Taking a Break During NaNoWriMo

What? Taking a break during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? What kind of advice is this? I can’t take a break. I have to get 50,000 words written in thirty days. This is madness.

Not really. There are times, even when a deadline is looming, that a writer has to take a break. When my creative juices have run dry, applying more pressure to squeeze out nothing isn’t productive. But the deadline is still there. Taking a two week vacation from writing is not an option. So how do you take a break and meet the deadline? Try my suggestions below.

Your Break Depends on Your Problem

What kind of problem are you experiencing in your writing? Before I sit down to write, I will outline the basic point of each scene, the reason this scene has to be in the story. Then I try to write the scene. If I flounder, it’s often because I can’t figure out how to start the scene. I’m hung up on details, such as I need Mrs. Thompson to reveal that her grandson was in the Army but don’t know how to create a conversation so that bit of information comes out naturally.

For those type of problems, I’ve found staring at a blank page or screen a hindrance, not a help. I have to step away and do something like laundry. But my mind is still working on the problem. I’ll let it wander while I work, and it almost always comes up with a solution. Sometimes, I only need to take a five minute break before my mind bores a hole through my writer’s block.

But maybe your problem is mental fatigue. You’ve overtaxed your imagination, and now it’s coming up empty. I find this requires a longer break, usually for the rest of the day. A solid night’s sleep is the most help. But if you can’t afford to take off part of a day, do something during your break that has nothing to do with writing and don’t let your mind wander to the story. Baking is something I like to do that is totally separate from writing. While your mind and attention are focused on this activity, your creative juices have time refill.

Look Forward to Thanksgiving

I imagine a lot of Americans tackling NaNoWriMo dread Thanksgiving because you either can’t write that day or you have to make drastic alterations to your writing schedule to get your word count in like getting up at 4 a.m.

If you’ve found yourself fighting through your manuscript, use Thanksgiving as your break. Don’t allow yourself to think about your novel during the day. You will probably be surprised at how productive you are on Friday.

Writers, what do you do when you need to take a break?

For other posts on NaNoWriMo, click here.

November 21, 2024 1

Unleash Your Story: Join NaNoWriMo 2023

It’s been awhile, but I’m glad to introduce a new author to you here at JPC Allen Writes. Angela D. Shelton writes YA dystopian novels and is here with her blog post. “Unleash Your Story: Join NaNoWriMo 2023.” Take it away, Angela!

November is here, and with it comes an electrifying opportunity for aspiring writers around the globe: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2023. For those unfamiliar with it, NaNoWriMo is an annual, internet-based creative writing project that challenges participants to pen a 50,000-word manuscript in just 30 days. Yes, it’s a marathon of creativity, and the goal isn’t just to write; it’s to ignite your passion for storytelling.

If you’re sitting on the fence, wondering if this is for you, let’s dive into why NaNoWriMo could be your gateway to a newfound love for writing.

Unleash Your Creative Potential

NaNoWriMo is more than just writing; it’s about unleashing your potential. You have a unique voice and perspective that the world needs to hear. This event provides a structured yet liberating platform to explore your creativity. It’s not about perfection; it’s about progression. Let your imagination run wild!

Join a Supportive Community

Writing can be a solitary endeavor, but not during NaNoWriMo. You’ll be part of a vibrant, supportive community of fellow writers, all embarking on the same journey. This community offers encouragement, advice, and the kind of camaraderie that keeps you motivated.

Embrace a Challenge

NaNoWriMo pushes you out of your comfort zone. The challenge of writing 50,000 words in a month may seem daunting, but it’s incredibly fulfilling. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish with dedication and a bit of time management.

Discover Your Voice

As you write, you’ll discover your unique voice. NaNoWriMo encourages you to experiment with different styles and genres. It’s a time to explore and find what truly resonates with you as a writer.

Achieve a Tangible Goal

At the end of the month, you’ll have a manuscript. It’s a tangible achievement that serves as a testament to your commitment and creativity. Whether you choose to pursue publishing or keep it as a personal accomplishment, you’ve created something remarkable.

Rise of the Y by Angela D. Shelton

As you embark on your NaNoWriMo journey, let me introduce you to an inspiration: Rise of the Y. This young adult dystopian novel is a testament to the power of creativity and perseverance – the same qualities you’ll harness during NaNoWriMo.

Rise of the Y is set in a world where the unexpected has become the norm, and survival is a daily challenge. It’s a story of resilience, hope, and the indomitable human spirit. Vivid storytelling and richly crafted characters are sure to ignite your imagination and fuel your writing journey.

Summing it up

NaNoWriMo is an incredible opportunity to start your writing journey. It’s a chance to tell your story, join a community of like-minded individuals, and discover the joys of creative writing. And as you write, remember the world of Rise of the Y and how I brought my vision to life. It’s your time to shine, to write, and to rise!

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your laptop or pen, join the NaNoWriMo 2023 challenge, and start writing the story that only you can tell. Who knows, this time next year, we might be talking about your novel!

Thank you so much for your advice, Angela! If you would like to connect with her, please see the links in her bio below. To read more advice on NaNoWriMo, click here.

*****

Tales of Courage, Love, and Faith from the Cattle Fields to the Battlefields.

Angela D. Shelton, a recipient of the 2023 Christian Indie Awards in the young adult category, enjoys writing stories in both young adult and romance genres. When she’s not working in healthcare accounting, she’s busy with her husband, Tom, taking care of their small cattle ranch in Georgia.

Angela finds creative fuel in her day-to-day life, from working on the ranch to learning from Tom’s background in military and law enforcement. This comes to life in her series, Collapse, which follows a family in a small Georgia town learning to adapt and thrive when faced with global challenges.

Her latest project, The Y Chronicles series, takes readers on a journey through a dystopian Atlanta, Georgia. Angela’s writing, influenced by her own experiences and observations, aims to offer more than just a good story—it aims to create a world readers can truly lose themselves in. Whether tackling themes of resilience, romance, or rebellion, Angela hopes her stories touch the hearts of those who read them. Connect with Angela at her website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Amazon, Goodreads, Boobkbub, TikTok, and YouTube.

November 9, 2023 1

Should You Let Your Imagination Soar for NaNoWriMo?

Should you let your imagination soar for NaNoWriMo? This is a crucial question if you are participating in the writing phenomena.

Haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo? It’s short for National Novel Writing Month. Writers commit to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. (Short rant: why November? I just learned that the founder is from San Francisco, so he knows how crazy November is for Americans. I had a Canadian writer say it’s not great for them, either.)

Whether you let your imagination soar depends on how you want to accomplish your 50,000-word goal.

For the Plotter

If you are a plotter, then I’m sure you’ve been preparing for the writing marathon for months now. You have outlines, character arcs, character biographies, and various kinds of research. If you want to reach your goal, stick to you plan. Only veer from your preparation when you find yourself running up against writer’s block. Even then, just take short, side trips from your planned route so you don’t get lost on tangents and lose sight of your goal.

For the Pantser

Pantsers write by the seat of their pants. I’ve also heard this kind of writer called a Discovery writer. ( I learned this term from my oldest who is taking a college composition course). If you are this kind of writer, you may have outlines, arcs, and all the rest. Or you could have just a vague idea of what you want to write. Either way, a Pantser isn’t tied to any prepared material or thoughts. As this kind of writer writes, the process itself uncovers, or discovers, what the story is about.

If you’re a pantser, then by all means, unleash your imagination during NaNoWriMo. As you work to discover your story, don’t be afraid to wander far into the realm of endless possibilities.

For Me

I’m a bit of both kinds of writers, which I believe a lot of writers are. As I mull over my next story, I spend a lot of time creating outlines, usually on a calendar, so I know what action takes place on which day. But as I come to write the story, I realize that some of the ideas in my head don’t work as well on the page. Or at all. That’s when I board the ship named “Discovery” and set sail for the far shore of my imagination.

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? What kind of writer are you–plotter, pantser, or a mixture of both?

For more tips for NaNoWriMo, click here.

November 2, 2023 0

You’ve Finished NaNoWriMo. Now What?

Congratulations! You’ve finished NaNoWriMo. Now what?

Whether you reached your goal or not, any attempt a writer makes to work on his or her art is an achievement. But now that it’s over, what’s the next step? Although my attempt at NaNoWriMo last March didn’t accomplish what I hoped, I do have some advice for whatever shape your story is in, come December 1.

Let It Go

At least for awhile. I’ve always bemoaned the fact that NaNoWriMo is held in November. But the one advantage of doing it in that month is that December follows it and everyone is usually so busy in December that a writer really doesn’t have time to keep working on a novel started in November. And that’s perfect.

I’ve found that once I finish a story, I need to let it sit awhile without looking working on it at all. Times vary. Some writers need to leave it alone for only a week, others, a month.

For my latest short story, I worked on it over several months and then submitted it. Of course, after I let it go, an idea for improving the next to last line came to me weeks later. So I contacted the editor of the anthology. She said she hadn’t started editing yet, so if I had changes, I should go ahead and make them. As I dug back into the short story, I was pleasantly surprised how smoothly it read. Except for one part, which didn’t make a whole lot of sense. So I changed the next to last line and the dialogue in the scene that didn’t make sense. Stepping away from it for several weeks helped me see where the story needed work.

Edit, Edit, Edit

January will probably be a good month to bring your NaNoWriMo novel into the light and see how it looks. Now is the time to edit. No one writes a perfect first draft. If you haven’t edited a fiction story before, ask for advice from writer friends, check out writing blogs, borrow writing books. Editing will only improve your novel, and your want your novel to be the best it can be.

For more post on NaNoWriMo, click here.

How was your NaNoWriMo? What are your plans for finishing your novel?

November 28, 2022 0

What If NaNoWriMo Isn’t For You?

You’ve prepared through all of October to start your novel on November 1. You’ve got your character charts, plot outline, and major settings worked out. You will reach 50,000 words by November 30. You just know it. This idea has been bubbling in your mind so long you just have to get it into print. On November 1, you exceed your word count for that day. On November 2, you do it again. But in a week you’re behind. And around the 15th, or 20th, or 23rd, you quit. You don’t know what’s wrong. You have everything so well planned. I offer a question. What if NaNoWriMo isn’t for you?

My NaNoWriMo

November is a terrible month for an American writer to attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. At a minimum, we lose one day to Thanksgiving, but most likely, it’s two or three to various family festivities. And after that holiday, we’re thrown into preparing for Christmas.

Because of those conflicts, I had never even considered tackling NaNoWriMo. When I mentioned to fellow author Theresa Van Meter that March was a much better month for me–not much happens in March–she agreed to write with me for our own personal NaNoWriMo. We would call each other once a week to see how we were doing.

I was very excited about focusing on my next novel. All the marketing I’d done for first novel had put a serious dent in the amount of time I could devote to it. So March 1, I started writing Chapter 1. I didn’t get far because three days later, I was at a state park with my family for a long weekend.

When we got home, I began again but felt my writing was stale. Pushing through the next chapter was like pushing against a mountain. I switched to writing my last chapter because I tend to think of my climax first. That helped give my story a goal, but when I returned to the first chapters, I stalled again.

My goal had been 100 pages. By the end of the month, which was interrupted by spring break for my kids, I’d written 50 and only 40 were worth anything.

Theresa had similar trouble, and we both concluded that the kind of work style demanded by NaNoWriMo just didn’t work for us.

Don’t Fight Your Working Style

This experiment taught me that I can’t blaze through a first draft from beginning to end. After I’ve written the first draft of five or six chapters, I feel like writing any more would be like climbing too far out on a thin tree limb. I just don’t feel confident that any more chapters will be any good. So I type the five or six chapters I’ve written–I handwrite my first drafts–editing as I type and see if I’ve written anything worth keeping. I’m almost always pleasantly surprised that my first draft wasn’t nearly as awful as I thought.

Now that I have a sturdy foundation, I can write the next five or six chapters. This may not be the fastest way to write, but it’s the only way I can write with confidence.

Although it may take some experimentation, find out what working style works best for you and stick with it. Does setting aside one weekend a month to crank out 10,000 make the most sense to you? Does writing every day on your lunch hour? No style is wrong except the style that dictates to only write when you feel like it. Once a writer has a deadline, he or she has to learn to write whether they feel like it or not.

Because of the demands of my family, I’ve found working in short spurts works best for me. As friend and author Bettie Boswell said, if I make myself to sit down and write one page, chances are I’ll write more and accomplish more than I thought.

For more posts on NaNoWriMo, click here.

What writing schedule works best for you?

November 17, 2022 3

Tag: Tips for NaNoWriMo