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My NaNoWriMo Experience So Far

By Selane @SummerEllenLane

My NaNoWriMo Experience So Far

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Write, write, write. 
Stop. Grab a cup of hot tea. 
Write, write, write. 
Stop. Check twitter. 
Write, write, write. 
Stop. 
Keep writing. 

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how NaNoWriMo is going for me right now. It can be hard to find time to keep up with the daily word count for this event because first of all, I'm a freelance writer, which means I spend all day writing article after article as fast as I can. Second, because it's just challenging to get 50,000 words in one month. 

Which is also why I love this thing. 

So far I've observed a few interesting effects this has had on me. One, when it becomes clear that I haven't met my word goal for the day, there suddenly appears some super interesting Facebook post or YouTube video about fluffy cats. Two, NaNoWriMo Write-Ins are a great way to connect with fellow story-lovers. Three, story worlds and characters develop a lot faster when you're doing NaNoWriMo - it just happens. Four, there's nothing like hot chocolate or cookies when you're struggling to write that last scene  of the day about your two MCs. 

My tips for surviving NaNoWriMo are these: 


  • Have fun. Just write whatever you want to write and be yourself.
  • Don't worry about spelling mistakes. Fix it later. Just write. 
  • Connect with other Wrimos and go to local Write-Ins when you can swing it. It's worth it. 
  • Turn on an epic movie soundtrack to inspire you to write. 
  • Buy a NaNoWriMo sticker and put it on your computer so you can feel like some kind of macho writer veteran when you open up your laptop. 
  • Again, just HAVE FUN! 
I hope NaNoWriMo is going well for all you other participants out there. Stick to your guns, er, keyboards, and try to get as close to that 50K word goal as you possible can. A for Effort! 

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