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@gracie-j Hey so how did u make that quiz for ur fairytale thing?
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebI just finished the promised post of NaNoWriMo tips! I wasn’t sure where to post it, so I decided this topic would work fine:)
Alrighty! *Rubs hands together* So this is a brief (I know it doesn’t seem brief, but it is compared to the entire book) crash course based on Baty’s revised edition, (tbh I never read the un-revised one).
So anyway getting straight to the terrifying/good stuff, I’ll begin with writer and champion figure skater, Ralph Waldo’s quote, “In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed.”
…
That basically sums this April up pretty well. From Baty’s book: “thanks to the go-go-go structure of the event, the pressure to write brilliant prose had been lifted. And in its place was the pleasure of learning by doing. Of taking risks and making messes. Of following ideas just to see where they lead.”Quality is honestly going to not exist for a while, as Baty said, “writing for quantity rather than quality, I discovered, had the strange effect of bringing out both.” It’s a hardcore, low expectations/high yield sport.
Okay, I guess I started out with quite a few quotes, but now moving on to two of the lessons he learned in his years of this event, (since it’s 2021, he’s been doing NaNoWriMo for twenty-one years since he founded it).
1# is being busy is good for your writing. Because honestly, when we have nothing to do but write, we often find ourselves doing everything but.
2# Plot happens. “Your intuition knows what it wants to write, so get out of the way,” -Ray Bradbury. (But outlining is great too. Really, what works best for moving your novel along).Now, moving on to The Time Finder. This basically means, look through your schedule and cut out anything for-go-able, (for me, this will mean cutting out checking Pinterest boards, extra movies, procrastinating, watching extra music videos, extra obligations, and such). This way, when fun things come up during the frenzy of a month, you won’t have to cut them out because you’ve already cut out the for-go-ables.
It will also be a good idea to inform family and friends of the upcoming venture, because it’s a lot like going on a trip and you wouldn’t go on a trip, leaving them to wonder where in the world you went. They can also supply encouragement to keep going, (last November, my brother prodded me every day to keep my fingers on the keyboard). And aside from the awesome, “you can do its,” family and friends can supply another key tool to complete April: fear.
Yep, as awful as that sounds, terror can be a NaNo Writer’s good and or best friend. Because later on, other things will become more interesting, other activities that will need attending and you’ll need the momentum. Ways to employ a healthy dose of writerly fear is:1# Bragging, essentially bragging (or telling) about finishing a novel in one month. Not that you have to go all out with bragging or anything, usually telling people you’ll have a novel written at the end of April is enough. And it will make it nearly impossible to back down.
2# Betting the bank as Baty calls it. Which can take many forms from actual bets to handing a quantity of money or something valuable over to a family member/friend and then set word milestones. Once you reach each milestone, you earn a bit back. Or you could do chore-based betting, (honestly, I’d rather type furiously than risk cleaning the basement).
About writing spaces:
1# Set isolated blocks of writing time.
2# Make sure your writing space is clean and comfortable, (of course you can mess up the writing space, but it always pays to pick it up afterward so you’ll have a clear space to return to).
3# Don’’t write within view of a bed or any temptation that will drag you away from your device to procrastinate.And now for my personal favorite piece of advice from Baty, is to make out your Manga Carta lists. These are two lists, the first is Manga Carta One, where you list all the things that you believe make a good novel or at least things that you enjoy in a novel. For me, that list included: third-person narration (though that’s a preference, not something that makes a novel good or bad), a romantic subplot, adventure, winter settings, strong protagonists, humor, happy endings, a mix of chapter types, heroic MC’s, great dialogue and such.
The second list is Manga Carta Two, in which you list all the things that you dislike or think make a bad novel, for me that’s: horror, dysfunctional dramas, sad endings, etc.
The purpose of these lists is to remind us, writers, what to include in our novels and what to keep out. I know, I know, I thought the same thing when Baty said that. But he explained that when we are in the middle of writing, those elements that we dislike in other novels have a way of slipping in because I might think maybe a sad ending could add depth even though I hate reading them. It’s like eating a gross brand of cereal, even though it seems like the healthier choice, it’s miserable, (yeah I know Cheerios are probably healthier than Fruit Loops, but happily, nutrition fact boxes don’t apply to noveling ay least, not this part of noveling… hmm, I’d have to think about it more, I guess cereal boxes are deeper than I thought XD ).Here is the month in a brief summary according to Baty:
Week 1 / The trumpets blare, exciting start, enthusiasm.
Week 2 / Storm clouds approach, excitement flags, word count slows.Week 3 / The storm clouds begin to clear, new ideas.
Week 4 / Victory dash, final sprint, 50k or bust.
So that’s kind of the way the four weeks are generally viewed, but I can’t guarantee that this will be the case. Because for me, Weel 1 was the hardest, 2 the easiest, and so on. But that is what the general view of it is.
Outline For Week 1
So the one killjoy that we’ll have to do away with for the time being in April is the “Inner Editor” as Baty puts it. The annoying little creature that finds flaws, blunders, and all sorts of assorted faults that need fixing. While the Inner Editor can be helpful and will come in handy later on, it will have to be imprisoned for the span of NaNoWriMo.
Baty and his fun way of putting things says this:
“This month, you’ll leave your Inner Editor here with me at the fully licensed, board-certified ‘No Plot? No Problem!’ Inner Editor Kennel – where it can spend its days carping with other Inner Editors, happily pointing out typos and blogs and complaining about the numerous plot hole on daytime television.
—– So here’s the deal I’m proposing,” he continues, “I’ll take that heavy, anxious Inner Editor off your hands for four weeks. No charge. And in exchange, you promise to write your novel at a high-velocity, take-no-prisoners, anything-goes style that would absolutely horrify it.”Remind me to send you the Inner Editor Removal Button before April begins, (no seriously! It’s more ceremonial/psychological/humorous than anything, but still.)
Things to remember about this week:
1# Please take this challenge seriously.
2# Please don’t take any of this seriously.
(Which means, do take the 50k goal seriously, but nothing else concerning the challenge. And even for those who don’t quite touch 50k, not to worry, because the main purpose was to get their novels rolling further than they had been).3# Ride the momentum. If this April works for you as it claims in the book, ride the momentum of Week 1. Pound out as many words as humanly possible in the beginning so it won’t be as big of a struggle to catch up later on.
4# Some things to ward off being exhausted or at least less excruciatingly tired are (as written) fresh air, peppermint anything, spicy foods, and sunlight. I mean I’ve only tried the peppermints myself since I normally write by night and I’ll admit it does help even though it’s no magic cure.5# Don’t delete anything, because every word counts and every word will push you further to 50k. Don’t delete, italicize. That way, you’ll know what to delete but won’t lose words.
The goal of Week 1 is 11,600 words. Do: Get ahead of your word count pace, suspend judgment and give yourself plenty of room to explore, create and make messes. Don’t: delete anything, be dismayed if your prose sounds terrible – all the best novels started out just like this.
Extra quotes:
“If you can write during every day of Week 1, even if it’s only for ten minutes each day, you are much more likely to finish your novel,” -Steven Hoffman.
“Save often. Nothing is worse than losing a few hundred words because you forgot to save,” -Olivia Coakley.
“Don’t freak out when you can’t hit 1,667 words every day. There will be some days you can barely hit 500, and other days you will find yourself pushing past 3,000,” – Denton Froese.
I’m so very sorry it took me this long to reply, but I just finished reading this and this was absolutely wonderful advice! Thank you so much for compiling these tips for me, because, as a beginner, I’m accepting of any advice on how to survive my first NaNoWriMo. I loved every point!
And that was very reassuring to know that it’s okay to make messes, because I have a tendency to edit as soon as I finish writing and eventually get stuck in a loop of editing and not writing (which is why I have a lower word count than I’d like). So that helps to know it’s acceptable! And yes, I need to really cut out all distractions and solely focus on writing, so maybe I’ll make a list of everything I need to cut out and prioritize.
And I did warn my family XD They’re very supportive of the idea and excited, which
puts a lot of pressuremotivates me to push myself to finish. Before NaNo, I’ll definitely clean my workspace and make sure it’s spick and span. And that week-by-week timeline was very helpful! I have a feeling I’ll be super excited on the first week, but I’m just hoping I can keep up the enthusiasm and consistency all through the four weeks XD But I’ll give it my very best 🙂And that’s a great idea about not deleting anything–I delete things a lot, so I’ll try to calm down with the backspace key and just keep moving forward. And those quotes are especially encouraging/motivating! Thank you so much, Abigail, for doing this for me! And for participating in NaNo with me, too!!! It’s honestly been so much more exciting knowing I’ll be doing it with a friend! 🙂 I’ll definitely reference this post multiple times as I prep!:) Thank you!
NP! It’s perfectly fine and honestly, it didn’t take you all that long.
*Wipes perspiration from forehead* Whew! I’m glad that it was helpful!
And YES! This is one sport where making messes is highly encouraged because you never know what awesome stuff can become of it! 😀 And one of the few rules that WriMo has is no editing whatsoever until the end of the month, so yep, messes are completely acceptable/encouraged!
I’m super glad I was able to help and no problem, I’m really excited/looking forward to NaNoWriMo too!!! 😀 😀 😀Of course!! Your posts are always helpful!! 🙂 Yay, finally I don’t have to edit all the time! *Whew!* That sounds bad, but I’m a nut when it comes to editing right after I type, so I’m sure it will feel good to ditch that for a while and focus on getting new words down instead. I’m glad you’re looking forward to it, too! I’m super optimistic about it, and just the thought of finally finishing my first novel makes me jittery (in a good way). And thanks for those warnings–it helps to know what I’m getting into.
I understand exactly what you mean. I can write a fifty-word dialogue exchange, then mull over it for a half-hour wondering all the ways I could edit it. So yep, NaNoWriMo is a nice break from editing:)
No problem, it’s the least a fellow WriMo-er can do to warn you of the upcoming month.@abigail-m
So relatable… I spent half my ‘writing time’ actually editing and not writing, which is why NaNo sounded super helpful to me. I can’t wait to start! 🙂 I’m really glad I have these tips (and quotes) as a prep, too!Hello! I’m beginning a rant because splicing my brain into three novels has now become too much and I need to vent XD Feel free to skip past this haha.
So I started a novel three-four-ish years ago that has been transformed from a 1700s historical fiction into a scifi sortaish-retelling, but I’m starting to lose interest now that another book I’ve had on the brain is taking form. Although I love this new novel, I reeally love and need to finish my other novel.
While all of this was (and is) taking place, I started a Snow White retelling novel written completely in Chinese to help with my fluency (and also because I apparently have a mental death wish 🙃😵)
Anyway so my brain is completely fried, and to top it all off, I have a nice, thick, bitter icing called “keeping up with school”. 🤣😬 Life is grand.
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
@daisy-torres Dang, girl… That is a lot! While, I, too, have several books planned to write in Chinese, I have not attempted that yet… If you need me to check anything, feel free to ask!
Take a break! That is a lot!
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@devastate-lasting Haha! Planning multiple is a lot! I don’t know if I’ll write any others in Chinese after this XD I might, but idk. Hopefully by the end of this I’ll know what I’m doing a bit more XD I have to be honest, I’m relying on Google translate (which I know can be a pretty messy translator at times) for a lot more than I’d originally hoped ;-;
I’m far from fluent so I know it’s pretty bad right now, but I will definitely take you up on that!! Thank youuu <3
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
@daisy-torres Ahhh might I suggest you a thing called DeepL Translate? It works so much better than Google Translate for Chinese-English translations…
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@devastate-lasting Ooooh I will definitely try that!! Thank youuu
"It's easy to be caught up in stardust and whispers when reality is so dark and loud."
@godlyfantasy12 @e-k-seaver How did our challenge go, guys? I managed to finish the project I set for myself by midnight last night, haha…
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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@godlyfantasy12 Girl, I am FIVE DAYS LATE! I am SO sorry, but I’ll answer you anyway… I used Google Forms, which is THE BEST! Like, I make forms for fun because it’s so easy and fun to do! Again, sorry I’m just now getting back to you…
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