NANO WHAT? Everything You Need to Know about NaNoWriMo National Novel Writing Month

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Christiana Douglas
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1 NANO WHAT? Everything You Need to Know about NaNoWriMo National Novel Writing Month

2 WHAT IS NANO NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month It is a frenzy of focused writing during November with the goal of producing a NEW 50,000 word novel in those 30 days. The official program is free Now in it s 16 th year of literary awesomeness was created by Chris Baty in 1999 (who has now left the org), and is run by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit National Novel Writing Month

3 A LITTLE HISTORY 1 st year JULY participants all in the San Francisco Bay area.

4 Moved to November (boo, hiss) Over 200,000 participants Over 2.8 billion words 341, 375 participants; 38,438 winners NaNo Begins Techno leap forward Camp NaNoWrimo launches

5 WHAT S THE PURPOSE? Quantity, not Quality Vomit Writing Running with an Idea Pushing Yourself RESULT: A ROUGH DRAFT, NOT A SALEABLE MS But if you complete it you are a novelist.

6 HERE S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN YOU GO TO NaNoWriMo.org as a newbie

7 HERE S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE after you join and sign in

8 One of best places to learn about NaNo

9 THE OFFICIAL RULES Start at 12:00 a.m. November 1 st Reach 50,000 words End by 11:59 p.m. November 30th All new words Start at the beginning Planning and notes permitted Larger word count permitted NOT allowed to start earlier and write for 30 days

10 TO OFFICIALLY WIN Verify word count Scramble Uploads not saved No prizes for length, quality or speed Everyone who verifies 50,000 words wins Winners get prizes! printable certificate icon to display on web inclusion on list of winners purchase winner stuff 2 free paperbacks of your novel from Create Space other cool stuff from sponsors

11 FREE COPIES OF YOUR NOVEL If you take the free copies and then remove your files, no harm no foul. But if you sell copies (print or ebook) you jeopardize your standing as an unpublished author.

12 OTHER STUFF OFFICIAL NANOWRIMO ANYONE CAN ACCESS Sponsors Pep talks blog.nanowrimo.org/ Flair Widgets twitter.com/nanowrimo Forums Write ins Community Resources Buddies

13 FORUMS Official Stuff NaNo Tips & Strategies Mechanics, Logistics, and Other Technical Stuff Life During NaNo Resources & Writing Support Genre Lounges NaNo Groups Outside The Box Regional forums Who's online NANOWRIMO.ORG/FORUMS

16 IT BOILS DOWN TO 50,000 WORDS a novella = 40,000 words 1667 words per day 2000 per day if you take one day off each week 30 DAYS 720 hours 43,200 minutes 2,592,000 seconds

17 WHY DO SUCH A THING? OFFICIAL ANSWER: TO GET PEOPLE TO START WRITING USE A DEADLINE AS INCENTIVE TO GET THE STORY ROLLING TO PUT WORDS ON PAPER

18 WHY DO SUCH A THING? Short term investment in a new idea Build momentum Lots of support Set higher goals; push yourself Learn how to call the muse/shut up the editor at will Re-set your priorities Quantity begets quality

19 WHY DO SUCH A THING? THIS COULD BE YOU

20 WHY NOT DO SUCH A THING? If trying would be detrimental If losing would be detrimental If NaNo would provide MORE distractions If revisions of a messy ms would be too much If you re in a good rhythm now and this would mess it up

21 SO WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING? Are your reasons strong enough to keep you motivated throughout November?

22 NOVEMBER CHALLENGES

23 ARE YOU GOING TO DO NANO??? If so, the following tools and advice can help you have a more enjoyable and successful writing month

24 NANO CONTRACT WITH YOURSELF Available at chrismandeville.com as a download

25 NANO WORKSHEET Available at chrismandeville.com as a download

26 STORY STRUCTURE/PLANNING TOOLS: The Hero s Journey GMC (do overall AND for each scene) Plotting Grid Web chart or sunburst diagram

27 EXERCISES TO BUILD YOUR CHARACTERS: The Hero s Arc GMC Interview Personality test/profile: Cosmo, Myers-Briggs, books, quizzes Consult a fortune teller: zodiac, tarot cards, Don t limit this to your protagonist!

28 TIME MANAGEMENT IN ADVANCE Define goals and parameters Make more time Streamline Eliminate Postpone Lists Plan for emergencies DURING NANO Plan your day/week Lists Priorities Timers and reminders Have back-up plans

29 MANAGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT: Get rid of distractions Dedicated space Inspiration Story visuals Positivity Set the mood Go elsewhere

30 OH, DISTRACTIONS TIPS FOR ELIMINATING DISTRACTIONS: Designate a writing zone that s free of shoulds Make that zone free of temptations Turn off what you can, like Put out a do not disturb sign Tell others when you re not available

31 THE BIGGIES SOCIAL MEDIA BLOGS SURFING Evaluate your habits What is actually necessary? Triage Limit checking Limit time Reward yourself

32 MANAGING OBLIGATIONS OTHERS EXPECTATIONS What they can expect What you expect Agreement or contract Rewards and bribes SELF EXPECTIONS What do you expect and why? Is it valid? What s required vs optional? What bad things might happen? Can I live with the consequences?? Adjust expectations

33 MOTIVATION Dangle a reward for yourself Make a date for writing Set goals and be accountable to someone Do write-ins, sprints, challenges

34 MISC. CHALLENGES Insecurity Discouragement Demons Procrastination WRITER S BLOCK

35 THE DREADED WRITER S BLOCK REMOVE THE EDITOR HAT Permission to write crap Don t re-read or review Consciously stop critiquing Don t look things up Don t think too hard Use placeholders Remember you can fix it

36 THE DOLDRUMS Do Something Mundane Drive, walk, run, bike, shower Fold laundry, wash dishes, vacuum Be inspired Watch something with great dialogue Read a scene from a favorite book Listen to music

37 WHAT S GOING TO BE YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE?

38 WHAT NOW? YOU DON T HAVE TO WAIT TO GET STARTED STORY IDEAS PLOT PLANNING CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT WORLD BUILDING IMPROV WRITING

crush your procrastination By Craig Jarrow timemanagementninja.com 20 GettingOrganized Summer 2013 gettingorganizedmagazine.com

21 ways to crush your procrastination By Craig Jarrow timemanagementninja.com 20 GettingOrganized Summer 2013 gettingorganizedmagazine.com Procrastination is a bad habit. You can train yourself to overcome