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Posted on November 8, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Squash a Tomato or Write a Lot of Words: How to Get More Words

I’m really not having that much of a problem trying to maintain my writing everyday, but with that said, since I’m trying to do the Reverse method of writing this year, I am a bit behind where I am supposed to be today. I’m supposed to be at 23,447 and I am just over 18,000. See, not quite there.  That’s okay, because I am still ahead of regular NaNoWriMo, so I’m not really complaining.

I was trying to find different methods to try to see if I could race myself to write more shutting my inner editor up, because she likes to vocalize and be heard all through my writing. It’s annoying. Write or Die is great, but I haven’t really felt compelled to use it this year.

I did however find mytomatoes.com and it has been an interesting tool to use to try to get as much writing done as I can in a short amount of time. I don’t know that there is anything all that special about it, only that for some reason its fun and reminds me a little of the thrill I get when I participate in word wars. I’m notorious for missing word wars and word sprints on twitter, so this works the same way.

The idea is basically teaching you time management by using a cooking timer. Click on the link, load the page, sign in or register and start the time.  As soon as the 25 minutes appears, go write. Write and Write and Write. Don’t stop. Don’t edit. JUST WRITE. Get as many words as you can in that 25 minutes.  For me, I sometimes just need accountability. I also love that you do the task (whatever you WANT to do) for 25 minutes and then you take a 5 minute break. The alarm goes off and you start again. This gives you time for a reward, a potty break, getting coffee or food. When you hear the alarm again – its time to start a new tomato.

I have enjoyed this so far… I can usually get about 2 or 3 tomatoes in (sometimes 4 of 5) before I actually need to get up and do something else for a bit. I love that it gives me the time to do all of this. Check it out. If you need a push, this might be just the thing you need.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Posted on November 8, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

NaNoWriMo Memetastic(ness) Day 2

Day 2 of my MeMetastic(ness) NaNoWriMo deal I’m doing.

If you want to see what I’m posting each day, go here.

Day 2 –What’s the title of your story?  Why did you choose the name you did?

Is it bad that I still don’t have a title for it yet? I don’t typically choose a title until I am pretty far into a story and plot to figure out what “fits”. I tentatively call my NaNo WIP … All The Words We Couldn’t Say. I’m pretty sure that will not stay, but it might.

Honestly, I have loved this title for a long time. I had no idea how I would use it. Turns out, the plot line in my story this year is about a search and reunion, adoption style. Thus… All the Words We Couldn’t Say.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted on November 7, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

NaNoWriMo Memetastic(ness) Day 1

So here is Day 1 of my MeMetastic(ness) NaNoWriMo deal I’m doing.

If you want to see what I’m posting each day, go here.

Day 1 – Have you participated in NaNoWriMo before?  If so, which years and what end result?  If not (or even if so, for that matter), what’s your connection to writing?  Why do you want to participate this year?

Anyone who has followed my blog for awhile knows that I have participated in NaNoWriMo.

2004  - My first year and I did not win. I can’t remember what my exact word count was, but I believe it was somewhere around 20,000. I was new, I thought I could reach 50,000 but wasn’t keeping up on my daily word count and started almost two weeks late.

2005 – Won – I will never do anything with this one. It was terrible, but it was fun.

2006 – Won – Great start, never finished, no editing done.

2007 – Won – Probably about halfway done with the book, no editing done.

2008 – Won – This one actually started out as a non-fiction account of an event that happened. During edits, I changed it to be a fictional account. It is not complete yet, but editing is still in the works.

2009 – Won (and it’s almost complete… needs some more editing, but it’s looking good)

2010 – This year I will win again. I love the friendships with other writers that I tend to formulate during November. Some of my closest writing friends are people I met while doing this and they still remain friends. I don’t know why I insist on doing it every year, except I love it. Now two of my daughters are doing the YWP also, so its more of a family event.

I am a writer every single day of the year. I have written since I was very young. As a child short stories were my favorite thing to write. Then through my teen years, poetry and short stories. Then as a young adult I wrote my first book while I began working freelance and did articles for newsletters, websites and various other places. I continued that up until about two years ago where I drastically cut back on the amount of freelancing I was doing because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore and wanted to dedicate my time to my books. I delved head first into fictional writing and have been hooked and obsessed ever since. I am a full time writer now.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted on November 7, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

NaNoWriMo Memetastic(ness)

I was blog hopping today and you know how that goes… you follow one link, which leads to another and before you know it you land on a blog you probably would have never found if you hadn’t have been following  blogs in the first place that day. I stumbled upon a meme specifically for NaNoWriMo and well, since I’m in the deep throws of it, I decided why not. Why not add salt to a wound and require even more words on top of words and so I am jumping in feet first.

You can find the original meme, here. But in case you want to see what I will be doing each day, here it is.

• Day 1 – Have you participated in NaNoWriMo before?  If so, which years and what end result?  If not (or even if so, for that matter), what’s your connection to writing?  Why do you want to participate this year?
• Day 2 – What’s the title of your story?  Why did you choose the name you did?
• Day 3 – Pick one of your female characters.  Introduce your readers to her, from her point of view and her words only.
• Day 4 – What genre is your novel?  Why did you pick it?
• Day 5 – Name two songs from your playlist that you feel are connected with your novel in some way, and explain how they are.
• Day 6 – What is your one biggest stressor related to forcing yourself to write at least 50,000 words in a span of 30 days?
• Day 7 – Where’s your favorite place to hunker down and write?
• Day 8 -List your current, most up-to-date word count.  Are you satisfied with your progress thus far?
• Day 9 – Have you told anyone else you’re doing NaNo this year?  Who?  What was their reaction?
• Day 10 – How does your love of writing manifest in non-NaNo months?
• Day 11 – Ever tried collaborative writing (such as play-by-post roleplaying)?  If so, what do you think of it?
• Day 12 – Imagine you’re behind in your word count goals (even if you’re not) and are going to pull an all-nighter to catch up.  Screencap a playlist of inspirational music you would use to get you up to speed.
• Day 13 – Name a male character from your novel.  Describe him through the point of view and words of the female character you introduced in question 3 (if they never interact, pick another female character).
• Day 14 – Is the sexuality of your characters a large part of your novel’s story?  If so, are there characters who deviate from the heterosexual “norm”?  In what way?
• Day 15 – Do any of your characters have a disability or mental illness?  If so, how does that affect their development throughout your story?
• Day 16 – At around the half-way point, it bears mentioning that most of us wrimos have other obligations beside simply hitting that elusive word count.  What else do you have going on in your life (work, school, children, neurotic pets, etc.), and just how much are you shafting it to win NaNo?
• Day 17 – In what time period is your novel set?  Is it in this world or another?
• Day 18 – Who is the antagonist in your novel?  What drives their actions?
• Day 19 – Which authors or books have inspired your own writing the most, and why?
• Day 20 – If you could meet one fictional character from any book you’ve ever read, who would it be, and why?
• Day 21 – With about 10 days left to this arguably traumatic experience, what are your plans and goals for your novel, should you successfully complete it?
• Day 22 – If you’ve participated in or won NaNo before, what happened to your other novel efforts?  Still in the revision process/querying publishers/scrapped it immediately/etc.
• Day 23 – Do animals play any part in your story?  If so, how do they add to it?
• Day 24 – Is religion featured in your novel at all?  If so, which ones?  If it’s/they’re your own creations, describe it/them and how it/they play(s) a part in your characters’ lives.
• Day 25 – What are the names of at least two of your main characters?  How did you choose their names?
• Day 26 – Was any research involved (historical or otherwise) in your NaNo prep?
• Day 27 – What’s your word count now?  Are you satisfied with your progress or panicked that you won’t have enough time to finish by November 30?
• Day 28 – Name one thing you shafted all month in favor of participating in NaNo.
• Day 29 – Name one thing in which you indulged as a treat to keep yourself motivated and writing that you wouldn’t otherwise have done.
• Day 30 – Share a link to either your NaNo profile or a location on the internet where your story can be found.  If someone offered to beta read for you, would you be willing to do the same for them during the subsequent editing process?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted on November 6, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Write a Random # of Words

I don’t have time for a long blog post, but will be back later to fulfill that. In the meantime, I thought I’d give you a cool tip I’ve seen circulating around.

See this link?

This link

Yea. That one. Wait! Don’t click on it yet.

This is a GREAT tool to use if you need a little push on your writing. For example. I will sit down and write x amount of words for y minutes.

Now, the link does not have a timer. All it is, is a random number generator. It will randomly select a number between 1-1000. Yes, I have gotten one. More on that later.

You take your number and that is the amount of words you must write. No questions asked. You might only get 31. That’s great. Write your 31 words. And if you’re brave, click it again afterward. This time you might get 954. Yes, you have to write that too.

I love this when you want to get a little writing done but aren’t really feeling that motivated. Or perhaps as a… when I finish writing x amount of words, I can get on twitter/facebook/blogs/read a book…. whatever.

If you get 1, click it again and then add 1 to whatever you get. I’ve done that when I have gotten low numbers. I will click three times if I get a double digit the first two times. I got 44 the first time, 76 the second time and then I got a whopping 727 the third time. But guess what? I wrote every single one of those words.

I hope it is a nice little motivator for you. Oh, and here’s the link again.

The link

P.S. Before I found this tip, I used the dice method. I would use either 3 or 4 dice that I picked up from the dollar store. If I only had a short period of time, I only used three. If I had much longer, I would use 4. Roll the dice one at a time and write each number down in the order you roll it. (you could use the same dice, but I liked rolling them all at the same time and picking them up from left to right).  At the end, that’s your word count goal. I liked the dice because they were portable. Yes, I know I’m a nerd.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Posted on November 3, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Better yet, WRITE that novel!

Are you a NaNo lover? Then take a gander at this little beauty of a gem, and please – for the love of all things wonderful – feel free to comment – here or there… I don’t care where. Beauty of a Gem otherwise known as Better yet, DON’T write that novel.  It is such trash, it actually makes me mad. I am absolutely not the only one judging a) by the comments she has received and b) by the uproar on the forums under All Ages Coffee House under the title Hey Guys, Wanna See Something You Can Get Really Mad At?

I just thought I’d take a moment to comment on her finer points.

1. She generalizes that the end product for all Novels written during the month of November are “really, really bad first drafts”. Okay, I am not going to negate the fact that out of 21, 683 winners last year, there were even a decent percentage that were not “really, really bad first drafts”. I don’t know any single author in the world, that churns out a book in first draft format, that is considered good. Maybe better than the average person writing, but not necessarily good. Honestly, any author worth anything, would admit that a first draft is often only the stepping off point. This is why you edit and revise. Which brings me to the next point.

2. She points out that many NaNo submissions for publishing have absolutely no editing done to them. First, let me say that I had no idea that people did that. Never in a million years would I have thought that someone would take their November novel and submit it shortly after, with no editing or revision. Honestly, who does that? Well, it’s not me. So don’t classify me among those people. I am a writer. I write. I enjoy writing. I write novels. I have many. They need editing or revisions  - THIS is why they are not published yet. But do not assume that every single person writing in the month of November is going to take their “crap” and send it to a publishing house. If others are doing this, it is obvious that they do not know what they are doing. However, with that said, isn’t that the same thing as people sending photographs in for contests and publishing submissions that aren’t really very good photographers? Or how about scrapbooking – sending in a layout for publication. Maybe they aren’t as good as the next guy – but this doesn’t mean that every submission is bad. That’s all I’m saying. Don’t generalize so much. With 120,000 people signed up for NaNo last year, you cannot assume that every single one of them is even remotely alike. I edit, I revise. THEN I submit. Period.

3.  ”As someone who doesn’t write novels, but does read rather a lot of them,”. Wow, really? You don’t write novels? I had no clue. I certainly couldn’t tell that by you not recognizing that for some, writing is a therapy. It might be a hobby, it might be a way to make some extra money, it might be a story they have been longing to tell. And because they are not good writers, they should not do it? And further more, because they want to write a novel, they are obviously not readers? What a bunch of drivel!  I am an avid reader. I read all the time. Even during November… oh, the irony. So essentially what I read from the pointless crap that she wrote, was that if we are writing, or writing a novel, we are not readers. Excuse me? How do you even come close to that conclusion? There is absolutely no way that someone would be writing, if they don’t read. And if they are writing, and they don’t read, it is obvious they are doing NaNo for the wrong reasons. Of course, I realize there are many that sign up that probably shouldn’t have. This is apparent by the number of people who actually verify at the end vs. the number of people who sign up. That does not however, have anything to do with whether or not we read. Why in the world, did you even put that in the article? Assuming that because people want to participate in NaNoWriMo or in a contest of any kind requiring the writer to write a set amount of words in a set amount of time (in this case 50,000 in 30 days) they are not readers, is the most asinine thing I have ever heard.

4. Further in that paragraph, she also lays these beautiful words on her readers.

The last thing the world needs is more bad books. But even if every one of these 30-day novelists prudently slipped his or her manuscript into a drawer, all the time, energy and resources that go into the enterprise strike me as misplaced.

Misplaced? By who’s judgement? Yours? Why should I care what you think? Who are you anyway? You are not a friend, a relative or anyone that any any point, I will have any contact with. So why do I care if you think that my time, energy and resources (damn, all that coffee I consume in November!) are “misplaced”? Whatever. I am a writer. Year round. I write articles, I write for major publications JUST like Ms. Miller. I also write novels. I enjoy the creative outlet. To assume that because I want to participate in NaNoWriMo, I’m not serious about my work, my writing or about getting published, is again, the most ridiculous assumption ever. Ms. Miller seriously has NO idea what she is talking about. To have even judged every single person that signs up for November, is ridiculous. I have participated for six years. This is my seventh. I have completed 50,000 words every year but the first, and I hope that I will again accomplish the feat. I do not feel for even a second, that I am wasting my time, energy or resources (again with the coffee!).

5.

Frankly, there are already more than enough novels out there — more than those of us who still read novels could ever get around to poking our noses into, even when it’s our job to do so.

Are you freaking kidding me? There are more than enough novels out there? Can I just say that I have seriously gone through just about every single book that interests me at all in the young-adult section of our library system… I said SYSTEM… I don’t mean just a single location. I read ALL THE TIME. I do not enjoy certain genre’s within young adult. So maybe there are already “more than enough novels out there”, but I’ve read all the ones that I want, and anxiously await more to be published. So, while you continued on later in the paragraph, indicating that you were looking forward to undiscovered and new writer’s being published, you need not to have included the above sentence. Not. At. All. Not everyone enjoys the same types of books. This doesn’t mean they don’t read, nor does it mean they don’t give books a chance. I have many a time, picked up a book in a genre I normally do not read at all, just to have something to read.  Ugh. I’m seriously wanting to scream right now at your utter stupidity Ms. Miller.

6.

Yet while there’s no shortage of good novels out there, there is a shortage of readers for these books. Even authors who achieve what probably seems like Nirvana to the average NaNoWriMo participant — publication by a major house — will, for the most part, soon learn this dispiriting truth: Hardly anyone will read their books and next to no one will buy them.

WTF!?!?!? Next to no one will buy them? Hardly anyone will read them? Are you freaking insane woman? I have a home library that would make some people sick with how much money is tied up in literature. In my household alone I probably have over 10,000 books. We have a book case in EVERY room of our home EXCEPT the kitchen. And that room has a great big shelf overflowing with cookbooks… they are still books you nutty woman. I have every possible age group covered, I have every genre and type covered. I have children who love to read, I have a husband who loves to read and I, myself love to read. I also have friends and acquaintances. I have been in their homes. I have seen them read. I have seen their bookshelves. I am only one, in a small area, however one would have to assume, as you so love to do, that if this is the world I know, how many others in the world are just like me. What a completely stupid thing to say. Certainly, nirvana is obtained when one gets published, but assuming that an author will not have readers, nor have anyone buying their books, is one of complete and total ignorance. Are you actually serious with those words?

7.

Writers have a reputation for being tormented by their lot, probably because they’re always moaning so loudly about how hard it is, but it’s the readers who are fragile, a truly endangered species. They don’t make a big stink about how underappreciated they are; like Tinkerbell or any other disbelieved-in fairy, they just fade away.

Wait… what? Isn’t that what you just did in this compilation of ignorant words you call an article?

8.

Rather than squandering our applause on writers — who, let’s face, will keep on pounding the keyboards whether we support them or not — why not direct more attention, more pep talks, more nonprofit booster groups, more benefit galas and more huzzahs to readers? Why not celebrate them more heartily?

Sounds good. Now, why don’t you shut up and go start it. You get a NaNoReMo (National Novel Reading Month) going or better yet a NaNoReYe (Year) going. Whatever. I really find it appalling to see an article such as yours, ranting and raving about one particular hobby or interest, then going on about how there should be something else instead. Why instead? Why not both? Why don’t you shut up, climb down off the pole and get moving on getting a program or challenge started. Unfortunately, I would never participate in your program, because you have torn apart something that is important and fun for me. I have a strong feeling I am not alone. However, it would be wonderful to see such a program exist. Why not get to it Ms. Miller and leave the snarky, drivel filled articles to someone else. It might serve you well.

Comments?

*Edit: Someone pointed me to this article since I wrote this. It’s another response. NaNoWriMo isn’t a waste of time and this one too: 12 Reasons to ignore the naysayers: Do NaNoWriMo. I <3 these!

Popularity: 11% [?]

Posted on November 1, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

NaNoWriMo Day 1 – Check Ins and Such

Thought I’d take a quick moment to pop in and say hello and do a check in. At this point, I started at midnight, and wrote for about an hour. I made it just over 1000 words and then needed to crash, I couldn’t even think anymore.

This morning, I got up and after a little research and organization, dropped another 1000 words. I am over the halfway mark for my day 1 goal, which is 3346 words. I think about another hour of writing and I should hit it. I won’t lie – I am terribly tempted to keep going and knock out tomorrow’s goal too. I probably will.

We have an evening activity tonight, so while my kids are at practice, I will probably drag my netbook along so I can do a little writing there, though there are limitless distractions – namely friends who I really love spending time with and have never been through a NaNo with me, so I’m sure I will take a couple hour break to enjoy that instead. But never fear, the netbook is still coming – just in case.

I’m feeling really confident with my story at this point. Carlyn, my MC is a giant pain in the butt, and it will be awhile until she begins to settle. But at least she is succeeding in making me feel the way I want my reader to feel about her. This is good. As of the middle of chapter one which is where I estimate I am at this point, there is only one other minor character involved – her best friend Mia. Otherwise, it is the last day of school and so there of course is mention of teachers and other students, but none by name. Again, this is all good. It is working well. I am exhausted already with all the thought I have put into this, but I am enjoying the process.

Tell me, how are you doing on your progress? How is the story flowing at this point? Have you switched plots yet? (I did this all Saturday – I had a WHOLE different plot planned and outlined… it kills me that I threw all that work away (not literally) and went a different direction with all new characters). With that said, I’m still loving it. Are you?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted on October 29, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

The Reward System – One Word on Day 30

So every year I have managed my 1667 words per day for NaNoWriMo. In fact, somedays I write more – usually at the beginning few weeks. Then I get less confident of my story, or the direction it is going and I begin to write less and less until the last few days when I panic and realize I have to write, write, write to get that 50,000.

Over on the boards, I saw someone post something that intrigued me. She called it the Reward System – where you write 1 word on day 30. (guess I better make it a good word).

Here is her post off the boards in its entirety … I’m sharing because I AM DOING THIS – and you may or may not want to also.

If you’re like me, you start out strong when writing a new story but immediately begin slacking as ideas cease to flow and the concrete past constricts the once-fluid future.

Therefore, I developed a NaNo writing technique to accommodate this writing style! Each day, you write a few less words than the day before, until finally ending with only a single word on day 30! Here’s the breakdown:

Word Quotas

Week One
Day 1: 3346 (It’s day one! Hell yeah, go for it!)
Day 2: 3216
Day 3: 3101
Day 4: 2986
Day 5: 2872
Day 6: 2757
Day 7: 2642

Week Two
Day 8: 2527 (This is the hard part. Week one is out of the way, but you’ve still got some painful quotas left. Just do it!)
Day 9: 2412
Day 10: 2298
Day 11: 2183
Day 12: 2068
Day 13: 1953 (Almost there…)
Day 14: 1838 (Almost there……)

Week Three
Day 15: 1724 (Halfway point! After this, you’ll be writing less every day than everyone else!)
Day 16: 1609
Day 17: 1494
Day 18: 1379
Day 19: 1264
Day 20: 1150
Day 21: 1035 (Less than a thousand words a day after this!)

Week Four
Day 22: 920
Day 23: 805
Day 24: 690
Day 25: 576 (That’s a single good Word War! Feel free to laugh at the people with over three times this quota today!)
Day 26: 461
Day 27: 346
Day 28: 231

Week Five
Day 29: 116
Day 30: 1 (Aww yeah! One word left! Make it a good one!)

So – seems pretty simple to me. Especially since I start out with a gusto and I will have no problem keeping that going throughout the month. Hey, I figure I’ll try it out this year and if it doesn’t work, I’ll revert back to the good old 1667 words per day.

Oh, and I made myself a wallpaper for my computer. I converted it for my daughters computer and our netbook. These are the only sizes I am making it in, but if one works for you – enjoy it. They will only be available until November 5, 2010 – then I will be removing them.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Posted on October 27, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

NaNo Checklist

I saw this over on the boards and thought it would be cool to add to my blog. With three days left, do you have…

[X ] a title?
[X ] a plot (however vague)?
[X ] and/or a tagline/synopsis?
[X ] main characters?
[X ] minor characters?
[X ] an emotional relationship/connection with your characters?
[X ] a beginnning?
[X ] a middle?
[ ] an end?
[ ] a setting/settings?
[X ] the climax?
[ ] the resolution?
[X ] a dictionary and/or thesaurus stationed nearby?
[X ] a bottomless coffee mug for inducing insomnia? (this is a daily thing – trust me, I have several!)
[X ] a notebook for when you can’t access your computer? (wait… what? Can’t access my computer- that BETTER not happen!)
[ ] a word count goal higher than 50K? (I’d like to do more, but right now I’m sticking to 50K)
[ ] pliers with with to cut your internet connection to prevent distraction?
[ X] muses to keep your imagination sparked?
[ ] an inner pep talker?
[ X] an outer support system / someone to nag you?
[X ] a writing buddy (official or unofficial)?
[X] a cage to lock your inner editor in (only for a month)?
[ ] a pause button for your social life (if you had one to begin with)?
[ ] a reward if you reach your goal?
[ ] a consolation prize if you don’t?
[X ] motivation?
[X ] negative emotions (stress, panic, fear, etc.)?
[X ] positive emotions (happiness, excitement, eagerness, etc.)?
[X ] time?
[ ] other (feel free to add!)

I can’t actually think of anything to add. Perhaps….
[X] Plot bunnies coming out the wazoo that you have to ignore until you get through this story.

Can you think of any?

Popularity: 6% [?]

Posted on October 25, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Balancing Time for Writing and Life

These tips are useful for any writer, including those doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Many people who are participating in NaNoWriMo, are college students, parents or work a full time job. Any of these things, and many more I didn’t mention, can be an inhibitor to the amount of time you might have to devote to your writing. Obviously, it goes without saying – that this is true about writing any time of year. Not just November.
So what do you do about it?

1. Make time to write. I know that this tip is probably the most commonly heard, but also the least effectively executed for some. Sometimes its darn near impossible to find time to write during our busy schedules. No matter what we have going on, it is important to set aside a little bit of writing time. Even if it is only in 15-30 minute increments. Get up 30 minutes early. Go to bed 30 minutes later. That can help, because 15 minutes of writing in one day, is more than NO writing in one day. Try to fit writing into your schedule, even if you have to take a notebook and paper with you and sit on a bus and write, or sit in a doctors office to write. There is a way to make time, you just have to be willing to make it a priority and find the time.

2. If you are a college student, you have studying, tests and exams and homework to contend with. A tip that I have heard (since I am not a college student), is that when you are bored with writing your novel, study. If you are bored of studying, write your novel. Go back and forth as often as you need to, to make sure you get time for both.

3. Trying keeping track of your time. For a couple of days, write down your schedule. Be honest and write every single thing you do down. Then, take a look at it and see what can be eliminated. For instance, did you really need to watch that show? Could you have used your DVR (if you have it) to record the show and watch it later when you have more time? What about sitting in that waiting room. Could you have taken a pen and paper (or a mini-laptop if you have it) to get some writing, note taking or brain storming done? You get the point… take a look at what you truly spend time on and see if there is a way to cut things out. Remember, it’s only for a month (if you are doing NaNoWriMo).

4. Write when others are asleep. If you have children, or a husband/wife that is not doing NaNo… sometimes the best time to write is when everyone else is asleep. When you put your child down for a nap, write. When your husband or wife goes to bed, write. Even if its in small increments, its still writing.

5. Try doing NaNo word counts backwards. In a typical month of November, your daily word count should average about 1667 words/day to end up with 50,000 at the end. What if you tried to reward yourself by only writing one word on the 30th of November? This year, on the boards – someone figured out a backwards method of doing NaNo that actually rewards your good writing days and requires you to write less each day. I absolutely love the method. I usually start out with a gusto and seem to fizzle somewhere in the middle of the month, so having to write less each day would make life so much easier. It also allows for a couple of days of no writing, because you are writing less. Doubling it up is not as difficult as trying to double up 1667 words x’s the number of days you missed writing! Check this thread out for more information or to see the mathematical break down of how the numbers were achieved. All I know, is that 1 word required on November 30th is absolutely a must for me. (plus with the holiday at the end of the month, it helps!)

6. Get your friends and family on your side. Hold yourself accountable to them, by sharing your word count with them. If you are comfortable telling them about your story, you could also share where you left off. Having supporters is one of the easiest ways to get to writing and get ‘er done (so to speak). If your family is not on board, try talking to them about how important this is to you, and how motivated you are to get through it. Let them know that you could really use their support. It really does help. With this motivator, you can find time to write, because the last thing you want is to be asked your word count goal, and have to admit you haven’t written since the last time they asked.

7. Prepare meals ahead of time. If you are responsible for feeding your family, make a meal plan up for a month (or however long you think you will need to get at least a rough draft accomplished). For NaNo, I spent two weekends in October preparing different casseroles for dinners in November and then freezing them. I am definitely blessed because my children are older and can help with dinner while I’m writing. They know how to prepare a salad, bread, veggies and whatever else we might want. They will be my biggest helpers. Preparing meals ahead of time, or at least having some kind of idea what you will be making will save loads of time which will give you extra time to write at your designated time.

8. Outline or take notes. Before you sit down to write your novel, spend some time outlining or taking notes on what you plan to write. It is especially helpful, to get your beginning, middle and end ideas down. You might also want to spend some time on character development. Get to know your characters really well, because this will make writing what they would say or do, flow much easier. Using index cards, post its or an whole sheet or several to outline will make the process go more smoothly.

9. Organize your stuff. Before you sit down to write, be sure that you have everything you need at your fingertips. Pens, pencils, fresh coffee, tea or water – snacks, paper, your notes, any books you use. Keep your writing area as neat as you can so you can find everything easily. Use a basket, box or something else to corral all your things together and keep them close at hand. The more organized you are, the less time you spend trying to find things. This of course, gives you more time for writing.

10. Remember to have fun. If at some point, writing stops being fun, you are not going to do it. You are going to find excuses to get out of it, excuses why you can’t find time to do it, etc. If this is the case, maybe now isn’t the time to get the story out just yet. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing. I love to write, and every moment I spend writing, I’m having fun – even when I am a little frustrated. I just try different things to keep me in the writing mood, which continues to be fun. Take frequent breaks if you need them, reward yourself for a word count goal or finishing a chapter. Get up and go do something else for awhile. While it seems like you are wasting time – you’re not. If you aren’t in the writing mode right then, nothing you write is going to be very brilliant, so you might as well take a break and come back later. Let inspiration take place away from the computer screen or the blank page of your notebook.
Watch for another post on ways to keep writing fun.

What do you do to balance your time for writing and real life.

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