NaNoWriMo Updates: Tips and Tricks

Tomorrow is the official final day of NaNoWriMo! How many of you have hit your goal of 50k words already? Are you cramming to get it finished by tomorrow at midnight? If you follow me on Instagram (the_bibliophagist_) or Twitter (@Bibliophagist90) then you already know that I hit that 50k work goal on Sunday, November 25th! You are reading the words of a NaNoWriMo 2018 WINNER!

Was that roaring applause or did I just imagine you all clapping and congratulating me?

I will just imagine you all did…thank you, everyone. *Bows*

I have to say that I am impressed with myself. Being my first NaNoWriMo, I was unsure of how it would turn out. My biggest worry was that I would not make the word count. I can now throw that worry right out the window because I did it! I did not do it alone of course. I want to quickly thank those who were most supportive of me.

First…my husband: Thank you for always cheering me up and encouraging me to write. But thank you most of all for taking the kids on Sundays and letting me stay at Barnes and Noble all day. That is really what helped push me to finish it, all of that alone time was a dream.

My father-in-law: Thank you for always pushing me to write more than I set out to each night. Hearing that you want to read the book is a wonderful encouragement. I value your advice and support dearly.

My Mom: Thank you for always showing support and telling me that dad would be proud.

Kevin James Breaux: I’ve thanked you many times but I will continue to do it. Thank you for giving me that initial push to start writing…you might have created a monster.

Stephanie (my writing buddy): I loved the NaNoWriMo care package you sent, thank you again for that. I loved that we could talk about story ideas or problems. Thank you for always encouraging me to keep writing and telling me that I would make it.

Everyone Else: If you have ever cheered me on via Instagram or Twitter, your thanks did not go unnoticed. I read every single one and they helped me smile when I was not sure that I would make it.

Tips and Tricks

I learned many things during my first NaNoWriMo and wanted to share some of them with you, so…here goes.

• Writing buddies and support system
  • Support is a huge part of how I managed to continue writing and meet my word count. The people that I thanked above were beyond helpful and thanking them here is just not enough to show how much their support truly meant. If you lack the support of family or friends, use the NaNo website and find a writing buddy. I can say that I am thankful for Stephani because we are not only NaNo writing buddies but becoming friends as well. Talking to others who participate in NaNo will give you someone who can relate to your struggle.
• Routine
  • I found that I quickly fell into a writing routine and it helped so much. I would write every evening between 10pm and 12am. Sunday’s I would go to Barnes and Noble and stay until they closed, allowing me peace, without kids to write. If I knew it was writing time, I felt guilty if I was not doing what I initially intended.
• Do not force it
  • I made the word count and wrote every day but I did not write 2k words every day. If I did not feel like writing, I only wrote a sentence or paragraph. That way I still wrote for the day but did not force myself, avoiding burnout. I knew that I wrote more on weekends so that helped me on the weekdays that I did not write much.
• Have a story idea ahead of time
  • I know some of you are pantsers and that is fine. I do think that if you have a general story idea ahead of time rather than trying to come up with one as you write, it will help. Have an idea of where you want to end up.
• Word Crawls or sprints
  • I did one writing sprint and one-word crawl. A sprint is where you set a timer and see how many words you can write in, let’s say 5 minutes. It pushes you to write. A word crawl does the same thing but makes it fun. I used the House Cleaning word crawl I found on google. It allowed me to get some chores done but also gave me word counts for each one.
• Take care of yourself
  • I know that NaNo can be stressful but you need to take care of yourself first. Sleep, eat, and drink. Hydrate for sure! I know using the bathroom constantly can be a pain but you think better without a headache caused by dehydration, trust me…I know. Snacking is a great way to keep your energy up. I do not recommend eating junk food like I did…I gained 3lbs….but I will lose it so I am not that worried. You do not need to shy from junk food, it did help me write after all. I would say just avoid binge eating because then you will feel awful. Sleep…yes sleep. Do not stay up later than usual just to hit those final words for the day. Let yourself rest, you will think more clearly in the morning.

There you have it, some tips and tricks on how I made my first NaNoWriMo a winning one! If you have any questions, please ask…I love helping others. In December I will post about what NaNoWriMo winner prizes I claimed and why, be sure to watch for that.