Isabella Taylor
If you’re not familiar with the acronym NaNoWriMo, it’s essentially a writing competition that takes place in November, where the goal is to write 50,000 words within 30 days. I know–it’s a lot, and that is definitely not my goal right now. However, in order to write a novel, you’ve got to just start writing so that you’ll have material to work with. It doesn’t matter where in your novel you are; get something down. This will come into play later; for now, here’s the structure I want to follow.
Every day for about one week at a time, get 1,000 words written. It’s not too hard a goal, 1,000 words is really only a couple of pages. The words can be anywhere at all. Start in the climax if you really want to describe a certain setting. Start with the resolution if you have an idea about the major plot twist.
Don’t worry about being strategic with your time until you’ve got at least half of your word count scribbled out. Once it’s been a week, take the next week completely off from writing. It might seem counterintuitive, and you might start dying to write towards the end, but take the week off. If you get any amazing ideas, jot them down quickly somewhere for later, but do not elaborate on them yet!
After the off-week is over, get right back to writing, and repeat the process until you have got most of the words you want. This will be the longest chunk of time, but once you’ve got an extremely rough base to start with, everything else can follow suit much easier.
The reason I suggest you take a week off is so that you don’t get bored with your novel. Most of you might think that is a foreign concept– “how could I get bored with my own creation, my baby?” But it will happen eventually. Taking a week to rest yourself, even if you don’t want to at the time, will do two things.
For one, your brain can take a writing break. Constant writing isn’t necessarily good for anyone, and a constant writing headache sounds even worse. Treat your brain like a muscle–you need off days.
Secondly, taking a break will make the heart grow fonder. Ever heard of the effect absence has on you? Pull away your precious novel for a week, and watch yourself squirm with how much you want to write. Therefore, when the week is up, those 1,000 words will practically write themselves.
Happy writing!