontario, who joined Writing with Color to help educate others. A lifelong lover of storytelling, she dedicates her focus to making characters feel like they come from whatever setting they’re supposed to exist in. If she is not found writing, she is playing with her cat, cooking, or drawing.

4 Ways to Stay Productive While Writing a Novel

Sometimes, the greatest obstacle in writing… is YOU! (Very spooky, very Halloween, what a twist!) In today’s post, author  Nathan Bransford gives some helpful tips on overcoming distractions and keeping up with your writing:

We live in an age of distractions. Text messages. Distracting tweets. Videos of cute dogs. So. Many. Cute. Dogs.

How in the world is anyone supposed to write a whole freaking novel these days? It’s hard to even finish reading a long-ish blog post.

Back before social media, I used to crank out novels like it was nothing. It took six months, tops, and that was when I was going slow.

Then, two years ago, I realized years had ticked by and I was still struggling to finish a new novel. I just couldn’t concentrate. My attention span had completely eroded.

Well, dear reader, I finished that novel. And hopefully what I’ve learned along the way will help you stay focused and reclaim your ability to concentrate.

Block out distractions

Turn off all of your phone notifications. Yes. All of them.

Okay fine, maybe leave on text messages from people you need to hear from and utilize your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” settings to let some calls through in case of emergencies.

But all of those push notifications from apps you don’t use? Those ten news apps telling you the exact same thing? Those price alerts for things you don’t really need? Get rid of them and don’t look back.

You may not even realize the extent to which your phone is dominating your life and messing with your brain. It’s not just that incessant buzzing in your pocket, it’s that tic in your brain that prompts you to open up your phone and mindlessly start swiping around.

Bury your social media apps, keep your phone far away when you’re writing, and if you write on a laptop, make sure only your word processing application is visible.

It may take a phone and internet detox before you can really concentrate again, but being productive starts with reclaiming your brain.

Get in touch with your goals

Now that you can actually concentrate, it’s worth taking a moment to get in touch with what it is you actually want to accomplish.

Want to crank out a 60,000 word draft in a month? Want to write twenty five pages and see where it goes? Want to just spend a certain number of hours a week plugging away?

Establish a goal and make sure there’s a deadline. This will give you a sense of how much you need to accomplish every week toward your goal. 

NaNoWriMo is perfect for this. You have your goal, now write it down and keep it in view.

Utilize “extreme calendaring”

If you set the right goal, you should now know roughly what you need to accomplish in any given week, whether that’s writing 15,000 words or a certain number of pages.

If you’ve already been writing a while, you might have a sense of how many hours this will take. If you don’t? You’ll know soon because you should start tracking your time.

I’m a big believe in extreme calendaring to maximize your productivity and keep you on track. Here’s how it works:

At the beginning of every week, plot your entire week in half hour increments in your favorite calendaring system, whether that’s an app or a notebook. Start by blocking off your must-dos: work, commutes, picking up kids from soccer practice, etc. Don’t forget things that will make you healthy, like exercise, bathing, and oh yeah, sleeping.Now you have your discretionary time. Schedule your writing hours in there and plan to stick to them. Every morning, look at your schedule and visualize yourself starting to write at the hour that’s scheduled.Write. Do it.If something comes up unexpectedly, rejuggle your schedule but make sure you end the week writing however many hours you told yourself you were going to write.At the end of every week, check back on how many hours you wrote and how many words you got on the page. Track this and use it to better estimate your productivity moving forward.

Writing a novel is pretty simple, at the end of the day: you sit down and put words on the page until you’re finished. But you have to put in the time. It helps to get scientific about it.

Power through

Note how there’s nothing in the post about “procrastinating while waiting for inspiration to strike.” If you do that, you’ll never, ever finish.

I’m on the record with my belief that writer’s block doesn’t exist. It just means that writing has gotten really difficult. 

There are various strategies you can employ to get yourself unstuck, but at the end of the day there’s really only one sure-fire solution: force yourself to stare at the blinking cursor of death until you think of something.

It may not feel super romantic to reduce your writing life to time tracking, spreadsheets, and pushing through when you’re feeling uninspired, but trust me on this one: when you finish a novel, the satisfaction you’ll feel will make it all worthwhile.

Nathan Bransford is the author of the writing guide How to Write a Novel (Second Edition out now!) and the Jacob Wonderbar series. A former literary agent with Curtis Brown Ltd., his blog has consistently been named one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers by Writers Digest. He is available as an editor and consultant to help authors polish their manuscripts and navigate the publishing process.

Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Sandra Mallinson on Flickr

The Do’s of Writing People of Color: Describe Your Characters

Diversity makes stories better, plain and simple. This year, we’ve partnered with the good folks at Writing With Color to get some advice on how to write stories populated with people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In the third part of her “Do’s of Writing People of Color” sub-series, founder Colette Aburime   goes over how to describe characters of color in your writing:

One key to strong representation is making the race of your characters undisputedly clear. So clue your readers in! Not only is it nice for People of Color to read descriptions of themselves as awesome everyday people, but there’s a consequence to being vague: Most readers will assume the characters are white. 

Society ensures we view white people as the default. That default human is probably also straight, cis, able-bodied, etc. until proven otherwise. This way of thinking won’t dissolve overnight.

When describing your characters

Make their races clear early on once they’re introduced.Sprinkle in a few more reminders throughout the story.

Ways to show race:

Physical descriptions - You can describe hair, skin tone, and facial features to create a picture for readers. It isn’t foolproof, though. For example, dark brown skin and curly hair may point to a Person of Color, sure, but not an exact race or ethnicity. It’s wise to pair physical details with other means.Culture - Cultural elements can seamlessly indicate race. They’re already part of your character’s identity, so it’s bound to come up! Think family names, clothing, holidays, traditions, language, food, heirlooms…Social issues - What social issues directly affect the character? What about relatives in other countries? Even a national disaster could show background, like a hurricane affecting your character’s family in Mexico. Activities - The character could be involved or have met someone through a PoC-specific organization. Think student unions, activism, local businesses Facebook groups, professional meet-ups…Cover art - If your book cover features your characters, I urge you to make sure they look the part. Even if you have little say in the final product, remind your publisher of their races and ask they take care to be accurate. Say no to white-washed book covers! Say it in story - Don’t be afraid to just state it. I highly recommend doing so at some point in the story. There’s many ways to work in a mention. Create a situation that makes sense to the story. See these examples:“The woman turned to face me. She was Black, I think, with a short coily afro and a dimple in her smile that took my breath away.” “It felt awkward, being the only woman in the room, let alone an Indian woman.”  “I was born of a Korean mother and a German father.”Say it outside the pages - These days allow more interaction between authors and their readers. Use social media or a webpage to share character profiles, your celebrity dream cast, share commissioned art, and clarify questions. 

Use one or more of these methods. At the least, I recommend a combination of physical descriptions and outright stating race whenever the story allows.

Characters of Color in Fantasy

Alternative or fantasy settings may have different concepts of race. Perhaps there’s no word for human ethnicities or countries. Never fear—racial coding is here!  Racial coding means providing hints that your character is the equivalent of a human race. You can use physical, cultural and geographical parallels to help readers make a conclusion. 

Now, go forth and describe your characters. We wanna see them!

Related Articles on Writingwithcolor:

Describing Characters of Color:

Writing With Color Featured Description Posts 

Fantasy Coding Advice on Writing With Color:

PoC in Fantasy When Their Country/Continent Doesn’t ExistDescribing POC without stating Race Writing With Color “Coding” Search 

Colette Aburime is the founder of WritingWithColor, a writing advice blog focused on diversity. She studied creative and professional writing in college, and writes (or rather, dreams of writing) in her free time. Colette is a big fan of romance and fantasy and lives out her fairytale in a humble cottage in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. She spends happily ever after with her prince, plants, and a feisty cat. Check out WritingWithColor on Tumblr and Twitter .

Meet our 2019 NaNo Coaches!

Looking for some help while you’re writing a novel this November?

Every week of November, a published author will take over our official Twitter account,

This year’s NaNo Coaches are (clockwise from top left of image): Angela J. Ford, Aisha Saeed, Kate Clayborn, and Alexis Daria. Get to know them or drop them a note to say hi on Twitter!

Angela J. Ford is an award-winning blogger and author of the international bestselling epic fantasy series,THE FOUR WORLDS. Her books have sold over 25,000 copies world-wide and have been ranked bestsellers in multiple categories.  Aside from writing, she enjoys the challenge of working with marketing technology and builds websites for authors. If you happen to be in Nashville, you’ll most likely find her at a local coffee shop, enjoying a white chocolate mocha and furiously working on her next book.

Aisha Saeed is the New York Times bestselling author of WRITTEN IN THE STARS, which was listed as a best book of 2015 by Bank Street Books and a 2016 YALSA Quick Pick For Reluctant Readers. She is also the author of the middle grade novel AMAL UNBOUND, which was a Summer 2018 Indie Next Pick and an Amazon Best Book of the Month; has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Kirkus; and was a Global Read Aloud for 2018. She has a forthcoming picture book, BILAL COOKS DAAL. Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™.

Double RITA®  nominee Kate Clayborn is a writer and a lifelong student—and current teacher—of literature of all sorts. She is the author of the Chance of a Lifetime series and of the upcoming rom-com LOVE LETTERING (Kensington Books) and an avid sarcasm enthusiast.

Alexis Daria is an award-winning contemporary romance author, former artist, and native New Yorker. Her debut, TAKE THE LEAD, was a 2018 RITA® Award winner for “Best First Book” and was named one of the Best Romance Novels of 2017 by The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly. She loves social media, and you can find her live-tweeting her favorite TV shows at @alexisdaria.

Road Trip to NaNo: The Benefits of Attending Write-Ins

November is coming. To get ready, we’re taking a road trip to visit Wrimos from around the world, and hear about how their regions can inspire your writing. Today, Christchurch, New Zealand Municipal Liaisons Judy L. Mohr and Emmy-Lou James talk about their region’s history of write-ins and face-to-face interaction:

Christchurch, New Zealand has a strong writing community, with a long writing legacy to help back us up. But part of the reason that we are so strong is that everywhere you go, there are write-ins and discussion groups for writers. 

Writing is a solitary activity for the majority of people. Many of us write in complete isolation, cut off from the real world around us, sinking our entire existence into our make-believe worlds. And to get the writing done, we tend to sacrifice our socializing times. As much as writing is solitary, we can’t do it alone. This is where write-ins come into their own—particularly during NaNoWriMo.

So, what are the benefits? 

1. Write-ins are where you can meet other writers.

Sometimes, the issue with meeting like-minded people is the struggle of where to look. The solution is not always obvious. 

For us, the MLs of Christchurch, we both started by joining a local writing group. Then suddenly we found another… and another… and another. Once we discovered the community, all the groups were suddenly there for us to connect with. Sure, each group might be milled with writers who write different genres, and many of us will be at different stages of our own writing journey’s, but that’s what makes these groups so magical.

During NaNoWriMo, many regions hold multiple write-ins. In Christchurch, we aim to hold multiple write-ins during the week. Writers need to connect with other writers, and write-ins are the perfect place to make those connections. 

2. Write-ins give you the opportunity to learn from other writers.

Write-ins are often filled with writers from every neck of the woods, each with their own knowledge and experiences. In connecting with other local writers, you are given the chance to learn. Whether it is about the writing craft, editing, editors, querying, writing synopses, or where the best writing conferences are held, the lists are endless.

And don’t think that just because you might be new to writing that you don’t have knowledge to share. Perhaps you’re a whiz on the computer, able to code up a stunning spreadsheet to help keep track of word counts. Or maybe you know something about taking a stunning photo with your cellphone camera. Or maybe you know your way around social media, and are able to help another understand what a hashtag.

Whatever your skills, your knowledge will be valued by the writing community.

3. Accountability partners come in all forms.

How often do you write a chapter, put it down, then come back to it the next day and think, I’ll read it before I carry on today, only to find yourself spending a day editing rather than writing? Are you guilty of it? Because I know we are!

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Write-ins are the perfect place to find accountability partners—that one person who will become your personal Jiminy Cricket, the angel on your shoulder who’s your cheerleader, urging you on even when the inner critic and self-doubting monster are chewing at your ear. An accountability partner is a writer who knows the pitfalls of writing and can talk you through the hard times in just the same way, you can talk them. 

Because you’ve been there—together.

4. Participating in activities can help you work past writer’s block and other writing issues. 

Meeting at local write-ins can give the opportunity to have open conversations about problems with writing. It could be writer’s block or a plot issue. Perhaps a character isn’t working. 

The simple ability to be able to tease out your ideas can lead to the best stories. 

5. It is important to be able to share your achievements and celebrate with others.

How do you celebrate your achievements? A glass of wine? An evening with a book and no interruptions? Do you take a night off and binge watch that Netflix series you’ve been holding off on? 

So many of us forget to celebrate the little wins, overlooking our achievements.

By sharing your NaNoWriMo journey with other writers, you get to celebrate those achievements together. It might be simply hitting that word count, finishing a section of the book that you’ve been working on, or finishing that manuscript. Whatever it is, celebrating together with other writers is fun, and encourages other writers following the same journey as you to continue on too. 

6. Sometimes, it’s good to change things up. 

Writing in the same place day in day out can get kinda dull, and sometimes becomes a block for creativity. Write-ins during NaNoWriMo should be in public spaces, and that in itself can be the best writing fodder. By taking yourself away from your desk, or the four walls that you call home, you’re putting yourself in a different space, and that can prove invaluable for many writers. 

And people watching is important for writers too.

Attend a Write-In this NaNoWriMo!

If you’ve never attended a write-in, why not make it your NaNoWriMo goal this year? Find out where your local write-ins are, or look into hosting your own. Writer friends are worth their weight in gold, so why miss out?

The MLs for Christchurch, New Zealand are Judy L Mohr (above) and Emmy-Lou James (below).

Judy L Mohr is a writer of thrillers, fantasy, science fiction, and nonfiction. She is also a freelance editor with Black Wolf Editorial Services (https://blackwolfeditorial.com), working on projects from writers around the world.

Emmy-Lou James loves anything romance. So much so, she writes contemporary romance stories based in small towns with holiday themes.

Together, they’re one hell of a ML team, coordinating various writing events throughout their region all year round.

You can find out more about Judy’s personal projects on her personal blog or on Twitter (@JudyLMohr). Find out more about Emmy-Lou’s writing on her Twitter (@EmmyLou_James).

Top image licensed under Creative Commons from Beverly Yuen Thompson  on Flickr.

4 Tools to Effectively Manage Your Writing Time

Unfortunately, life consists of more than just writing time. It can be challenging to use your time well, but fear not! Today, participant Daniela McVicker shares some great practical tools to help with effective time management: 

We all face the issue of spending too much time on straightforward tasks, which is why time management is such a vital skill for any professional, especially if you’re a writer. 

There are many reasons one’s time management might be off. Many of us will procrastinate by going down their preferred social media rabbit hole. Others will simply plan their work time improperly. There are things that each of us can improve in our workdays. The great news is that there’s a time management tool that will take of it. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at a variety of services that help you work more efficiently and stay on task for longer. Let’s dive right in, shall we? 

A central rule of time management

Before we look into each individual tool that writers will find useful, it’s important to stress that efficient work starts with proper time distribution. 

Back in 1955, Cyril Parkinson published an article in The Economist, which would change the way many governments perceive deadlines. It was coined as ”Parkinson’s Law” and here’s the gist of it: 

“The amount of time that one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete the task.”

In a nutshell, you’ll work on a task for at least the time as you dedicate to it. Efficient work starts with setting reasonable deadlines. 

Many of the tools we’re going to look at today will take advantage of this law.

1. Focusmate

Focusmate is a tool that many writers adore. This tool taps into the peculiarities of human psychology, which allows it to improve your output during a limited amount of time considerably. 

After you make an account with the platform, you’ll be able to schedule 50-minute sessions with other people. The protocol of these meetings implies that you provide each other with a detailed list of tasks you’ll be working on during the session, after which you’ll proceed to work in silence. Once the session is over, you’ll both report on the amount of work you’ve managed to get in, which is a potent form of digital accountability. 

More importantly, this tool allows you to take advantage of the Parkinson’s Law, by assigning a limited amount of time on detailed and granular tasks, thus maximizing your productivity and managing your time with maximum efficiency.

2. Cuckoo

Cuckoo is a very straightforward but highly efficient timer designed for teams and individuals. It allows you to divide your work in increments of various length, allowing to preestablish the amount of time you allocate to a certain task. 

Besides merely using it as a personal timer, you can sync your work sessions with your colleagues and teammates for collective accountability. 

It has an amazingly intuitive interface and design and can be used both in a browser and as an app on your machine.

3. RescueTime

A large part of optimizing your time distribution is eliminating wastefulness. RescueTime is a great tool to identify the activities that detract from your productivity. It works as a background tracker and provides its users with detailed reports on the amount of time they spend or waste on specific activities during a day of work. 

Once you’ve collected enough data on the main culprits of your decreased productivity, you can then start blocking apps that tend to distract you. Considering how intellectually demanding writing is, many reliable writing services have incorporated Rescue Time and similar apps in their daily workflow. 

4. Freedom

Freedom is somewhat similar to RescueTime in that it allows you to block certain websites and apps during your work time. However, it takes this feature to the next level. You can create different lists of distractors and block entire lists of apps and site on the device that you’re using or across all of your devices, including your smartphone, tablet, and so forth. 

The unfortunate truth about social media is that we often intend to open them during working hours. More importantly, we’re rarely aware of the fact that we’re distracted, because… well, because we’re distracted, we simply forgot about the task that we were working on a few moments ago. This is why Freedom is such an indispensable tool in a writer’s arsenal. 

Just experimenting with Freedom will provide you with a lot of insight into how mindless everyday distractions can be. So in case you’re looking to minimize the amount of time you’re wasting on sites that are robbing you of your concentration — this is your app. On a similar note, check out an article we published recently on writing with ADHD.

Conclusion

Writing is very demanding, which is why distraction and poor time management have to be eliminated from a writer’s workflow as soon as possible. These tools will have an impressive impact on how you allocate time for your writing tasks and how much time you waste on sites that capitalize on it. 

Better time management leads to higher productivity and more consistent professional growth. 

Now, back to you. What are the tools you use? Why do you use them? How do you use them?

Daniela McVicker is a freelance writer. She has a master degree in English Literature, and she is truly passionate about learning foreign languages and teaching. Daniela works with the students helping them to reveal the writing talent and find one true calling.

>Top image licensed under Creative Commons from photosteve101 on Flickr.