There are just 10 days left of NaNoWriMo 2018.
Your enthusiasm might be waning. Your word count might be miles behind target. Depressing thought: you should be on 33,333 words at the stroke of midnight.
This seems like the perfect time for five quick, practical tips on how to hit that 50,000-word target before the end of November.
1. Stop editing - Get the words down, quick, quick, quick, and worry about fixing spelling, grammar, pretentious metaphors later. Throw in a time jump if you reach a tricky plot point. I often write something like INSERT ACTION SCENE because I write better and quicker when dialogue is driving the story.
2. Turn off the TV - It's only for a month. You can do it. If you have time to binge-watch Daredevil Season 3 in the month of November then you are shooting yourself (and your word count) in the foot. At the very least, ration yourself to one episode a day. Only turn the TV on for the purpose of watching that one episode. Passively watching whatever happens to be on Channel 4 is a big no-no.
3. No tweeting, no blogging - I break this rule all the time. I'm writing a 400-word blog right now when I should be writing my manuscript. What am I thinking? Don't be like me. Be better than me. Blogging and tweeting, much like Christmas songs on the radio, can wait until the 1st of December.
4. No reading - I know, I know, but you can't write a book and read a book at the same time. Close that best-selling paperback, let your Kindle's battery go flat, and use that precious time to write your own book, not devote yourself to somebody else's.
5. Public transport - Ditch driving to work, or anywhere for that matter. Take your hands off the steering wheel and fill them with pen and paper instead. Driving is dead time. But riding on a train or bus or tube will allow you to write reams of words before arriving at your destination. This is the game-changer that helped me complete three separate WriMos in recent years. I owe that success almost exclusively to my train commute. All hail the rail!
Sign up to Simon's newsletter to hear more about his reading and writing projects.
Your enthusiasm might be waning. Your word count might be miles behind target. Depressing thought: you should be on 33,333 words at the stroke of midnight.
This seems like the perfect time for five quick, practical tips on how to hit that 50,000-word target before the end of November.
1. Stop editing - Get the words down, quick, quick, quick, and worry about fixing spelling, grammar, pretentious metaphors later. Throw in a time jump if you reach a tricky plot point. I often write something like INSERT ACTION SCENE because I write better and quicker when dialogue is driving the story.
2. Turn off the TV - It's only for a month. You can do it. If you have time to binge-watch Daredevil Season 3 in the month of November then you are shooting yourself (and your word count) in the foot. At the very least, ration yourself to one episode a day. Only turn the TV on for the purpose of watching that one episode. Passively watching whatever happens to be on Channel 4 is a big no-no.
3. No tweeting, no blogging - I break this rule all the time. I'm writing a 400-word blog right now when I should be writing my manuscript. What am I thinking? Don't be like me. Be better than me. Blogging and tweeting, much like Christmas songs on the radio, can wait until the 1st of December.
4. No reading - I know, I know, but you can't write a book and read a book at the same time. Close that best-selling paperback, let your Kindle's battery go flat, and use that precious time to write your own book, not devote yourself to somebody else's.
5. Public transport - Ditch driving to work, or anywhere for that matter. Take your hands off the steering wheel and fill them with pen and paper instead. Driving is dead time. But riding on a train or bus or tube will allow you to write reams of words before arriving at your destination. This is the game-changer that helped me complete three separate WriMos in recent years. I owe that success almost exclusively to my train commute. All hail the rail!
Sign up to Simon's newsletter to hear more about his reading and writing projects.