"win" NaNoWriMo this year

How I did it: I built up in myself an untethered belief that I could do this. I communicated with others who won and picked their brain a little and asked what worked for them and in the process I realized that they were *normal, busy people* just like me! If they could do it, so could I!! :-)

Here's a caveat: I didn't wait until I fully believed I could do it. I took that little inkling of belief and magnified it until it consumed me. Then everything else--all the steps to doing my NaNoWriMo novel--became a natural part of my life.

Lessons & tips: Tell your family and friends you're doing NaNoWriMo and organize your life as best as you can around it. Once they see you in action and you show them your NaNoWriMo page (which summarizes your success, etc.), they will understand and will be more likely to support you. Maybe reward for them, too? Perhaps a nice dinner or excursion together? Come up with a reward that gives them back special time with you!

Remember: Time is your friend (or enemy). You don't need huge chunks of it. You just need to use whatever time you have well. I carved a little bit of time out of my day and took advantage of
large blocks of time that turned up -- especially with the Muse took over and I was in the "zone."


Don't be a perfectionist or an editor. It helps to be less particular about quality and more focused on quantity.
This was a huge breakthrough for me since I tend to edit as I write. I trained myself to think of the writing project as one looooong
first draft. If a short fiction writer and poet like me can do this, so can you! ;-)

Do NaNoWriMo with others--either team up with people and prod each other on. Join a group on an online writers board or attend an in-person writer meeting. I tried all of the above to varying degrees. Do what works for you.

Check out my final blog entry about NaNoWriMo 2008:
http://www.cabcabinmoran.com/blog/2008/12/04/musings-on-nanowrimo/

Resources: From my library of writing books, I'd recommend:

ON WRITING by Stephen King
BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott

These two books highlight the importance of the first draft and that's what you're really working on in NaNoWriMo.

Other books include:

ART AND FEAR by Bayles and Orland. This is a small book but definitely a keeper. Nuggets of inspiration and practical truths about being a writer or any other kind of artist.

SPUNK AND BITE by Arthur Plotnik. Want to take a fearless approach to wordsmithing? This book will help you get there.

Oct 06, 08:08AM PDT | 0 comments