The Last Mile of NanoWriMo '21

 

Well, you've been doing that since the beginning of November and by now you're probably pushing hard to get as many words down before the midnight hour.  We've shared some thoughts about the process, the pitfalls, the ways a writer can build resilience and maintain stamina and the great swampy middle that trips up so many of us writers.

I applaud you for what you've accomplished and encourage you to hit that submit button and know you did the best you could.  That's no minor thing.  It's a BIG thing!  Some people talk about wanting to write a novel (or factual), but it takes that next step to put words on paper, whether digital or tangible.  How many people simply do not take that step?  It reminds me of that famous line from "On the Waterfront" when Brando claims "I coulda been a contender . . ."  

So what comes next?  I know, I know -- no one wants to deal with that at the moment.  Which is fine, but I encourage you to at some point in the next week or so to gather your notes, your drafts, etc. and put them into a project box or file.  Why?  Because someday you'll want to come back and review how the process went down.  And if you approach a literary agent and/or an editor, you may need your notes and such at some point.  It's also a good idea to keep these materials if you're ever challenged on copyright, especially if you're an indie author.  

Well, time is ticking so I'll sign off now.  Relax and enjoy the upcoming holidays -- even if it's simply the beauty of nature and winter.  Again, my congratulations to you -- job well done!

Tomorrow
we shall have to think up signs,
sketch a landscape, fabricate a plan
on the double page
of day and paper.

Tomorrow, we shall have to invent,
once more,
the reality of this world.

Octavio Paz

Week 4 Tips for NanoWriMo '21

I'm sure by now with all the turmoil and hubbub of Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday shopping season, you're feeling frustrated and losing your momentum with the writing.  My suggestion?  Let it ride and don't angst that your writing schedule is beginning to look like a pile of doggie doo-doo.  

How about we focus on what we've achieved to date?  Let's put a positive spin on things and remember to breathe.  So grab a few minutes to do something fun like create a small mood board and make little affirmation notes and pin them up where you can see them.  Whether you've written 500 words or 5,000, that's terrific!  Put that up on the board.

In the past I've used ATC cards -- artist's trading cards, which are about 2" x 3";  I've also used blank  shipping tags, again quite small. But frankly anything will do.  Spend 15 minutes with some colorful markers, pencils and/or pens and decorate your affirmations.

What can you celebrate?  Here's a quick list that may help:

>  a particular character that you like how she/he is unfolding within the story.  This could be a secondary character that is enriching the story that you hadn't anticipated;

>  a passage that you feel happy about;  maybe it was unexpected;

>  a turn in the story line that you decided to explore and keep.

Remember, it's not just about the 50,000 word goal.  It's about how you put yourself out there, how you acknowledge your successes and your defeats and keep on going.  This mood board is positive reinforcement, a small yet significant "happy place" that will reassure you during the ensuing chaos of Turkey Day and beyond.  Now, off you go and remember to roll with the punches, don't eat too much, stay safe out there . . . and I'll see you next week as we hit the final hours of NanoWriMo 2021!  
 

NanoWriMo Tip #3

So we're now solidly into the middle of NanoWriMo's 30-day challenge, and how are we doing?  The quote I use above is definitely something I'm going through as I hit the middle of my upcoming Regency romance scheduled to release later in December. And I am being pulled by the stars, for sure!

At first I termed it stagnation. But now that I consider it, I believe it's more akin to avoidance. Yup, definitely avoidance. I don't like that my characters are not doing what I want them to do; don't like that I feel as if the story line is flailing about like a broken down donkey. And I definitely don't like that I feel bored.  I've lost control.  I'm tired, and I'm blaming everything and everybody because I can't seem to fix it. What to do?

I'd prefer to walk away and ignore those pesky characters. Shove my outline and drafts in a deep, dark drawer and go off to have a nice lunch, do a little shopping, reorganize my linen closet, get reacquainted with the family of dust bunnies under the beds . . . well, you get the picture.

Avoidance.

So how do we rise up and slay the dragon, drive the aliens from our brains?  After all, we only have 15 days left to deadline. And next week will be a tough one for many of us as we deal with Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, not to mention those of us who are traveling distances to be with friends and family.

Now it's a matter of sticking it out through "The Great Swampy Middle" as Jim Butcher phrased it.  If you haven't read his post, I encourage you to do so.  It's a hoot!  Our approach needs to be pro-active. Assertive. Inspiration is only 20% of the solution. 80% is sweat equity.  Let's repeat that:  80% is sweat equity.

First, do give yourself permission to step away from the writing. Take a break. Not weeks, mind you. I'm talking a half-day, a day. Break away.   Second, you need to come back and face the creepy, icky things that lurk in that middle swampy area of your novel.  Easier said than done, though.   Remember the concept of 'pliability' from Tom Brady I mentioned in an earlier entry?  Let's try to be pliable at this point

"Barn's burnt down . . . now I can

see the moon." 

 This is a quote from Masahide, a 17th-century samurai warrior and poet.  But what I love about it -- and it's followed me on all my jobs, tacked up on the wall by my computer where I could see it easily -- is it reminds me to find opportunity in the midst of crisis.  Why not let your main characters have a go at what they want to do.  Sometimes the planning board and that pile sticky notes will not work for you. There's an artist that I've followed online for years who stated, "Bored? Then take a detour and turn left." 

You can always save your previous passages and go back to them later if need be. But here again, you're giving yourself permission to take a detour, to let your characters evolve in ways you hadn't foreseen at the beginning, to let the plot unfold in ways you'd not imagined. 

Throw a bomb in the swampy middle and see what happens!  It may seem messy at first, but it could be fun. And don't panic immediately. Don't hit that delete button.  Set up a file folder for your deleted passages because you may want to go back at some point and fiddle with them.

Writing is like cooking -- a dash here, a bit of spice there, stir it up, taste it and repeat the process until you're happy with your concoction. It's not rocket science. There are many artists who work on several canvases at a time so that if one painting is not turning out how they wanted it, they turn it to the wall and work on another one.  Sometimes what you do on one project will offer up an answer to the other one you were struggling with.  Do you have deleted passages from another work?   Dip back in and see if there's anything there you can tweak and use now. 

Avoidance won't get you through the swamp.  Patience will.

Tough it out but remember pliability.

Seek out the moon when your barn is burning.

Tuesday's Tips for NanoWriMo #2

 

 

 

Hello again!  Okay, we're into Week #2 of NanoWriMo, and I'm sure everyone is whizzing along . . . er, maybe?  We're still contending with the time change -- at least for the majority of the United States -- and that could be posing problems for your pace and stamina.  For me, it's the loss of light in the late afternoon.  I hate the encroaching darkness at 4:30pm (sunset here on the East Coast) and can get depressed, fidgety and feeling confined.  For others, it's the morning that affects them.  Either way, it's there and we have to contend with it.  

 

What are the experts reporting these days?

 

The time change may not be the real culprit.  Sure, we'll make some adjustments in our daily routines, but here are some of the things that are part of our daily life that may be almost invasive without realizing it.

 

> Digital detox expert Tanya Goodin reports that "sleepless nights may be caused by the constant blue light that shines from screen-based devices, which interferes with the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone." (Stop Staring at Screens, Ilex Press).  If you're on your laptop or PC or phone writing for NanoWriMo, you're spending quite a few hours a day with that blue light.  Add in your job hours, if applicable, and that's more blue light. 

 

Solution?  Experts suggest putting away devices at least one hour before going to bed.  Dim the house lights.  Read a book.  There was a time when I was under stress with family and work that I'd read poetry for a half-hour before bed.  Maybe step outside and gaze up at the stars on a clear night, taking deep breaths of fresh air.

 

Put the Phone Down 

 

> Goodin also notes the constant interruptions that smartphones heap on us throughout the day -- dings, beeps and pop-ups that pull us away from what we're doing -- even driving, which is scary -- interrupts our concentration.  How can we write a novel if we're continually distracted? 

 

Solution?  Disable some of these automated notifications.  Put the phone face down, lower the sound.  Stick it in a drawer and give yourself permission to be beep-free for an hour, maybe more, particularly if you're writing.

 

 

Last tip on sleep patterns

 

In a recent issue of Forks over Knives magazine, it reported that the JAMA Psychiatry (May 2021) studied over 840,000 people to better understand how chronotype, the preference for going to bed and waking a certain time, influences depression risk.  They found that people genetically predisposed to wake up early were significantly less likely to experience depression than their counterparts who chose to sleep later.  Going to bed an hour earlier and waking an hour earlier than you normally would could cut depression risk by 23%.  Increase that to two hours and the risk is reduced to 40%.  

 

I'm not saying writers tend to be depressed, but during this 30-day marathon we will hit slumps that are sometimes difficult to get out of.  Call it writer's block, but when it hits, the tendency to walk away from your writing, to feel like you have nothing to contribute to the readers, is a slippery slope.  A day becomes two days, then three, and before you know it, you've given up.  Why bother?

 

So, going back to my original premise about sustaining your physical and mental stamina during these weeks is important.  A good night's sleep is important. Maintaining your sense of balance is important.  Giving yourself permission to block the continual waves of social media and technology is important. 

 

Balance = Stamina = Sustainability 

 

 

See you next week.  Happy Writing!   Claire H.

 

 

 

Tuesday's Tips for NanoWriMo

 Okay, you've just shot out of the starting gate like a racehorse, pounding those keys, high with excitement and full of energy.  Maybe you've got your planning board in front of you or a ton of post-it notes stacked by your computer.  You even have a vision of hitting that magic 50,000 word count.  Great! 

Have you planned on how to sustain your stamina and pace?

No?  Well then, let's talk about that because you're going to slack off at some point, whether because you're tired, feeling stuck in the great swampy middle of your novel (Jim Butcher, 2006), suffering from lack of sleep due to the time change next weekend or grappling with interruptions due to the holidays later this month - yes, Thanksgiving does fall at that critical point, only six days from deadline.

Are you planning on writing 500 words a day?  1,000 a day?  More?  After all, NanoWriMo is a marathon, a physical challenge as well as a mental challenge.  Similar to marathon runners, your initial burst of speed is great, but a runner knows that their pace needs to adjust after the first few miles.  They adjust their pace to something steadier in order to conserve energy for that final thrust of speed they'll need in those last grueling miles to the finish line.

You may be a writer but you need to think like an athlete.

Yes, as writers we do sit and write for hours, working our poor muse to death.  Then we drop like flies, complaining of headaches, eye strain and the inability to turn our brains off.  Hello, sound familiar?  Mind / body connection?  

STAMINA -- How to get it and keep it . . .

Hydration.  We all know we need to hydrate throughout the day but often we don't.  Tom Brady, formerly quarterback for the New England Patriots and now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and author of The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance (2017), claims you need to drink half your body weight in ounces (p.40).  Phew, that's a lot of water!  No, I'm not suggesting you drink that much but, while you're tapping away on your laptop, keep a water bottle by your side.  Finished it?  Refill it.  And repeat.  Hydration will keep you alert and help you maintain your stamina and pace over the next 29 days.

Snack healthy as if you're in training -- stock up on protein bars, granola, fresh fruit, veggies and nuts.  Step away from that bowl of leftover Halloween candy!  A sugar high may give you a temporary spurt but will leave you jittery and unable to concentrate.  No concentration?  No novel.  And snacking healthy does not mean binge snacking -- one or two protein bars is good.  Five?  Not so much . . .

If you feel better, you'll write better; you'll write longer.  

 

See you next Tuesday, November 9

(older Nano tips will be compiled on the NanoWriMo page of this blog)

Happy Writing!  Claire H.