Preptober – how to prepare for NaNoWriMo (or simply writing a novel quickly)

For those of you who don’t know, I wrote my 84,000-word novel this year in about 5 weeks. This did not include writing every day. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is about writing 50,000 words in a month, so in a way, I did that this year already! However, I do want to do a sort of NaNo if I can, see my post about that here. Whether you are preparing for NaNoWriMo or just want to get a lot of writing done quickly, here are some tips that have helped me.

Routines

Having a writing routine that fits into your day/week makes it easier to get more done. This is because your brain will come to associate a certain time of day or location with writing. Maybe you come home from work, do some yoga to shift your energy, and then sit down to write (like I try to do). Maybe you wake up thirty minutes earlier than you do now to fit some in before work.

New habits are hard but in time they become routine.

Small goals/milestones

Set yourself much smaller goals and milestones to work towards. Instead of only celebrating every 10,000 words you write, or big scenes you’ve tackled, celebrate and focus on the smaller steps in-between. Yay, 1k! Woo, first scene! Make writing so easy and fun and small that you’d be crazy not to just do it.

Visually track

Having some sort of visible tracker around can help keep you accountable and wanting to write. You can see your progress and celebrate it, while also motivating yourself to keep going because you can see what is yet to be done. I have used a calendar, marking how much I write. I also block out every 1k completed in squares to visually and satisfyingly mark it out.

Plot and prep scenes

I am a plotter, so this is easy for me, but even pantsers can find this useful for things like NaNoWriMo. It’s sometimes harder to write quickly if you have no idea where your story is going. I’m not saying you should have every step figured out. In fact, that’s quite boring.

Instead, know how you want your character to develop. Or know the key themes you’re exploring; your profound truths. Know your characters deeply. Know where you want to end up, and leave the rest to discovery, if you want to. Just know something! Have the bare bones so when you sit down, you’re not stumped as to where to go next.

Breaks and sprints

I wrote my novel this summer taking lots of breaks. One, it’s healthy, but also because it makes writing less daunting. Sitting down to write all day (if you have that time) is overwhelming! Instead, telling yourself you’re only going to write for 25 minutes is easier. You set a timer and you feel pressured to write a lot in that short time. I can write about 800-1000 in 25 minutes. So say you do a few 25 minute sprints on a day off, you may be able to write 3,000 words. That’s a great amount!

Or say it’s after work, sitting down to write for a timer of just 20 minutes may mean you write 500-800 words and thats great for a short period of time. Over NaNoWriMo, if you do just 800 a day, you can write 24,000 words. Usually, you will want to write more once the timer is done and if you can, go for it! If not, it’s a great session done!

Keep moving forwards

This one is difficult. If you want to write quickly, you don’t have time to go back and edit or read through your work as you are drafting. You need to push forwards. However, this does make things a bit harder when you do come to read through or edit once the draft is completed, I’m realising. The story I wrote in summer remains unread because it feels like a massive task. I wish I had read through and done small edits along the way now, which is what I aim to do with this current story I’m working on. I just have to accept that it means my progress will be slower.

For NaNoWriMo if you really do want to write 50k in a month, you may need to just forge on ahead!

Set yourself up for success

Have your desk tidy, your to-do list done, and tell people what you plan to do. This removes distractions and interruptions that can crop up when you write. We can’t remove every interruption, as life is life and it’s unpredictable, but if you can get the majority out of the way, you’re in better standing for success. Make it easy and simple to start, and starting won’t be so hard.

Good luck and happy writing!

Sincerely,

S. xx