NaNoWriMo

November is almost here! And you know what that means? NaNoWriMo is back!!!

For those of you not in the know, NaNoWriMo is the abbreviation for "National Novel Writing Month." This month is dedicated to all the writers out there who have brilliant story ideas that never have the time to put them down on paper (or today, I guess that would be in black and white binary code.)

The goal is to write a 50,000 word story (novel) in the 30 days of November -- that averages to 1,667 words a day (but we'll just say 1700). I like to plan things out before I do them, so I'm already working on an outline and main characters for my story, but there are really are no rules on what can and can't be done.

Prize? The satisfaction of a job well done ;) This is just a fun way to motivate people to start writing! Leave your fear and preconceived notions at the door! And get past that procrastination! This is a month to make those writing fantasies come true. This is story-land -- anything that you can (and maybe even some things you can't) imagine are possible.

HERE is a link to the NaNoWriMo website if you want to join and make it official. But if you're more like me, who likes to stay under the radar, just buckle down and get started! No official registration required!

Tips that may help writers:

Tea. For some of you that might be coffee or ice water, but for some reason, tea helps me think more quickly and work faster.

Make a outline. This does not have to be a point 3 subsection c type of outline. Just a general overview of how you want the characters introduced, how they interact with each other, what you want the purpose of the story to be. I like to include the character's background stories in the outline, but I don't think you'll need more than 10 pages (although I do know writers who make 30 page outlines). Just a general overview so that you as the writer can keep things straight in your head.

Make character profiles. Unless you are a writer, few people understand the difficulty in creating a character. The writer must know and understand a character inside and out in order to be able to correctly determine the actions of the character. Family, background and appearance are important factors that are easily forgotten in the mass of letters used in telling a story. HERE is a link to the a post of THE BEST character profile I have come across, and HERE and HERE are two online character templates that are not as good, but shorter.

Write straight through THEN go back and rewrite and edit. This was always a sticker for me. The trick to getting the story done is to run headlong and don't stop until you reach "The End." Constantly going back, rereading and revising causes the writer to become stuck and bored with the story. So bored that they don't care to finish. I have a little sticky note stuck to my computer that says "Let the words flow" to remind me to simply write and to not worry about polish until it's over. Sometimes it helps if I close my eyes and type so that I don't get distracted by little errors in either the story OR my typing.

If you have any good tips, post them in the comments below -- I'd love to hear them!