The Most Important NaNoWriMo Tip

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is once again upon us. I've participated every year since 2008, and completed each year with the exceptions of 2012 and 2013. I've racked up plenty of tips, tricks, and opinions in that time. The most important NaNo advice I can offer, though, is this:

Pace yourself.

Longtime followers and friends know that I've made a variation on this post every year for the past few. I'll continue to do so, because it's so damn important.

For those who don't know the story behind this advice, at the end of October 2011 I was sick. Not on death's door, but I was still ill. I was also a senior in high school at the time, with the workload that entails. Instead of taking it easy and resting, I decided to stage all-night writing marathons for NaNo. I wound up finishing the goal of 50,000 words in under four days.

I also put myself in the hospital with what developed from a cold into full-blown walking pneumonia. I had a temperature of 107.3, which is extremely dangerous. My mother shoved me in the shower in an attempt to help bring it down before taking me to the emergency room. I quite vividly recall sobbing about how cold the lukewarm was on my skin. Ultimately I was okay, but it was absolutely not pleasant. I wound up missing about a week of school.

If you plan to participate in NaNoWriMo, this year or any other, remember to take care of yourself. It is not a contest, and it is not a race. The point of the event is to put words on paper, not break yourself proving that you can write the most out of all your writing friends. Take breaks. Drink plenty of water, remember to eat, remember to get up, walk around, and go to the bathroom. If you're feeling under the weather, take it easy.

Every word is a victory, but it's only a victory if it doesn't wreck your life.

NaNoWriMo can be fun and productive, but remember to put your health and well-being first.

Best,
J.

Same Old, Same Old

It's been a bit, hasn't it? Since I left you last, I completed NaNoWriMo '14 with just over 64K new words added to the WiP. I'm still not done, but I got a huge chunk out of the way and life's pretty good. Our ML's husband even used his 3D printer to make all the local winners their own trophies. Mine's sitting on top of my desk, and I'm quite fond of it.

Other than NaNo, I really haven't been up to much over the past few weeks. The Husband Guy and I spent Thanksgiving with a couple of friends, and I've been doing much the same as I always do. The words get written, the dishes get cleaned, and I think about doing the carpets before abandoning the idea in favor of sitting around in my underwear and watching Netflix.

You know, the usual.

The one thing I haven't been doing lately is reading, which is somewhat of a frustration for me. I've been getting extremely sidetracked, and my TBR pile has sat, dusty and neglected, waiting for me to realize it's still there.

The one book I have read was given to me for free, for the purposes of honest review...which leads me to Friday's post! I'll be segueing into regular posts again, starting with Friday's review of FAIRY TALE MURDERS, by Kelly Money. If you're interested in that, stay tuned.

Until then, though, I'm going to go vacuum. And by vacuum I mean watch some more Netflix.

Toodles,
J.

The Road So Far

Been a while, hasn't it?

Things around here have been pretty solid. I'm making decent headway in part two of my WiP, using NaNoWriMo as the push I've been trying to find for a while now. I'm below the "official" goal, but that doesn't bother me. The important thing is that I'm getting part two written, after who knows how long spent procrastinating. Life's good.

I've stumbled into a pretty good reward system to keep myself writing: in a single writing session, whenever I clear 1,000 words, I get a milk chocolate Lindor truffle. They're my favorite candies, and the other day I managed to write 2,000 words in a sitting. I got a big bag of them, and I'm rewarding myself accordingly. I'm not letting myself have one every 1,000 words written; rather, I only get one if I clear 1,000 words in a writing session. It works for me, so I think I'll keep doing it.

Other than NaNoWriMo, things have been pretty quiet around these parts. I've got a few books to read and review, but other than that my schedule's pretty empty until Thanksgiving. So, naturally, I'm trying to spend as much time writing as I can.

There's really not much more to say at the moment, so I'll leave you here. If you're doing NaNo, good luck! If not, I wish you well on whatever other ventures you might be undertaking.

'Til next time,
J.

And the Game Begins

It's the end of October. Pumpkins and skeletons and goblins and witches are everywhere, it's just a few days until Halloween, and the week many dub "NaNo Countdown Week" has begun.

I'm no stranger to NaNoWriMo. I've participated every year since 2008, and this year is no exception. My current plan is to write the second part of my current WiP, since I know it's going to be one of the most difficult sections of the story. Since NaNoWriMo is all about pushing yourself to write something, whether it's good or utter tripe, I'm using it as the push I need.

Every year since 2010, when asked for advice about NaNoWriMo, I've offered up the same anecdote. At the end of October in 2010, I was sick. Nothing life-threatening or even all that remarkable...until NaNoWriMo hit. I got so caught up in the competitive spirit that I pushed myself to write as fast as humanly possible. I hit the 50K goal in four days, and kept going. I slept the minimum hours I could get away with, snacked instead of getting up to eat, and hardly left my desk.

Remember, I was also sick at the time. That cold developed into full-blown walking pneumonia through my horrid lack of self-care, and a week into the month I landed my ass in the hospital with a temperature of 107.3.

Which, if you didn't know, is right about the temperature where you start losing brain cells.

So yeah. That sucked, it was dangerous, and if my mom hadn't taken my temperature and rushed me to the hospital when she did, it could have been a lot worse.

That story being told, my advice regarding NaNoWriMo is as follows (lifted from my Twitter):

As we get closer to #NaNoWriMo, this is my advice: pace yourself. It's not a contest. Don't beat yourself up if you write slow. 

I wrote 50k in 4 days one year while sick. It put me in the hospital. Remember to sleep and eat and exercise. #NaNoWriMo 

Writing is good. Writing can even be fun. But don't hurt yourself just to say you were the first of your friends to reach 50k. #NaNoWriMo 

Likewise, don't try to shame those who write slow or see #NaNoWriMo as casual fun. It's not life or death. Don't make it such. 

Also remember that what you write during #NaNoWriMo won't be perfect. It probably won't even be good. That's okay. It's not supposed to be. 

The important thing is that you're writing. Even if you don't finish, you got something done. Even if you only wrote a sentence. #NaNoWriMo 

Be good to yourself. Feel free to treat yourself. Enjoy the ride. #NaNoWriMo  

This has been a series of inspiration and advice #NaNoWriMo tweets. Back to your regularly scheduled shenannigans.

Remember, folks, it's not a contest. Have fun, and be safe.

'Til next time,

J.