The first two months of the term have passed by in a blur, bringing us into Nocturnal November—the month when cases of the Procrastination Bug spread like wildfire. With midterms and assignments due one after the other, it can be hard to find inspiration or even the time to sit back and write. For those participating in NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month, attempting to write 50,000 words in 30 days may seem especially daunting.
Fret not! Take a deep breath, step back and tackle your writing head-on.
1. Set a goal
This is your personal goal: what you want to achieve in terms of writing. You can set daily, weekly or even monthly goals and measure your success by the number of words written, pages filled or the number of projects completed. Oftentimes, writers use their word count to determine how far they are, as in the case of NaNoWriMo. This word count can be from your novel, journal or total words written across all types of literature.
Remember, your goal can literally be a word a day. The point is to write something—anything.
2. Set your environment
Some people prefer to write in one location while others prefer to move around. Regardless of your preference, consider your environment before you set off on your writing journey. Perhaps an autumn-scented candle will set the mood for your story, or a perky-looking succulent will give you that much-needed inspiration boost. Whatever you prefer, set it up and give it a try.
3. Block out time
Once you have a goal and environment in mind, you can set aside time each day or week to achieve said goal. For example, you could set a goal of 1,000 words a day or 1,000 words a week. Setting exact times to write may not work with your schedule, and that’s all right. Perhaps you’d prefer to write throughout the day or spend a night writing with friends. Either way, consider a writing sprint! Sprints are short periods of time where you sit down and write and, at the end of the period, you can see how much you have progressed.
4. Write with friends
Sometimes, writing can feel like a lonely hobby, but having a supportive group of both writers and non-writers can mitigate that feeling. With writers, you can start a group chat to talk about your ideas, update each other on your progress or share snippets of your writing. Having a community of people who share your passion will not only inspire you to write more but encourage you to share your own story.
Now, that sounds more exciting, doesn’t it?
Write on, even if it’s just a word a day!
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