How to Win NaNoWriMo

10/30/2016

**Wanna skip the reading? There is a handy video with all of the information at the bottom of this post.**

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts on Tuesday, November 1st. It is where loads of writers take the time to write at least 1667 words a day with the end goal of 50,000 words by November 30th. The obstacles are endless: deadlines, life, Thanksgiving, holidays, Christmas shopping... facebook ;) But in the end, when you cross the finish line with 50,000 words, it is magical <3

I have participated in NaNoWriMo since 2011. I won my first year, and the completed book ended up being my first book published called CROSSING THE DEEP. Mainly, I like goals and deadlines. I wanted to test myself and see if I could do it. And I did... :)

I've done several NaNo's since then (I do them every year in November. There is one in the summer called Camp Nano which is awesome too).

1,667 words a day is daunting. Since I've won NaNo a time or two in my life, I wanted to give you five tips for winning...

1. Don't freak out. Don't stress. This supposed to be fun.

If you really think about it, NaNo isn't something anyone should do ;) But we do it because 1) it really is fun and 2) it is a great challenge. It IS fun if you don't get too stressed over it. Decide you want your character to be redheaded instead of brown? Make a note of it where you are and keep going. Don't go back DO. NOT. EDIT. Write and write and write some more. Editing is for December.

2. Don't fall behind. Missing even one day can stop your momentum.

So... I had you so calm about not freaking out... and then I thrown this little pearl of wisdom in the mix (sorry, not sorry).

The issue with missing a day is you can think. "Oh, I'll make it up later." And you 'can'. However, missing one day makes you have to write double the next and before long (if you keep it up) you are 10,000 words in the hole. I don't want that to happen to you. Write every day if you can. Keep your word counts up. You CAN DO THIS!

3. Don't go back and edit. Just go with it.

I mentioned it before, NaNo isn't the time to go back and edit. Kill off a character in chapter 1 and decide to bring him back in 10... DO IT! Don't go back and fix it. The key to this is writing yourself notes in your document to help you remember what you did. Writing is hard, but good notes make all the differences :)

4. Celebrate your milestones.

I do a little something when I reach the 5's (5,000... 10,000 etc). It might be watching a youtube video or a candy bar. Something. You have to celebrate the little milestones or you'll never reach the big ones. :) #PassTheChocolate #NaNoWriMo2016

5. Don't give up! You can do this!

After all is said and done, you can TOTALLY do this! It isn't easy, but what good thing in life is? No matter what happens, you will have words written down... and that is more than you had on October. 31st.

Go forth and conquer NanoWrimo! I'm rooting for you!

--Kelly

Here's me telling you all about winning NaNo... in all my Southern accented glory ;)