Continuing in the great vein of NaNo, here are some more NaNo tips for you. And they make great all-around writing tips.

These thoughts are from the #writechat on Twitter last Sunday. #writechat is a discussion of writing topics each Sunday afternoon hosted by @WritingSpirit. You don’t need a Twitter account to see the #writechat discussion (just do a search for “#writechat” on the Twitter site and keep refreshing), but you do need an account to participate in the #writechat discussion.

The topic: We’re halfway thru NaNoWriMo & Non-Fic offshoots. How are you doing? What are you learning? Where are you getting stuck?

I am learning you need to be focused on your NaNovel and not be multitasking IMHO @EngridE1

Learned the importance of index cards & skipping troubled scenes – Just keep writing. @KarlBimshas

And I’ve learned that outlines are your friend, lol. @FLAngel03

Although both help, I also learned that online writing friends are more supportive than offline writing friends. @KarlBimshas

I’ve learned that it’s difficult to write 2000 words everyday. @EvelynNAlfred

Rewarding yourself for even small stuff is good. I think that was the theme of my “Inspiration” message this week. @GLHancock

I wouldn’t be making as much progress on #nano without the bar charts. I LOVE measuring progress. @KarlBimshas

I think I need to learn the lesson of taking my time rather than making grand, dramatic word-count gestures. @impossiblecat

It’s so liberating to let your 1st draft be full of mistakes and still be okay. Life can be lead that way too. @KarlBimshas

My friend got me on to weekly wordcounts rather than daily ones. Seems to result in more writing somehow – like nano I guess @MustardPepper

If you feel “stuck” in a 1st draft, you’re not understanding the concept of a “1st draft.” @KarlBimshas

When I’m stuck I usually think about location/setting to spur a new scene. @mepowell

I prefer the term rough draft for writing without caring. First draft is removing everything that doesn’t work in rough draft. @cdreimer

A 1st draft is supposed to be a rough draft. Editing comes later, after you have the bones of the story down! @HeatherMcCorkle

As you can see, not all writers agree on the definition of first draft or rough draft, but the main thing is to pull out the pieces of advice that are useful to you.

If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, what have you learned since starting?

I’ve learned that it is a mistake to take on a novel project when you’re already fully committed. I had too many things already scheduled for November and my NaNo novel progress is suffering as a result.

Writing a novel requires a commitment of time and mental energy. If you aren’t fully prepared to make that commitment, then save the novel-writing until you are. Guilt and frustration over your lack of progress won’t do your novel any good.

Where I’m at…

Not where I want to be, but I consider it decent progress when measured against the other things I have going on this month. How is your NaNo progress? What have you learned?

I’ve been away working on my NaNo novel and some other projects. It may look like I’m behind on my word count, but that is all part of my strategy. Really. It is.

I do find that this NaNo seems a lot more effortless this year than in the past. I set my timer for 15 minutes and just start writing. Not in a hurry, but with the intent to keep my fingers moving for the entire time. And I can write 600 words in those 15 minutes, which is quite respectable. Three sessions and I have my word count for the day.

I’m anticipating it may get harder to get the words in as I progress through the story and the scenes aren’t so well-imagined yet.

How is NaNo going for you?

This was my fifth year doing NaNo. I started off very strong… and died in the middle. Died is probably an exaggeration. But here it is the 30th and I have 28,000 words done. So this is about what I learned from this year’s NaNo.

Accountability is Good

I started November with two family members and my writing group all participating in NaNo. The two family members dropped out within a week. My writing group stayed strong and made tremendous progress on their novels. They had daily checkins on their progress through our Yahoo group. Check-ins which I didn’t participate in. If I had… I think I would have made better progress. There’s nothing like your friends harassing you to keep you writing.

Pre-Planning is Important

I didn’t do a lot of pre-planning on my novel. I meant to, but let October get away from me. And I found that I needed all of that detailed planning to keep making progress and to keep my writing spirits up during November. For my first newsletter on Learn to Write Fiction, I covered the writing process that Elizabeth George uses and it sounds perfect for me. I need that character and setting work done ahead of time so I know what I’m going to write when I sit down.

Maintaining Momentum is a Must

I kept up during the first ten days or so. Then I missed a day, then two and before I knew it I was 10,000 words behind where I should be. To succeed in NaNo, I have to write 1667 words every day without fail. If I skip even one, it is even harder to write the next day.

Clear the Decks

In addition to NaNo in November, I had my day job and my work on Learn to Write Fiction which is essentially another job. Two jobs and writing a novel is a tough combination. I’d have been better off to get November’s website work done ahead of time so that I only had the novel to work on.

Recap

So what will happen to my novel? I plan to finish it, just at a slower pace. And after I do the necessary pre-work.

If you participated in NaNo this year, what did you learn?

I’m still behind on my NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) word count. About 10,000 words behind, to be precise. The reason? I’ve chosen to do other things rather than write. Isn’t that true of every reason for missing a deadline or falling behind on a goal? To me, the important thing to remember is that it was your choice. No need for guilt or self-recrimination over your “failing”. Just acknowledge that you made other choices.

Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to get caught up on NaNo and complete my 50,000 words this month. I definitely want to and I want to do most of that catching up this weekend. But knowing me, just wanting to isn’t going to get me there. I need a plan or come Monday morning, I’ll still be way behind. So here’s my strategy for getting caught up this weekend.

Short Bursts

I’ve discovered I can write about 700 words in 15 minutes if I just keep typing. So 10,000 words divided by 700 in a session equals about 14 sessions. Divide by four 15-minute sessions in an hour and it will take me about three and a half hours to get caught up. Taken all together, three and a half hours seems like a really LONG time to write. That’s why I’m breaking it up into 15-minute sessions. I plan to do eight of those today for a total of about 5600 words. I’ll do the rest tomorrow.

No TV

I have a bad habit right now of turning on the TV. Just to see what’s on, you know. Not that I’m going to watch anything. Right… Yeah, that’s not a good strategy for getting a lot of words written. So TV becomes a reward at the end of the day when I’ve completed my eight sessions.

Writing Music

While TV is a MAJOR distraction, music is not. Especially instrumental music or music with nonsense words, like Adiemus. To help me stay focused, I’m going to pop in an Adiemus CD during my short burst sessions.

Liberal Rewards

In addition to TV when I’m done with today’s sessions, I’m also giving myself some play time in Perfect World, an online MMORPG that I’m currently enjoying. I also have another business idea that I’m really excited about. After my sessions, I’m going to give myself permission to work on the idea. And lastly, I might squeeze in a trip to Fazoli’s for supper with a yummy piece of cheesecake with strawberry topping for dessert. Mmmm, now that’s a tasty incentive. Those rewards should carry me speedily through my writing sessions.

Using these strategies today and tomorrow will let me catch up so I’m back on track with NaNo. They will also keep me from arriving at Monday morning and wondering why I got so little done over the weekend. I hate that feeling.

What About You?

What strategies do you use to catch up on your writing or meet a deadline?

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I’ve been slacking on NaNo, I admit it. My last good day of writing was Thursday. The day I had a bad migraine, ironically enough, but I still managed to get my day’s words in before going to bed.

Friday and Saturday, nothing. Friday was a mental health day (at least that’s what I’m claiming). Saturday I did work on my novel, but not actual writing. Instead, I fleshed out a bunch of scenes. I’ve discovered that I’m a terrible seat-of-pants writer. If I don’t have a plan for where my story is going, I write very little. I think that’s what happened on Friday and Saturday.

So now I have a plan… 32 scenes, so far. I’ve made sure to include some really interesting plot developments, too. Candy bar scenes, as Holly Lisle calls them. Scenes I can’t wait to write. Those scenes pull you through your story, through the necessary, but not-so-exciting scenes to the end.

To catch up I’m shooting for 2000 words a day until I’m back to where I should be. Which should be about a week at that rate.

If you’re running behind on NaNo, you can still make it. It’s early enough in November that you can catch up. Take the total number of words you have left to write, divide by the number of days left in the month and write that many each day. I can do this, you can do this. Write on!

My output for yesterday and today hasn’t been as great as it could have been. One of the ways I relax when I get home from the day job is by watching TV… lately the forensic-type shows–CSI (original, Miami and NY), NCIS, etc. Writing lots of words is problematic when my ears and head are filled with somebody else’s words. It’s okay though. I’m still enthusiastic about my story and I won’t have any trouble picking up my output to more robust levels.

Today’s count is 6,482. A tad bit behind the day 4 goal of 6,668, but no worries.

On the non-fiction front, cranked out 1,250 words on my newsletter on Sunday for a nice start to my own little Non-Fiction in November challenge. And thanks to Nina Amir for stopping by with her encouragement on my project.

Now that elections in the US are over, for the most part tonight, we can focus more on our writing. What are you challenging yourself with in November? NaNo? A different writing project? Something in non-fiction? Share your challenge with us.

Had a great day yesterday for the start of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). My local writing group, the Saturday Writers, met at one of our member’s houses for our own write-in. Seven of us around the dining room table madly writing away. It was glorious. Of course, we did a lot more talking than writing, but that’s part of the fun of our group. We talk a lot about writing–about what works for each of us, what doesn’t, what each person is working on, we throw out ideas on writing questions… we have a lot of fun.

For words yesterday, I got 2466 words done. A nice start to NaNo. Could have done more, but I’m not going to burn myself out at the beginning of November. Think Tortoise and the Hare. I’m a turtle this month.

I’ve added to the count today and am up to 4696. I have six dead bodies in my story so far. Not bad for a scifi novel.

This is my fifth year doing NaNo. Squeaked in just under the deadline the first year due to family vacation to Branson, MO over Thanksgiving. The next two years I finished with no problems. Last year I got bored with the whole endeavor and just stopped writing after a couple weeks. This year, I’m looking at the 50k finish line and thinking, “This is too easy.” I already know I can write 50k in 30 days. So because that isn’t a hard enough challenge, I’m adding to it this year.

Found this post on Non-Fiction In November Challenge. It’s a group of non-fiction writers who challenge themselves to 50k of non-fiction during November. I have several projects in the works for the website here, so why not take up the challenge and work on them?

Because I still have NaNo and the day job to worry about though, I’m shooting for 25k of non-fiction writing. That should be enough of a challenge to satisfy my overachieving soul. Headed off to work on the non-fiction stuff now. I’ll let you know how I’m doing tomorrow.