Writer’s Kit: 3 Things to Help You Reach Your Writing Goals

We’re getting ready for Camp NaNoWriMo this April! What’s in your writer’s toolkit? Today,

Sofia Mascaró, NaNoWriMo winner, tells us what three things helped her reach her word-count goal:

It was very close to November when I first heard about NaNoWriMo last year. I’d had several ideas that I’d wanted to write over the years, but I’d never found the inspiration and the strength to start. And just to complicate everything, November is a crazy busy month for me due to the huge number of papers and tests the college professors love to give us when the year is about to end. 

So when I decided to join—“Just to try” I said to myself—I never expected to reach the goal of 50.000 words… and the funny thing is that, though I did hit that 50K, even with so many words, I only reached the halfway point of my novel, Midnight Obsessions.

Because of the NaNoWriMo challenge, I decided to finally do something that I love. There are a few things that helped me that might help you as you set out to write:

Music helps your imagination fly.

I had a list of my favorite songs playing on repeat, and that gave me ideas about setting, dialogue, and feelings for my characters; some of them were included in my novel. 

You can listen to anything, from classical music to the soundtrack of your favorite film (yes, I listen to soundtracks. I find them really inspiring), or start with an AC/DC song and end on Ariana Grande.

Family and friends’ support: the most important thing. 

I only told people who knew about my obsession with books that I was attempting NaNoWriMo and who I knew would encourage me. My mother, sister, and boyfriend actually celebrated with me on November 30 when I made it, and I could swear they were as proud of me as I was for achieving it. 

Encouraging words from the people who love you is something that warms everyone’s heart, and makes you want to make it. Trust me, it worked.

Pep talks and @NaNoWordSprints: a worldwide community

Last but not least, I have to mention that the worldwide community of NaNoWriMo is, by far, the best. 

During the final days of writing, I was struggling with how to continue my story, so I sent a tweet to @NaNoWordSprints (the official Twitter account for sprints, during which you try to write as many words as you can in a set period of time) asking for advice on how I could get inspired to continue writing… and I had over thirty answers from people around the world recommending things like drinking coffee, listening to my favorite songs, taking some short breaks, and so on. The help that I got from all of these people in the same situation made me cry with joy and helped me during that instance of writing block. 

On another note, the pep talks from authors like Stephanie Perkins (writer of the Anna, Lola and Isla trilogy) gave very nice advice about writing that inspired me a lot when having to write my own novel.

Without these very important things I really don’t think I would’ve been able to make it. I believe it’s the feeling of writing so many words that is the biggest prize of all, not the tools or the certificate you get in the end. 

I wish I had known that before I set out to write for a month: that I would be beyond happy for myself, that I would end up really tired (like super tired and wanting to sleep all the time), and that I would want to celebrate my achievement with everybody I knew… It was a great step as a writer for me, and, I think, for everyone that won for the first time last year. 

Don’t despair if you don’t have any inspiration or a guideline at all: there will be always something or someone who will help you and won’t let you down. I wrote whatever came in my mind, the music helped me to establish the mood for my scenes, and the sprints made me write faster than ever, but I guess this is what a writer’s life looks like… and I truly enjoyed being part of it.

Sofia Mascaró is an Argentinian 21-year-old girl who loves History and Young Adult books. She is in her fourth year of college. She is a proud NaNoWriMo 2015 winner, bilingual, has lived in three countries (Argentina, Spain, US) and has two families (her original and her exchange American family). Her main dream is to finally graduate, publish her own book and, if possible, travel the world next to the love of her life.

Top photo composed of photos taken by Flickr users russelldavies, and .reid.