Nothing to be Afraid of - NaNoWriMo Tips and Tricks for Horror Writers
Day 1 – November 1, 2019
Word count: 0
50,000 words.
30 days.
1 novel.
November begins National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known as NaNoWriMo. 2019 marks the twentieth year that authors young and old, novices and seasoned pros, sit down at their computers, typewriters, word processors and notebooks to embark on the creative journey of writing a novel. According to the Nano website (nanowrimo.org), there are currently 798,162 active novelists hammering away at their preferred writing method as I type this. NaNoWriMo has produced amazing works such as The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern), Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen) and 2018 Nebula-award winning The Calculating Stars (Mary Robinette Kowal). I personally have been a member since 2011 but last year was the first time I committed to a novel, sat down, and wrote. And I completed the 50,000 words in 30 days. The novel wasn’t complete, but I had succeeded in the daunting task of 1667 words a day.
Was it easy? Nope. Did I doubt my ability, desire, and drive? Yep, every day. Did I go a day (or several) without writing? Absolutely. But I somehow stayed motivated with the help of my friends and the incredibly supportive NaNoWriMo online community and woke up on December 1st with the better part of a full novel complete.
This year I begin again. November 1. Word 0. The blank page. The blinking cursor. But before this adventure starts, let’s see if I have any nuggets of wisdom I can pass along. I mean, you clicked on this article for something right? So, here are a couple of questions I have received from my students.
How do you prepare?
This takes on different forms from coming up with an idea to research to physical writing spaces, each of which are very personal. Ideas come and go. The key is, when one does come along and sticks with you for a bit, grab onto it, harness it, write it down in a notebook, on a napkin, beer coaster, back of your hand, on your baby’s head, where ever you have to. Your muse will throw ideas out there, but whatever your muse, know that it is fickle and will take them back and find a different home for them. It wants your story out there.
Research can take on different forms as well. From planning and plotting out your novel, to actual research for information that is crucial to your story. Personally, I am a discovery writer (a Pantser in NaNo speak). I sat down last year on November 1 with an idea and word vomited for about 2000-2500 words. No outline, no idea where the scene was going. I just wrote by the seat of my pants (hence, Pantser). But as I moved along, more information was needed to flesh out the story, so I started researching.
Word of warning here: it is easy to fall into a research void and not write; it happened to me for about a week. Don’t do this. The important thing for this month is to get the words out, the story written, allow the idea to manifest. I am not sure who said it first, but some of the best advice I have ever received about first drafts (or Draft zero) is “don’t get it right, get it written.” You’ll have plenty of time to research and edit in the coming months.
Finally, your physical writing space. This is really very personal. I need a semi-quiet space with very little distractions, a little background music (dependent on the scene I’m trying to write), and that’s about it. Some folks like the library or a coffee shop. Hell, I know authors that can sit in a noisy pub and scratch away in their notebooks. You have to find what works for you. A quick note on finding the time to write. I can assume that we all lead busy lives – family, work, social engagements, etc. For me to complete this last year, I had to carve out specific times that were writing times. The phone turned off and the door closed. This can and will be difficult. All 1667 words for the day do not have to be written at one time. 200 words before the kids wake up, 500 words during lunch, they all count. Find a window, fill it with words. This leads me to my next question.
What if I miss a day?
You will. There is very little doubt about that. There will be days where the words flow and by the time you look up, you have 2500 words written and your fingertips are tingling. Then there are the days that Life Happens. Illnesses, family visitations, school finals, holidays, kids summoning the ancient spirit of a demigod in the back yard, etc. On these days, and there will be a few, there will be very little writing done. It may be a few days in a row. Hell, I went a week without typing a single letter in my novel. I want you to know it’s okay.
As creatives, we tend to be unreasonably critical of ourselves. Forgive yourself for missing a day, a week, 27 days out of the 30, whatever. Forgive yourself for not hitting your daily goal. If the only word written that day is “the”, that’s one more word closer to writing “THE END”. I did this during my first attempt in 2011. Missed the first day and I didn’t go back. For 8 years. Don’t be like me. Get back at it, start typing. You got this.
I think that’s about all I have for this one, I hope there’s something to take away in there. This is going to be a weekly piece throughout November tracking my progress. If you care to come along with me or have any questions, feel free to email us at horrorboundblog@gmail.com or find me on twitter: @lasota_d. I’ll open each week’s piece with answers to any questions we receive. If you’re NaNo’ing yourself and would like a buddy, drop your username or search me: Dave LaSota (creative usernames/handles I know…).
Happy writing!
Want to sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss a thing? Just click HERE
Want more frightful fiction content? Just search below:
