I could just call this post "How to succeed with anything you decide to do." But that would be a bit obnoxious. So I'll just talk about things I know, for once.
Some six months ago or so I wrote a survival guide to Camp NaNoWriMo, about how to prepare for writing 50 000 (fifty thousand!) words in 30 days. But since then I did the real NaNoWriMo and won. So I wanted to share how I did it, and how you can do it. And I truly and fully believe that if you follow these guidelines you can do whatever you want in life.
Know what you are getting yourself into
Writing 50k words in 30 days means 1667 words a day if you write every day. Or 2272 words a day if you write five days a week. Depending on how fast you type and on how clear your ideas are in your head this will take more or less time to write. One thing is sure though - it will take time.
It will mean not showering when really, you should. It will mean not eating when you should and when you finally do eat it will probably be something that takes between 1 and 10 minutes to make. It will mean saying no to your friends when they ask you to go out. It will mean drinking so much coffee or tea that your body will shake from abstinence once you're done. It will mean not sleeping. It will mean living like a monk for a month, but without the whole "zen" thing.
If you are not willing to give up on these things, you are not ready to commit.
Know your flow
I thought that titled sounded good, so I googled it, and all that came up was either about money or menstruation. This isn't about either of those subjects. This is about finding what works for you. The first few weeks for me was all about figuring out how to be the most efficient in my writing. After a few weeks I found my "mode opératoire".
For me, what works best, are the Word Wars. A Word War is when you, and at least one other person decide to write as much as you can in a certain period of time, and then you compare scores. The competition helps you keep motivated, even if you don't win, you will still have written more than if you were just sitting staring at your screen trying to find that perfect word.
I found out that if I did four 15 minute word wars, with 15 minutes of pause between each, I reached my daily goal in two hours. These are stats. Facts that make it easier to keep motivated. I always tried to do a fifth word war just to keep a bit ahead on my word count as well.
Some people write faster, some slower. Some prefer writing continuously for a couple of hours, some want 30 minute word wars, some only write in the morning, some can't write a word before midnight. No one cares about when you write, or how you write, as long as you write. So try different things until you find what works for you. And when you find that thing. Learn how you work, get the stats. And use them in your favor.
You're not alone
Meeting new people is scary. I get anxious about it all the time, and I consider myself a rather social being. But surrounding yourself with people in your situation is the best motivation. The NaNoWriMo community provides "write ins", which is basically just a bunch of crazy people writing for hours and hours. Some actually write, others just eat and talk. But the importance is - you are not alone.
If you live in the middle of nowhere or just don't like leaving the house, there's this amazing thing called the Internet, and there are chats where you can meet others without actually meeting them. And it works almost as well. You are not alone.
This works with everything you do in your life. You might think you're well off on your own, but just talking to someone in the same situation makes it all so much more bearable. So if you're writing a novel, trying to get fit, making a movie, redecorating your house, etc. - go out and meet people in the same situation, or scour the internet for a forum, blog, chat, whatever that can provide you with the truth that is - you are not alone.
Tumblr is (not) your enemy
I got a tumblr years ago. I never spent any time on it. I have never cared before. EVER.
And then came November, and unfortunately the release of Thor: The Dark World.
And procrastination hell break lose.
In my case it was in the shape of a tall blond dancing Englishman. For others it's Doctor Who, football, America's Next Top Model or your cat, whatever. The point is, when you have to do something, everything else seems like such a good idea. I don't know how many hours I spent on tumblr during November, but it was probably 10 times more than what I do right now.
At first it annoyed the hell out of me, but then I came up with a system.
Whenever I was on "pause" from a word war I went on tumblr. I checked my facebook, I went on twitter, I compressed my procrastination into a 15 minute window and then I went back to work. 15 minutes intensive writing, 15 minutes intensive procrastination.
Embrace your procrastination and use it as a motivation, and then come up with a system to make it work for you, not against you.
So what you up to?
Here's the thing. People will wonder why you aren't going out drinking. People will wonder why you look like a heroin addict. People will wonder why you stop in the middle of a sentence to scribble something down mumbling something about "that would be a great way to end that scene...".
So I realized the best way of dealing with it is telling them the truth. It's scary. I didn't have the guts to do it at first. But I found out that most people like the idea. They will think you're crazy, but they will admire you for doing something like that. Often because they would like to have the courage to do it themselves.
You see, when you embark on a journey like this you are very courageous. Maybe no one told you, but you are a courageous person for doing this. For trying to push yourself to do something new and scary. Most people never dare say yes to a project like this. Most people go with the flow, stay on the same level and vaguely dream about doing something new and exciting.
I thought people were going to laugh at me. But most people are just curious about why, and how, and "but what are you going to do with the novel?".
Have fun!
Like everything in life, there will come a time when it all sucks. When you're not in love with it anymore. When your novel stinks.When every word that comes out of you is worse than the one before. And you feel as if you have to write. And you force yourself to do it. And it hurts.
When this happens (because it will), just take a step back. Breathe. And think about why you're doing this. What pushed you into doing this in the beginning. Try to find that motivation again.
And if you can't. Then just treat it like play. Instead of writing that scene you "need" to write - write something exciting! Something fun! Something that inspires you. It might not make sense in your novel, but it will make sense to you - because it will be "you" that writes, and not the pressure of writing. Try to enjoy every minute of it!
