National Novel Writing Month (aka Nanowrimo) is right around the corner! If you’re thinking, “B., you write novels (and novellas and short stories and microfiction and and and) year-round! What’s so special about November?” You’re not wrong.
But Nanowrimo almost feels like a celebration of novelling. It’s a hectic time of year when it’s so easy to put personal projects aside, and instead writers come together to take on the massive challenge of writing a novel in just one (short) month.
In November there’s write-ins and sprints and parties, both locally and online. It’s a chance to work in tandem with like-minded folks that rarely seems to come up any other time of year. This might come as a shock to you, but writing can be a pretty lonesome activity. Any excuse to get together with some sort of writing activity is as good as gold to us.
So, YAY Nanowrimo! But, how does one prepare to write 50,000 words in just 30 days? I’m so glad you asked.
Building the Foundation
Disclaimer: This is how I prepped for Nanowrimo this year, with some added insight from previous years’ projects. Please try out these methods and only keep those that actually serve you and your work. As with all writing “advice”, your mileage may vary.
Step 1: Take a Break
In preparation for Nanowrimo, I always try to take the month of October off from writing related things. Key word here is “try” because I am almost never successful at disconnecting from the writing life for the entire month. But, in my experience, the intent outweighs the action in this case. By October I’ve usually closed down/finished any prior projects and have reached a fallow period, creatively speaking. I am extremely fortunate that my creative muscle works this way… Or maybe it’s conditioned to work this way because I’ve been Nano-ing (the technical term) for like, eight years now.
Point is, taking a break in October is vital to my Nano success. This year I finished Victoria in early October, then wrote another short story, and have only managed to take about two weeks off from writing. But already in that time I’ve felt the story bubbling up.
This is SO important. If the story doesn’t percolate, then the characters won’t come forward, and if I don’t get the characters to start talking to me, there’s no book to write. This year it didn’t take long for my two main characters to pop up, because I’ve been sitting on this idea for about two years. They’ve been percolating for a long time.
Step 2: Research!
This step looks different for each writer and each project. For Something Sulfurous I focused on researching Catholicism and lore around Angels and Demons, as well as collecting pictures from around my hometown to help me flesh out the setting from more than just memory.
For Victoria, research meant diving into critical analyses of Frankenstein, relearning major themes from the book and brainstorming what plot points and themes I wanted to keep versus which ones I wanted to tweak or just straight-up delete. I also took a lot of notes on the tone of the novel and important lines that really struck home.
But this year’s book requires a bit more in-depth research. I’ve never written a Historical piece of fiction before, and I know there’s a lot I could get wrong. So I scheduled time at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library two weekends in a row and worked with a wonderful Reference Librarian there (shoutout to Renato!) to look at all kinds of documents from 1850s Oregon.
In all of these examples, the research phase is where I flesh out Setting and begin Worldbuilding. I start thinking about my characters and how they fit in their world, how the world will affect them. And when place, time, and people all come together, some semblance of plot usually makes itself known.
Side Note: All this research (notes, pictures, thoughts, etc.,) goes into the Scrivener document for the book. This way, if I have a research question, I don’t have to navigate away from the book or –even worse– search the internet for an answer. Scrivener, if you don’t know, is a wonderful software for writers that has a lot of builtin organizational tools (like templates for character sketches and folders for research). I don’t use nearly enough of its multitude of features, but I love the software so much that I just had to scream about it to you.
In Search of Good Vibes
Step 3: Make a Playlist
I know this step isn’t for everyone. Plenty of writers need silence to write. Or prefer ambient noise like cafes and bars. Some like to listen to Classical Music, with no consideration for if the songs relate to the story or not.
I require a soundtrack. This is my favorite part of the pre-writing process. This is when I nail down the tone by hunting for songs that relate lyrically and aesthetically to the book. This step is when the world, characters, and plot start to really gel and start to feel vaguely book-shaped. With a decent playlist built, I actually start to believe I can write the book and not just daydream about it.
Side Note: There’s another benefit to having a playlist besides just honing in on the book’s tone. Having a set playlist for a project that you listen to whenever you’re working leads to a Pavlovian Conditioning of sorts. After enough listens while writing, the playlist becomes a portal directly into the book. It transports my squirrely brain directly to the work at hand and helps me focus in faster. So, if you struggling getting into the “zone” and haven’t tried this method yet, why not give it a go?
Find the Way In
Step 4: Figure Out the Opening Scene
To me, this is the hardest part. Often when characters introduce themselves it’s via a line of dialogue or the barest flash of an image. And rarely is that glimpse from a part of the story that would make a good first line or scene.
It’s only after the research is started and the playlist built that I have enough of a grasp on the book to find the way into it. There are frequent false starts at this stage, and to be clear there is NO WRITING happening yet. This is all part of the bubbling up, perocolating process. It’s all simming up in my brain and I think/talk through various opening scenes.
Until, finally, one clicks.
Historically, this happens on Halloween night, when I’ve stewed for the whole month, tried on some opening passages that weren’t quite right, and then — whilst handing out candy and watching nostalgic “spooky” movies — the idea comes to me.
The way in reveals itself and I know if I don’t write it down right then, I’ll lose it. So, inevitably, I cheat at Nanowrimo each year, usually starting the month with about 1,000 words already written.
Whoops.
But What About Nanowrimo?
Really, all of the above applies to the start of any writing project, regardless of the season. There are some specific Nanowrimo things to consider, however.
- Word Counts
- In order to reach 50k words, you have to write 1,667 words EVERY DAY in November. Having a strategy for tracking those word counts is vital to reaching your goal.
- Real Talk Moment: 50k words is nothing to sneeze at, but it really isn’t a novel. Or at least, not a novel you can sell to a publisher. Nanowrimo is the start. A jump start into writing the novel for the rest of the winter at a slower, saner pace.
- Schedules
- Scheduling writing time is a must all year long, but it’s particularly important in November. In our house we have birthdays in addition to the usual festivities, and this year we have some travel planned as well. Scheduling my time is absolutely critical to my success this year.
- This is why I joined the Willamette Writers Author Cohort because they schedule time for me! All I have to do it show up two times a week. The other five days are up to me…
- Rewards
- Look, man. Writing a book at any pace is difficult. But churning out almost 2k words a day for THIRTY DAYS?!?!?! That’s beyond hard. You may find it useful to plan out milestone rewards for yourself. For example, when I reach the halfway point I’m gonna treat myself to a certain meal or something else I particularly enjoy to recognize the very real achievement that is 25,000 words.
- Consider Grace
- This challenge is really, really difficult. I’ve only ever “won” once and that was by writing a piece of fanfiction (meaning I didn’t have to worldbuild or develop characters to the same extent I would a piece of original fiction). Personally, I know my odds of actually reaching 50k by December 1st are extremely slim. And that’s okay.
- Like I said earlier, Nano is really about jump starting your writing process and getting into the habit of writing every day. It’s okay if you don’t quite make it. Please, please, please treat yourself with kindness through this process.
- Remember, the only person you’re competing against is yourself. Do your best and HAVE FUN!
And that’s that!
That’s how I pre-write and brainstorm a novel, whether I’m Nano-ing or not. But, I’m trying to think back to a time when I wrote a novel without Nanowrimo to start and… I haven’t. All of my larger projects have started with the challenge of Nanowrimo, and then gone on through the winter months (and often beyond) to become the books they are.
So I guess I have a working formula for noveling after all! Who knew?
The Newsletter is going out later this evening so this is LITERALLY your LAST CHANCE to sign up for this month’s update. And there’s a LOT of good stuff in this one y’all. You don’t want to miss out, I promise.
I’ll be on the blog a bit this week, but it might quiet back down as Nano intensifies. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
Until then, Bloggarts!
BZ
