It’s NaNoWriMo Novel Writing Time!
If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a novel, then NaNoWriMo might be for you.
Are you one of those writers who comes up with plot after plot, maybe writing a few pages, or even a few chapters, only to abandon every project for the next great idea? Have you started working on a novel but constantly find yourself caught up in the vicious cycle of endless editing and revising with no end in sight? Is that novel you’ve been thinking about sitting around collecting dust in the annals of your mind?
Every year, during the month of November, writers around the globe sign up to participate in National Novel Writing Month. The goal: write a 50,000-word novel in one month. The purpose: inspire, motivate, and offer support for this mind-boggling endeavor.
“Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality.”
NaNoWriMo encourages would-be novelists to get a (very) rough draft completed in a thirty-day time frame. By keeping writers focused on the 50,000-word goal, distractions and excuses for not getting it done are eliminated.
“By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create.”
So, how popular is National Writing Month? In 2006, over 79,000 writers signed up and almost 13,000 of them completed 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th. In 2007, over 100,000 writers signed up and over 15,000 completed their novels.
How Does it Work?
All you have to do to get started is sign up at www.nanowrimo.org. You’ll register and create an account. Before November 1st, you can build up your profile, participate in the forums, and start planning your novel — but writing doesn’t begin until November does. That’s when you can start posting excerpts from your project, and of course you’ll be writing like mad. If you complete 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th, you’ll be added to the Winner’s Page, and will also receive a winner’s certificate and web icon. NaNoWriMo works on the honor system. Be sure to view the FAQ to get all your questions answered, and while you’re visiting the site, don’t miss the list of published NaNoWriMo authors.
How to Get Started
If you’re thinking about participating in NaNoWriMo, then you’re going to need all the support you can get to help you through 30 days of writing frenzy. Here are a few great articles and resources just for NaNos:
- Check out How to Write a Novel in 30 Days. This article covers every aspect of novel writing and explains how to cram it into a short time frame.
- Put together a NaNoWriMo survival kit that includes everything from your writing tools to tasty snacks.
- Don’t forget to read my review and pick up a copy of No Plot? No Problem!, the NaNoWriMo bible. You’ll also be helping to support NaNoWriMo’s founder and president, who is the author of the book.
Yes, it can be done! I’ll be here rooting for all the NaNos.
Proofreading Tips for Better Writing
The best way to achieve better writing is through daily writing and reading, but proofreading is near the top of the list too.
Revising, editing, and proofreading are essential to better writing, and if you want your work to improve, it’s imperative that you review each piece to check for typos, mistakes, syntax, and tone.
Creative writing tips often fail to mention the mechanical side of writing. It’s fun to focus on language, plot, characters, and rhymes, but polishing your work diligently will make you a better writer. And once you nail grammar and develop a habit of proofreading, you can focus on coming up with creative writing ideas rather than worrying about the technical aspects of your work.
Proofreading Tips
These proofreading tips and reminders will help you produce better writing – work that is polished and professional but still creative and compelling.
Catch Your Typos
Nobody likes typos. They look like misspellings, only it’s usually obvious they are mere oversights, the result of tapping the wrong key. It happens a lot when writers rush, and it happens a lot less when writers proofread their work before submitting or publishing it. Most writers are going to miss a typo every now and then. Nobody’s perfect. However, when you read a writer’s work regularly and typos are just something you expect every time, that’s a sign of poor or nonexistent proofreading.
Read Out Loud
One of the best ways to edit and proofread your work is to read it out loud. If you enunciate every word, you’ll be better able to catch mistakes. It’s common for writers to leave words out while composing a first draft. During a review, the mind automatically inserts the word because the writer knows it’s supposed to be there. Reading out loud will help catch missing words. Oft-repeated words often stand out while reading aloud as well. It’s also helpful for determining whether a piece lacks clarity or if phrasing doesn’t sound quite right. It’s your chance to make sure everything makes sense and that the language flows smoothly.
Proofread to Perfection
I’ve been teased for being so enthusiastic about proofreading and editing. Yet if I want to produce better writing, shouldn’t I keep reviewing each piece until I don’t catch a single error or need to make any more changes? Sometimes I reread a piece once and everything’s fine. Other times, I go over it five times, maybe ten. It also depends on the piece and where it’s going to be published or submitted. But I edit just about everything I write — usually more than once.
Don’t Make Excuses
Young and new writers often have issues with editing. I don’t want to change the original, they’ll claim. That’s like a furniture maker not bothering to sand a table. If you’re truly attached to that first draft, then just save a copy, but don’t get so sentimental that you go and submit or publish it with all its errors and imperfections.
Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself
Even though editing and proofreading are important to your professionalism and essential for better writing, they aren’t everything. Mistakes slip through now and then, and you shouldn’t beat yourself over the head about it. Great writing will always outshine the occasional error.
A Better Writing Habit
When I was much younger, I never proofread anything. I could whip up a term paper or report and get an A, mostly because I had a natural talent for writing that many of my classmates lacked. This, of course, was the result of reading like a fiend throughout my childhood, but as I grew older, my writing was less and less able to stand up to the work my peers were producing, and I quickly realized that editing was the key to bringing my writing up several notches.
Since then, editing and proofreading have become habitual steps in my writing process, and I’ve come to enjoy this part of the process since I now know that it leads to better writing. And that makes it more enjoyable for my readers.
Every time I fix a mistake, I feel good about it, knowing I just made my writing a little better and a lot easier to read. That’s another thing — editing is considerate to readers. Typos, misspellings, and poorly placed punctuation marks throw readers off and jars them from the flow of a piece. So don’t skip the revision process: proof, edit, and repeat. Then, if necessary, do it again!
Do you have any better writing or proofreading tips to share? Please leave a comment.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March, 2008. It has been updated and therefore republished for your reading pleasure.
Writing Tips for Productivity: Make More Time to Write
It’s not easy to find time to write. Even professional writers get caught up in paperwork and marketing and have to scramble to get the actual work of writing done.
But with careful planning and better time management, we can all learn how to carve out a little more time for writing.
Here are seven writing tips that will help you make or find more time to write, even if you have a packed schedule.
Writing Tips for Better Productivity
Try a few of these tried-and-true writing tips and productivity techniques and see which ones work for you:
- Make it a point to write first thing every morning. Most people feel refreshed after a good night’s rest (and a hot cup of coffee!) so there’s no better time to get creative than in the a.m. If you can get some writing done before you hop in the shower, you’ll already have made a great start for the day!
- Schedule writing sessions. If you have an over-packed, super busy schedule and your life is dictated by the notes on your calendar, then pen-in your writing time! Even if you can only squeeze in a half hour per day, you’ll see a dramatic increase in your output!
- Give yourself a break. Squeezing writing time into breaks and lunches at work can help you increase your daily word count. Even a ten-minute writing binge could mean a huge breakthrough in your plot or that perfect bit of dialogue you’ve been looking for. Because some of our best writing ideas come when we’re enmeshed in other activities, mini writing breaks scattered throughout the day can move your project along in small but significant steps.
- You can do it in the car. Don’t use pen and paper here, folks. Many cell phones are equipped with recording capabilities, and there are freestanding recording devices as well as gadgets that you can add on to your iPod, iPhone, or other mp3 player or smart phone. Use driving time to record your thoughts and you can transcribe them later. Bonus writing tip: Don’t have a recording device or add-on? Call yourself and leave a voice mail!
- Sacrifice. Sometimes in life we have to make choices. Give up one of your TV shows and instead use that time for a weekly writing session. Reconsider accepting every single party invitation, and ask yourself if extra-curricular activities like playing on a community softball league are more important than getting your writing done.
- Ask for help. If you have too much on your plate, and simply cannot find time to write, try delegating other tasks to friends, co-workers, and family members. This will free up time in your schedule that you can devote to writing.
- Turn off the internet. Need I say more?
Do you have any writing tips or tricks of your own that might help others find more time to write? Please share them in the comments.
October News and Announcements
October is my favorite month! My spirits lift each year when October rolls around. There’s something magical about the golden and rusty hues and the steely gray tint in the skies. Plus, I just love all the witches, werewolves, and vampires that are running around!
Ancient lore says that October is when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest (that’s why on Halloween, ghouls can slip through the veil), and October definitely has that supernatural vibe.
There’s also something inherently creative about October. Maybe it goes back to this being the time of year when, as a kid, you were getting your bearings with the school year. Or maybe it’s because of harvest season (do we harvest our own creativity?). In any case, I feel extra creative (and productive) this time of year, and that’s always a good thing.
Write a Novel Next Month!
Next month is the annual writing event known as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Have you ever started a novel but never got around to finishing it? When I signed up for NaNoWriMo last year, I had already tried to write about five or ten novels. But each time, another (seemingly better) idea distracted me. So I was caught in a vicious cycle of starting all these novels but never seeing them through to completion.
NaNoWriMo changed all that for me, and I bet it could do the same for you. The challenge is to write a 50,000-word novel over the course of November. If you win and cross the 50,000-word finish line, then you’ve just completed your novel! As a past participant and winner, I can tell you that it’s hard, but it’s not that hard. In fact, squeezing a novel into 30 days is a pretty good way to pump out a first draft.
Sadly, it looks like I won’t be able to participate this year because of other commitments. Plus, I still haven’t polished last year’s novel. However, I want to encourage all of you would-be novelists to give it a shot, and I’m hoping to join in the fun again next year. To learn more, visit the NaNoWriMo website. I’ll be posting a lengthier article later this month with more details about the event.
This Month at Writing Forward
In honor of NaNoWriMo, I have a special book review planned for this month — Chris Baty is the founder of NaNoWriMo and his book No Plot? No Problem!
Also this month, more writing tips and techniques for better writing, an article on fiction writing, and another installment in the Shakespeare series. Oh, and by request, some fresh creative writing prompts. Look for those in about a week.
It’s going to be a great writing month. Before we know it, the year will be over. What will you have accomplished with your writing? Are you already setting goals for next year? I know I am! One of those is to simply keep on writing. I hope you’ll do the same.
