A Winner's View of NaNoWriMo
(National Novel Writing Month)
Scott McGowan
Introduction:
Before I begin, I should say that this is my second year attempting the NaNoWriMo challenge. Last year I was only available for a single week so, due to my stubbornness, I attempted to write the full 50,000 words in seven days. This was not a good idea and I would never suggest it to anybody.
By the third day, lunchtime, of NaNoWriMo 2014, I had written around 17,500 words and my brain decided that enough was enough and shut down. I was not able to concentrate on my writing at all and even found it difficult to create a decent flowing sentence.
Do not try this at home.
Learning Difficulties:
Having a learning difficulty should not dissuade anyone from attempting the NaNoWriMo challenge. I, myself, am Dyslexic and have had issues because of it for most of my life. I have come to a point in my life where I can stand above it and light-heartedly inform people that I’m just a Dalek Sec.
Always remember that the idea of the competition is to see if you are able to write 50,000 words in four weeks. These words don’t have to be perfect or even spelled correctly. The grammar is also supposed to be messed up until after you have completed it. What you write, during the month of November, is only supposed to be a first draft and nowhere near a finished work. In writing this article, I have had to correct a great many spelling mistakes and grammatical errors and, I’m quite sure, Hope has found many more that I missed.
Yet, even with my dyslexia, I was able to complete this year’s NaNoWriMo within three weeks. I have since read through it again and fixed any errors that I could find and have sent it off to the kind Eleanor Watson for proof reading.
Never let a disability stop you from achieving your dreams. Agatha Christie had Dysgraphia; John Irving, Stephan J. Cannell and F. Scott Fitzgerald is/were Dyslexic; George Bernard Shaw and Jules Verne both suffered from ADD; and even Lynda La Plante has always had trouble with the written word, getting every last word checked before it goes out, whether it be a book or simply a letter or email.
Working Space:
I am blessed to have a decent partner desk to work on. It is five feet long and holds everything I need while I write. I have my laptop in front of me with my USB mouse to my right. I find these much easier to use than the touch pad on the laptop. I get very annoyed when my thumb accidentally hits said pad and I start typing into a previously completed paragraph. It is always a pain to have to go back and edit a paragraph again when you thought that you were done with it.
On the other side of my mouse sits my iPad. This is perfect for checking information, studying up on subjects and getting translations. On my left, I have a television screen which has Spotify streaming through it. It is somewhat of a luxury but it helps me.
Below the television, I have a monitor, connected to a separate and very old desktop machine, where I can have my concentrated notes up at all times and don’t have to keep switching between open programmes. I just look to my left and the info is there. I also have on my desk, a tin of juice or a mug of tea, depending on the time of day, and a wee snack-box, holding biscuits and cakes. It is always good to keep your energy up.
Whatever setup you have, make sure it adheres to whatever makes you the most comfortable and free from any distractions.
Before You Start:
A lot of people forget this but it is perfectly alright to plan your NaNoWriMo piece before November hits. It is true that most like to dive straight in, on the 1st, and just see where it takes them. You do not have to do this, if you don’t want to, and there is nobody who would think any the worse of you for it.
In October, around midway, I decided I would write a novella, entitled “The Guild Rally”. I made a few short notes and a list of the first few chapter titles I would need, just to give me a running start. I knew where everything was going to start and end; and I even had a few ideas about what I wanted to happen throughout the story. This gave me a chance to start writing as soon as the NaNoWriMo clock started.
I would suggest that everyone does this, at least on their first try. It really does help and can take a lot of the pressure off of you when you start to write, in November. Also, you only have to maintain a word-count of 1,667 a day. Some days are more fruitful than others but if you can keep to this average, you will be fine.
The Time to Write:
Everyone has busy lives and it is sometimes difficult to find the time to write after all the events of the day. If you are to complete NaNoWriMo, you will need to try and find the time to put into it. I have found it essential to have a specific time in the day when I write. I always prefer to write at night when there are no distractions and no humans running around the place. The world is quiet and asleep and I am able to write.
That being decided, I chose to write from 8pm till 3am every night, where possible. I took the middle two weeks off of work, as a holiday, which allowed me to do this. I found that, in doing this, I was able to get my word-count for the day by midnight and, after midnight, I managed to get a head start for the next day’s count. This worked exceptionally well and I was writing between 2,500 and 5,000 words a day.
Again, the time you choose is entirely up to you. Find a time that suits you the best. Maybe it’s a couple of hours a night, after the kids have gone to their beds,; maybe it’s a couple of hours before you would normally get up in the morning; or possibly it’s an hour at lunchtime and another hour or two at night. Pick a time that allows you to put yourself fully into your story and have no foreign influences.
Day One:
On the 1st of November, at 00:00, the fun begins and you are allowed to start writing. If you have your brief notes, drink, snacks and, if you partake, tobacco, you are more than prepared to begin.
I would suggest to everyone that they take their time. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, although the wee red squiggly lines that appear all over my text can be annoying. You can take a breather, every so often, to quickly fix these, if you so wish. The main idea is that you create your scene and get your stage set.
If you don’t manage the 1,667 words on your first day, do not be concerned. Everyone starts off at different speeds and you have plenty time to catch up. NaNoWriMo is a marathon, not a sprint and should be attempted as such. Because I took a couple of weeks off in the middle of the month, I was able to knock out a higher word-count than required and so completed it in three weeks, instead of four. It made things easier, not having to worry about having to go to work or any of the other things that I would usually have to do. Any housework or shopping could be done in the afternoons and the evenings were left for writing into the early hours of the morning.
Not everyone is able to do this. With many people trying to use their paid holidays up at the end of the year, it can be difficult to get the time off that you were looking for. Also there are some who have young families and so need their holidays for time away with them. If you can’t take time off, it’s still very rewarding if you are able to find a couple of hours each day to attempt this challenge.
The Writing:
Once you begin, you can feel like you’re pushing a boulder up a hill. Don’t worry, there are other’s out there to give you encouragement and help in any way they can. Thousands upon thousands of people, all over the world, participate in NaNoWriMo and many of them are on Twitter, tweeting their daily scores and how their doing with the overall task, so far. They are all open to random people messaging them their questions or asking for advice. Many of them enjoy helping out other writers. It is a strong community and you should not be afraid to join in with any conversations you see going on. Comment on other people’s posts, ask them questions or maybe even provide them with a piece of knowledge which they’re looking for. You may know something that others don’t.
If you wish to utilise Twitter, you can see other people’s posts by typing “#NaNoWriMo2015” into the Twitter search bar. If you are unsure how to do this then ask around to see if someone can show you. It can be a great daily boost to see how others are faring in their own progress and getting daily words of wisdom from previous winners throughout the month is superbly uplifting.
Completion:
When you get to the end of the month, it is hoped that you will have found your writing muse and have 50,000 words completed. If so, once you copy your text into the validator, you are an instant winner and can have all the bragging rights that come with it. Achieving the 50,000 mark is an extraordinary achievement and you should be very proud of your accomplishment.
However, if you have not managed to complete your work on time, please do not fret. There is nothing stopping you continuing, as you have been, and finishing the story. There is always another year of NaNoWriMo coming up, too, and the excitement as the time rolls over for the arrival of another November, is almost as exciting as the event itself. Never give up, never surrender and always make sure to get back up on that horse again.
I am so delighted that I have managed to complete my NaNoWriMo 2015 challenge. It was a lot of fun and helped me in my writing a great deal. I will be attempting it again next year and the year after that and so on and so forth, until the day my typing fingers have no more to give.
Lastly and most of all, enjoy yourself. NaNoWriMo is designed to be a fun event and I have found it to be that and so much more.
Good luck for the 2016 event, if you decide to give it a go, and may all the words come a flowing. Come find me at my Twitter handle, ‘@AuthorMcGowan’, when you do.
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