How to Survive Your First Week of NaNoWriMo

When a blogger friend casually suggested I attempt National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2004, I naively took the bait and signed up. On November 1, I dragged my big-ass laptop to a bookstore, ordered a cup of coffee and a muffin, and began pecking out a story that first took genesis in 1987. Two hours later, I’d written one thousand words. Although I liked my story so far, I realized at my current rate, it would take almost another one hundred hours to write forty-nine thousand more words and complete my novel. Still, I was giddy at the prospect of writing something as crazy as a novel and persevered.

Giddy is an accurate adjective for the first week of NaNoWriMo. Coffee hasn’t yet replaced the blood flowing in your veins, and the lack of sleep hasn’t pushed you toward the steep slope toward dementia.

Here are some tips for surviving your first week of NaNoWriMo:

Let go of the need to write the great American novel. Commit to merely writing the story that is inside you now.

Don’t worry about writing memorable characters, page-turning plots, and sparkling prose. Just show up at the page every day and write whatever comes to mind.

If you show up at the page consistently, your characters will do the same. Befriend them. Write down what they do and say.

To write a fifty-thousand-word novel in thirty days, you only need to write one thousand six hundred and sixty-seven words per day. That’s about six and a half double-spaced typewritten pages.

The point of NaNoWriMo is to get in the habit of producing quantity—not quality. If you focus on the quantity on a day-to-day basis, the quality will take care of itself.

Try to write an extra page or two when you can during the week. On weekends, try to double your daily output.

Life happens. Do not have a meltdown if you miss a day. Catch up when you can.

Save often, so you don’t lose anything you’ve written.

Do not delete any words you write. Remind yourself you will revise after November.

Keep a list of ideas and questions that come up for you in a physical or virtual notebook.

If you’re unable to write the next scene in your linear timeline, skip to another scene in your story and work on it.

If you’re stumped for ideas, write down what you do know about the story, characters, or setting. It might seem like only writing an outline or a character sketch, but you’re making progress on writing your novel.

When you’re stuck, have Molly Ringwald walk through the door and describe what happens next.

Make a point to write with other NaNoWriMo participants. Writing with others is fun and always motivates me.

If you’re committed to being a NaNoWriMo winner, tell everybody you know you’re participating in NaNoWriMo. Raise the stakes further by telling them to rib you if you don’t win ruthlessly. Never underestimate the value of shame.

Remember to have fun.