The Write Way (#NaNoTip)

For the past few weeks, people have been giving out advice right and left about how to succeed at at NaNoWriMo.  For the new NaNoers or those that have never won, I’m sure that this advice is helpful.  Then there are people who beg you to tell them every detail of how you get through NaNo so that they can emulate you.  It’s really flattering.

But here’s the deal, folks.

There is no right way to write.

There is no right way to win NaNoWriMo.

Every writer is different.  Two writers might find that a technique works for both of them, but that doesn’t mean that every piece of advice will work for every writer.

I see this:

Listen to music with headphones
It has to be quiet
Tweet your wordcount to keep you motivated
Do not open the internet under any circumstance
Start with a character and have them dictate your plot
Start at the end and plot backwards
Plot everything before you start
You have to outline to keep yourself on track
Don’t outline or you’ll get bored
If you don’t click with your character from line one, pick a different character
Change plot halfway if it feels too hard
Do not change anything, just keep going because you can fix it in edits
Don’t fix typos
Fix typos but don’t fix whole lines
Fix whole lines, but do it by crossing out the old one so you can keep the words
It’s only a NaNo project, so what you write doesn’t matter
Think about each line, because it matters
Use Write or Die
Write or Die will make your novel suck
Write by hand so you can avoid distractions
Write on your computer so you don’t have to type it up later for verification
Write huge amounts on the weekend so you can relax on weekdays
Write 1667 consistently every day
Don’t take any breaks
Take breaks
Even if you have five minutes somewhere, write a line or two then
You need to have big chunks of time to really get into the zone
Have a ritual
Don’t have a ritual or you won’t be able to write unless you’re in that situation

I gave some advice for the #NaNoPrep blog posts, but I tried to make it general and to keep in mind that what works for some, doesn’t work for all.  But I see so many people preaching their methods like gospel.

Here’s what matters during NaNoWriMo:

You get to 50K before Dec. 1
You have fun doing it

If you find that a certain writer’s past experiences help you get through your novel in November, that’s awesome!  But what works for someone else may not work for you.  So don’t stress that someone’s told you that you need to write during your five-minute break at work and you know that that’s not enough time to get into the story enough to write even a sentence.

There is only one right way to write: The way that works for you.

Have fun!

Lots of love,

Sage