NaNoWriMo: Surviving the Week Two Blues

Week One of NaNo is over, and the Week Two blues have officially commenced. I’ve made really good progress so far (hoping to hit 25k tonight), but I’ve written many of the initial scenes I was really excited about and I’m now well into the meat of the novel. I’m also properly mired in several of the logistical problems I’d been studiously ignoring. Now, it seems, I’ve actually got to do the work of sorting out my plot rather than just playing around with fun scenes. Sigh.

So, when the initial excitement has worn off and the hard work hits, how do we keep going? What are the best ways to beat the Week Two Blues?

 

1-      Don’t Stress

Firstly, don’t stress if you’re struggling a bit, or your novel doesn’t seem as exciting anymore. This is completely normal! Every writer goes through phases of self-doubt, and the early-middle is one of the hardest parts of a novel. The shine of a new story has worn off, but the end is still nowhere in sight. You now have to confront all the logistical problems you could ignore at the outline stage. This stage of writing is just hard, so don’t feel inferior because you’re struggling.

 

2-      Take a Walk

If the creative juices aren’t flowing, sometimes the best thing is to get away for a little while. Crucially, you should do something that allows your brain to wander and be creative. Avoid scrolling through social media or watching TV, as these activities take up too much of our attention. Instead, do something to make space for your thoughts, like going for a walk, taking a shower, or doing something artistic. Allowing your mind to wander is crucial for creativity. Pro tip: keep a notepad handy to capture all those brilliant thoughts when they show up!

 

3-      Spend Time Plotting

If something genuinely isn’t working in your story, it’s worth taking the time to sort it out. Just like tugging harder at a tangled skein of wool only makes it worse, pressing forward with a story that’s broken can just make a mess. Instead, take an hour out to brainstorm solutions. Try using a mindmap, or freewriting (you can even count these words toward your NaNo total, if you want!) You don’t need to do this every time you hit a minor snag, but taking an hour to solve a major problem can make the words flow much faster.

 

4-      Jump Ahead

If you’re stuck on a section of your story, feel free to jump ahead! There’s no reason why writing has to be linear. Whether you’re wrestling with a stubborn plot hole or just feeling uninspired by a chapter, it’s okay to leave it behind and move on to a more exciting section. Sometimes, moving forward can give you just the energy you need to revitalise your story.

 

5-      Silence Your Inner Critic

Someday, when you’re sending your novel to beta readers, or agents, or publishers, it might matter if your novel is good. Someday, you might need to turn your most critical eye upon your work. But today, in the middle of NaNo Week Two, is not that day. Today, you write. With NaNo, the only thing that matters is your wordcount. Try “sprints,” where you write as much as you can in a short space of time, perhaps 5 or 20 min. Or, if you’re really stuck, try writing one chapter as badly as you possibly can. It may surprise you just how good your “bad” writing is!

 

6-      Keep Going

Finally, the most crucial thing of all: keep going! Writing a novel is a marathon, not a sprint. The most important thing is to keep showing up. Even if you’re behind, even if you can only manage 167 words, not 1667, just keep going. It doesn’t matter how small the steps are, as long as you’re moving forward. 

How to get the most out of NaNoWriMo 2020

With NaNoWriMo starting tomorrow, I decided to dust off this old blog and offer a few tips to potential NaNo-ers. I've done NaNo five times over the past ten years and I've "won" every time, though the novels have certainly varied in their level of quality! This year, I'm working on a new project called THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S HUSBAND, which is a character-driven fantasy. 

Feel free to connect with me on the NaNo website; I'm always looking for new writing buddies.

But, without further ado, here are my 8 Top Tips for getting the most out of NaNoWriMo 2020.

1) Realise it’s a Sacrifice

Writing 50,000 words isn’t easy. Writing 50,000 words in a month while juggling a million other life responsibilities is even harder. Doing NaNo will require at least an hour or two every day, and that time has got to come from somewhere. Whether you chose to watch less TV, spend less time with friends, or let your house get a little messy, something has to give. The good thing is, that’s okay! While you probably shouldn’t ignore your family for a month, you don’t need to feel guilty about cooking a frozen pizza or ordering takeout. Writing is your priority this month, and that’s okay.

 

2) Schedule Writing Time

Winning NaNo is all about developing a writing habit, so it helps if you establish a set time to write. This won’t be possible for everyone, but most people can set aside a few minutes in a relatively regular pattern. I try to do about 45 minutes before starting work in the morning, and then another 45 minutes just before bed. If I use those minutes well, I can generally just about hit my wordcount in those times, then catch up a little on the weekend.

 

3) Catch Up

When starting out with NaNo, the number 1667 can loom large in our minds. It’s definitely helpful to develop a consistent writing schedule, but it’s also okay if you don’t hit 1667 every day. The past few years I’ve had really bad starts, with only a few hundred words over the first few days. This may seem disastrous (“I’m already 5000 words behind!”) but over the course of a month, it’s easy to catch up. Just do an extra 15 minutes here and there, or schedule some focussed time on the weekend. A bad start doesn’t have to be the end of your NaNo goal!

 

4) Make a Playlist

There’s nothing that gets you in the mood for writing like a good playlist. While some enterprising writers take the time to curate a playlist for each book, I adopt the much lazier approach of simply choosing an album to listen to on repeat. I find the best kind of writing music is where the lyrics aren’t really that important, and the songs all sound essentially the same. Previous favourites include Maroon 5’s singles, anything by Bastille, and Ed Sheeran’s early albums (don’t judge).

 

5) No Editing

This tip is on pretty much every NaNo advice blog there is, and for good reason. Not only is editing a waste of time during NaNo (if it doesn’t add to your wordcount, don’t do it!) but editing also makes you more critical of your work, which totally defeats the point. The beauty of NaNo is that you get to turn off your inner critic and just write, so avoid the temptation to edit, and focus on your wordcount instead!

 

6) Avoid the Blank Page

Have you ever found yourself poised at your keyboard, a fresh document in front of you, the cursor blinking mockingly as you try to think of how to start? It may sound exciting to begin a whole new project, but staring at a blank page is a sure-fire route to the dreaded writer’s block. If you don’t have the perfect opening line for your novel yet, don’t worry! Just start with whatever you’ve got, and fill in the rest later. There’s nothing that says you have to write your novel in order! You can even write “ADD BRILLIANT FIRST LINE HERE,” to remind you to revisit the opening in December.

 

7) Measure Your Progress

Watching your wordcount rise is a powerful motivator. The NaNo website lets you enter your wordcount every day and provides all sorts of helpful statistics—you can even track your mood! I’ve also made my own spreadsheet that tracks my wordcount, the words remaining, how far I am ahead/behind target, my average wordcount per day, and the average wordcount I need each day to finish on time. It took a little work to figure out Excel, but having detailed statistics helps keep me motivated. If it would help you, feel free to download my spreadsheet template.

8) Remember Why

It might sound cheesy, but on those stressful nights when it’s midnight and you’ve got to work tomorrow and you’re coming down with a cold but you still haven’t hit your wordcount goal… it’s important to remember why you’re doing it. Do you want to “win” NaNo, or just push yourself a bit? If you’re determined to win, why? Are you desperate to tell your story? Do you want to prove you have what it takes to be a writer? Or do you just not like giving up? In the depths of November, it’s important to remember that “winning” doesn’t actually earn you anything (other than a fun badge and maybe a T-shirt). Hitting 50K feels great, but focussing on your personal goals helps you get the most out of NaNo. 

Did you find these tips helpful? Add your own in the comments below-- I'd love to hear from you!