Making it Through NaNoWriMo

                “Anyone can cook.”

                It’s not exactly rocking the world for me to say that Pixar has made some classic films, and while Ratatouille always ranks highly, I find most of the film tends to fade from memory for me between viewings. Except that line, and the concept it speaks to. I love that, especially being someone who works in a creative field.

                For anyone who hasn’t seen the film, minor thematic spoilers, but the point of that phrase isn’t that cooking is something easy that everyone can do. It’s that the capacity to cook and grow better at it isn’t monopolized by fancy schools or traditional recipes. Anyone, from any station of life, might possess the passion and talent to become a great chef. And the same is true with all the other art forms, writing included.

                I know some authors have issues with NaNoWriMo, they think it belittles the work we do by advocating that everyone try their hand at it, but to me NaNo has always been about people taking that first step to see if writing is something they really love. I’ve had a lot of passions that couldn’t sustain the amount of work required to write a book, and there’s no shame in that, it’s why I picked writing over those interests with my time. I see NaNo as an opportunity for all the people who think they’ll like writing a book to take the plunge and see how well expectations match up to reality. For some, it will be a wake-up call that this isn’t the path they want, while for others the effort will confirm their ambitions.

                To that effect, the more of the process you experience, the better a litmus test it will be for you, so today I wanted to offer up some advice in hopes of seeing as many of you make it across the finish line as possible.

What Do I Write Next?

                For Pantsers (those who write with loose/no outlines and tend to write as they go) this is a familiar struggle, but you’d be surprised how many Plotters (heavy-outline users) will hit the same snag if an element of their story goes off plan. Sometimes a character’s initial incarnation isn’t clicking, or a plot point’s holes become clearer the deeper into the story you go, and improvisation is needed.

                I know this is the first stumbling point for a lot of writers, NaNo or not. Those first chapters are always heavily focused on setup and world-building, the sort of content that you’ve already been simmering for a long time. Once all the pieces are on the board, though, it becomes a game of how you move them. Sooner or later, the momentum runs dry, and you hit your first day where the blankness of the screen seems to be mocking your every effort.

                In those cases, what you actually write will vary. My tactic for making that determination would be to identify which plot points are vital and which ones can be more fluid. Starting with the next vital one, work backward, figuring out how to best lay groundwork to get you there, while also making something fun to read. Even Pantsers should know the next general development their writing toward, so taking the time to do a chapter about expanding the characters/world while laying pipe for the plot should be manageable. If the characters or world aren’t vibrant enough to support those kinds of sections, then it might be a sign your piece needs a touch more development.

What If I Hate My Work?

                I touched on this last time I talked about Nano, but it’s definitely worth repeating. In the middle, we all have doubts. I’ve published 20 books, written more, and never has there been a work I wasn’t positive would end my career when I was halfway through it. I won’t harp long on a repeat, this section is just to let you know that it’s okay to have doubts about the work while you’re writing it. That said, if you want to see how good the quality actually is and grow better from the experience, then it’s important to finish, doubts be damned.

I’m Behind Schedule!

                First off, despite what the site says, do not write 1,667 words per day (on the 50k novel track). Write 2k, or 1,800, or some amount over the minimum. Be ahead by a little here and there, build yourself a surplus of words to serve as a cushion. Life is messy, and if you have 30 uninterrupted days to work on your novel, consider that the lucky streak of a lifetime. Running a serial for years taught me to prepare for the unexpected at every turn, and being ahead of my totals was a major part of how I kept so many plates in the air. In the moment, those extra words might seem like unnecessary surplus work, especially at the end of a writing session, but I promise that the twenty minutes you spend will seem invaluable the first time shit goes sideways and suddenly writing falls to the backburner.

                Assuming you’ve ignored that and still fallen behind, the fix solution is the same as the prep one, write a little more than your minimum. Don’t try and take it all on in a single day, that will just burn you out, cause more misses, and lead to being even deeper in the hole. Remember, writing a book is like eating a whale; one bite at a time. Chew down your word-debt slowly, don’t let it overwhelm you. There might still be some writing left to do come December 1st, but you’ll be much closer to a finished project than if you’d let falling behind kill your motivation entirely.

How Are All These Other People Writing So Much?

                While I love the communal aspect of NaNoWriMo, the sense of comradery as countless authors work together to tackle their novels, the emphasis on pure number of words can have issues at times. Not every author writes in the same way, at the same speed, and the quality of the words they produce can vary wildly. Some authors churn out 6k in a day, but leave half of it on the editing floor, while others will methodically knock out a very consistent 1k that requires little tweaking, and everything in between.

                I’ve said it many times before, I’m sure I’ll have to say it again: writing is about finding the process that works for you. There is no right speed to write a book, no right method, only trial and error until you find how to get the best results for yourself. During NaNo, it can be very easy to see those spiking totals and think you’re doing something wrong. In such moments, look back to your project. If you’re making work you’re proud of on a schedule that’s sustainable, then you’re doing NaNo right, because those are two of the key skills of being a fulltime writer. Get those down, and you’ll be on the right path, no matter where you stack against the overall totals.

                Good luck to everyone out there attempting to finish their first novel! While there’s still a long way from manuscript to final product, writing the actual book is far and away the biggest step. Here’s hoping that come December, all of you have to grapple with what to do once you’ve gotten something finished.