Guest Post: Susan Edwards – To Nano or Not
I can’t believe November is upon us, and with it, the ever-popular NaNoWriMo, or more affectionately in my mind, Nano. (To learn about Nano, go to http://nanowrimo.com). My determination to participate in this crazy, yearly ritual always leaves my husband very confused. I always get the “why?” Along with the look that says I must be nuts. And maybe I am but so are a whole lot of other people!
Every year, my competitive spirit compels me to make the commitment to write a book during November even though I have yet to finish an entire book during this month. A few years ago, I started Autumn Dreams during Nano. I didn’t finish it but the intense time spent at the keyboard meant I ended up with more written than I would normally write in a month. I’m pleased to say that this book is being released as an e-book this month. As I contemplate this year’s Nano, I know I won’t be able to write an entire book, not with a book out in November and another one, White Christmas, in December. My to do lists for these books is a mile long . J
However, I made a discovery in writing that makes every month a Nano writing experience.
Power Writing
What is Power Writing? It’s like Nano but not confined to November and you don’t have to withdraw from life, lock yourself in your office and tell the world (and your family) to go away for an entire month. Power Writing involves asking the world (your family, your pets, your social media distractions, etc.) to leave you in peace for one hour. That’s it. One measly hour that you make sacred and write.
The rules are simple: write for one hour.
Warn your family that you are taking an hour—JUST ONE HOUR—to write.
No interruptions
No stopping to research
No going on the internet to check facts
No Facebook, Twitter or e-mail
No phone calls
No computer games to help you “get your thoughts in order”
No running off to clean house or scrub your toilet
No distractions period
For one hour, you write. THIS IS SO SIMPLE.
I first tried this with a new book. I didn’t have a complete plot, an outline or even a name for my hero. But here I was, day one of Power Writing with an awesome group of authors. I stared at that empty page on the monitor and was very tempted to just plot and look up names for my hero. But because I had committed to write, told everyone I was starting at page one, I pulled a name out of the air for the hero and began. And at the end of an hour I not only had the first scene, I had the hero’s previously unknown conflict. I wrote White Christmas in less than 3 months using this method. I know, not the book in a month of Nano but much better than taking six months or more to write one book. That is the idea behind Nano: to focus, produce and see results.
I proved to myself that with three Power Hours, I could write faster and be more productive without closing myself off from life. Power Writing forces me to sit and write without all the ploys, excuses, and distractions. This intense focus shoots my brain into high gear.
Now that Nano is once again upon me, do I need this month of intense writing? Not really. I’m making the same good progress that I do in November with each Power Hour. Am I going to participate? You bet. I still have that competitive spirit, and I have a new book waiting to be written and this is a great excuse to get started. However, this year I am going to be realistic in my goals. My schedule is just too crazy to take on a commitment that I know I will not be able to keep so here’s my plan:
Ignore Nano for the first two weeks and take care of my priorities: my two upcoming books.
Sneak some plotting time on my new series during the two first two weeks, an hour a day.
Then, on the 15th, jump in and start Power Writing.
Even though I won’t get a book written in a month, I pledge to Power Write my way through the rest of November and who knows, come next November, I will have had a year of writing faster and better behind me and might be ready to Power Write an entire book in November.
So how about you? Are you taking part in this yearly ritual? Do you go all in? Do you modify Nano to fit your own needs? Or do you simply ignore the whole Nano thing?
Leave a comment. One commenter will win a free copy of Summer of the Eagle, book one in the Seasons of Love Series.
Susan Edwards Delivers Magic, Myth & Wonder
Breathing Life into the Past with her White Series Seasons of Love: Paranormals with a Twist
Autumn Dreams Nov 2013 ***** White Christmas Dec 2013
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