Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: How to Make Writing Enjoyable

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, our NaNo Coaches are here to help guide you through November! Today, author C.L. Clark is here to share some tips for meeting your goal this month:

Hey, Wrimos! Welcome to the third week. Halfway from the starting line and halfway to the finish line—and that might be scary, exciting, or both. Honestly, it reminds me a lot of going out for a really long run. As an epic fantasy writer and a new runner, I’ve gotten familiar with the sticking points in these long, long journeys that a part of me enjoys but another, very human part of me quails from.

It’s okay to lean into that humanity and feel the pain. Running taught me that you can’t beat yourself up because something isn’t going the way you envisioned. You are the runner you are on the run that you are running, right now. You aren’t running in the past and you aren’t running in the future. You are the writer you are, writing the book you are writing now. It’s not a year like any other and you are not the same writer you were or will be. You can only do your best for right now.

Sometimes, though, remembering that isn’t enough to make me enjoy a run. Sometimes the writer I am is stressed, burnt out, and anxious about the future of my stories. My experience writing The Unbroken, free and unfettered by publisher deadlines was very different from drafting its sequel, The Faithless, with deadlines and external critics.

When my runs get tough at halfway, I take stock of what I have to do to get to the finish line feeling good. This is a great time to take stock of your own process, too, without judgement. Ask yourself a few questions:

What was your favorite part of the ru—I mean, writing your novel so far? What was so enjoyable about it? Can you do it again? Not write that exact scene again—though maybe it does mean writing another sword fight if you loved writing a sword fight. Maybe it means writing something that gives the same oomf. Was the sword fight thrilling because two characters rushed at each other over a worthy cause? Can you get that same shiver by having a character race to rescue another, or a kiss, or a verbal argument? A confession that ruins everything?

Next: who is your favorite character to write? (It’s okay if it’s not your protagonist, I won’t tell.) Can they show up in a few more scenes while you’re writing this week? It’ll give you a boost while you’re writing, but odds are it’ll give your story a boost, too. This is like picking a power song to help you kick your legs a little faster.

Now…what was the hardest part of writing your novel so far this month? The part that made you think, wow, this is hard, maybe I’m better off not finishing NaNoWriMo. This is like running up the steepest hill. I give you permission…to skip it the next time it comes up. Do the brackets trick the next time something threatens to bog you down and suck out the enjoyment ([insert set dressings and clothing here]). Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself permission to enjoy the run, and if that means slowing down, that’s okay.

Remember you will never be worse off for practicing something you love, or trying out a new hobby, or taking steps toward a dream. Now, take it to the finish line. Slowly ease up on any restraints you’ve been holding on to, and knock out this third week. You’ll be in the final sprint soon, so for now, run steady and keep your head up.

C.L. Clark is a BFA award-winning editor and Ignyte award winning-writer, and the author of The Unbroken, first book in the Magic of the Lost trilogy. She graduated from Indiana University’s creative writing MFA and was a 2012 Lambda Literary Fellow. She’s been a personal trainer, an English teacher, and an editor, and is some combination thereof as she travels the world. When she’s not writing or working, she’s learning languages, doing P90something, or reading about war and [post-]colonial history.