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bookish_dragonMiladyRose here.
No joke, this helpful list was presented in a university lecture two weeks ago about the design process. All of the headings are the work of my lecturer, who as far as I know has never heard of NaNoWriMo. The paragraphs under each heading are my own commentary, making each heading NaNo-specific.
Allow events to change you
The fact that your carefully-outlined plot does not allow for an impromptu road trip to Alabama by way of Sydney, London, Dubai and the Moon is irrelevant to your characters, who will most likely do exactly as they damn well please.
Forget about good
You're already trying to write 50,000 words in a month. Trying to make them 50,000 good words will just leave you too terrified to type anything at all. Editing is what December (and possibly January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September and maybe even October) is for.
Process is more important than outcome
The fun you will have during NaNo far outweighs the distant possibility of having (after a lot of editing) what may turn out to be a publishable novel. This is why, while there are only a few 'success' stories of people turning their NaNos into published stories, thousands of people, win or lose, return to the event each year.
Love your experiments
Even if your attempt to write an epic zombie/human romance fell flat on its face halfway through November, think how much fun you would have missed out on if you had realised back in October that your zombie Romeo giving in and eating your human Juliet's brainwould ruin your plotline and make your audience (your best friend, your dog and your teddy bear, Snuffles) feel violently ill.
Begin anywhere
Wordcount is wordcount. It doesn't matter whether you start at the beginning, the end, or halfway through the victory speech of the evil quasi-villain who gets defeated in chapter three. If you try to write things chronologically, odds are you will have forgotten half your plot by the time you get around to it.
Ask stupid questions
"Yes, but why is the hunky space captain able to travel back in time to the reign of Elizabeth I to romance the Virgin Queen? How does he get there, and why doesn't he screw up the time-space continuum by doing so?" If you want to know the answer to something in your plot, the chances are that your audience does, too.
Collaborate
Proper collaboration is, of course, banned from NaNoWriMo. But this doesn't make your support network any less vital. You must know who you can call at 4am to bounce your latest epiphany off.
Listen carefully
...to your characters. If they say they want to go on a roadtrip, it doesn't matter what you originally had planned. They'll co-operate better if you do it their way.
Take coffee breaks
Reward yourself. It'll be a long November if you don't.
Remember
...your old projects, even if they seem silly now. That grammatically-incorrect, poorly spelled, terrible story about a bunny rabbit that you wrote when you were six is part of what makes you the writer you are today.
Laugh
Because when a camel drops out of the sky and crushes your MC's best friend that's all you can do, really.
No joke, this helpful list was presented in a university lecture two weeks ago about the design process. All of the headings are the work of my lecturer, who as far as I know has never heard of NaNoWriMo. The paragraphs under each heading are my own commentary, making each heading NaNo-specific.
Allow events to change you
The fact that your carefully-outlined plot does not allow for an impromptu road trip to Alabama by way of Sydney, London, Dubai and the Moon is irrelevant to your characters, who will most likely do exactly as they damn well please.
Forget about good
You're already trying to write 50,000 words in a month. Trying to make them 50,000 good words will just leave you too terrified to type anything at all. Editing is what December (and possibly January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September and maybe even October) is for.
Process is more important than outcome
The fun you will have during NaNo far outweighs the distant possibility of having (after a lot of editing) what may turn out to be a publishable novel. This is why, while there are only a few 'success' stories of people turning their NaNos into published stories, thousands of people, win or lose, return to the event each year.
Love your experiments
Even if your attempt to write an epic zombie/human romance fell flat on its face halfway through November, think how much fun you would have missed out on if you had realised back in October that your zombie Romeo giving in and eating your human Juliet's brainwould ruin your plotline and make your audience (your best friend, your dog and your teddy bear, Snuffles) feel violently ill.
Begin anywhere
Wordcount is wordcount. It doesn't matter whether you start at the beginning, the end, or halfway through the victory speech of the evil quasi-villain who gets defeated in chapter three. If you try to write things chronologically, odds are you will have forgotten half your plot by the time you get around to it.
Ask stupid questions
"Yes, but why is the hunky space captain able to travel back in time to the reign of Elizabeth I to romance the Virgin Queen? How does he get there, and why doesn't he screw up the time-space continuum by doing so?" If you want to know the answer to something in your plot, the chances are that your audience does, too.
Collaborate
Proper collaboration is, of course, banned from NaNoWriMo. But this doesn't make your support network any less vital. You must know who you can call at 4am to bounce your latest epiphany off.
Listen carefully
...to your characters. If they say they want to go on a roadtrip, it doesn't matter what you originally had planned. They'll co-operate better if you do it their way.
Take coffee breaks
Reward yourself. It'll be a long November if you don't.
Remember
...your old projects, even if they seem silly now. That grammatically-incorrect, poorly spelled, terrible story about a bunny rabbit that you wrote when you were six is part of what makes you the writer you are today.
Laugh
Because when a camel drops out of the sky and crushes your MC's best friend that's all you can do, really.
