NaNoWriMo Week 2 Problems – Tips to Keep You Going

For some strange reason, many NaNoWriMo participants find week two to be a particularly difficult week to get through. According to Chris Baty in “No Plot? No Problem!” he believes it happens right as the novelty of National Novel Writing Month begins to wear off.

Whatever the reason happens to be, it has been challenging for me in the past as well. This year, (and I’m afraid I will jinx myself) all is still going well and the words still continue to flow each day. Of course, it helps a lot, that I am “writing what I know” this year and writing a book based on a real life situation. That has made a difference.

I have collected these useful tips to keep you going this week, and so that you don’t give up.

Don’t Start Over: For some reason, week two brings on lots of NaNo’ers that decide to scrap their original story idea, and try for a new plot that spontaneously seemed to have combusted inside their brains over the course of the past week while they were writing their original idea. Don’t do this. If you need to, make some notes about the new idea, or better yet, if its possible – try to incorporate it in some way with your new idea. Create a dream sequence, or have one of the characters telling a story, etc. Honestly, you will regret changing your story this week, and having not stuck with your original idea. Push on, and you will get over this hump.

Plot Problems? Keep Pushing. If you still have no idea how your plot is going to pan out, there is no need to panic. This is another situation that is common to many writers during this period, you are not alone. Keep pushing forward. Write as much as you can – keep your characters moving. Even if it doesn’t seem as if plot is happening. Eventually you will break out of this rut (next week) and all of a sudden, things you never saw coming will be happening and you will love it. Just keep up with your word counts, even through the struggle and you will come out on top. Promise.

Character Switch.If you find yourself getting stuck, or find yourself getting bored or annoyed with one of your main characters, try bringing on of your minor characters to the front for awhile. Sometimes it happens that the story we are trying to tell, is better told from a different point of view than what we first started with. Even if you switch back (which is done in lots of novels), it will help keep you going and get your writing flowing again.

Back It Up. No, this is not some fancy phrase for some great writing technique – well it is, but not for week 2 problems. Take the time now to back your novel up. You should already be doing that each time you write, but I cannot tell you how many times over the years I have heard of someone having to start several thousand words back, or even all over because they didn’t back up their novel and it just went poof. Be sure to back it up regularly and in more than one location.

Good luck guys!!

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