Category: Nanowrimo

Make National Novel Writing Month Work For You

11/1/2023

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it's a time when people join together with the common goal of writing 50K words during the month.

This month's related IWSG blog hop question:

Have you ever participated in National Novel Writing Month? If not, why not? Have you ever participated in National Novel Writing Month? If not, why not?

First, a thank you to Alex Cavanaugh for founding the Insecure Writers Support Group, and to this month’s co-hosts, PJ Colando, Jean Davis, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diedre Knight.

I'm a huge fan of NaNoWriMo. I've participated several times, and plan to do so again this year. It's great to feel a sense of community while writing, knowing that so many others are tapping into their creativity, too. I served as a coach in the past (here's my coach blog post of five helpful organizational tips) and continue to serve on their Writers Board.

This year, rather than track my wordcount, I'm going to track my hours. (I did this last year and found it really worked for me. My goal is 50 hours on a new project, so each hour gets logged as a 1000 words.) If you're interested in using NaNoWriMo in a nontraditional way, check out So You're A NaNoWriMo Revision Rebel by Becca Spence Dobias or How to Break the Rules for the Best NaNoWriMo Ever by Sue Weems. Both articles provide ideas for making the month work best for you. For more inspiration, check out these pep talks and the prep resources on the NaNoWriMo website.

Whether it's words in a new novel, creating a series of smaller projects, or revising an existing draft, there's still time to join the NaNoWriMo community.

Happy Writing!

16 Productivity Posts to Improve Your Writing Life

12/7/2022

As we head into 2023, I'm rounding up sixteen productivity blog posts I shared throughout the year. Let me know if you had any favorites or if there are topics you'd like to see covered in the future.

Word POP: Productivity Over Procrastination
Sixteen Posts to Improve Your Writing Life

NaNoWriMo: Now What?

Congratulations to everyone who partipated in NaNoWriMo! Regardless of whether you hit 50,000 words, any time spent writing is a win. As I mentioned in Crush Your Creative Goals with NaNoWriMo, I was a NaNoWriMo Rebel, and revised for 50+ hours instead of tracking words. If you're wondering what to do with your draft, check out NaNoWriMo Is Over: Now What?

IWSG Blog Hop

Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question. Special thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and to this month’s co-hosts, Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine. This month's optional question:

Are the holidays a time to catch up or fall behind on writer goals?

As you can tell from the round-up above, I love thinking about goals and the best ways to meet them. In that respect, December is like most other months, with the addition of holiday to-dos and celebrations.

What does make December differ is the opportunity for year-end reflection about what worked for me (like using Trello to map out tasks for the coming month) and what didn't (despite understanding the logic against it, I still check my email before writing each day). I'm looking forward to more productivity research next year!

Do you use December as a time of reflection?
Wishing you a joyful and creative new year!

Crush Your Creative Goals with NaNoWriMo

11/2/2022

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it's a time that creatives come together with the common goal of writing 50K words during the month.

This leads to the monthly IWSG blog hop question:

Have you ever participated in National Novel Writing Month? If not, why not?

Thank you to Alex Cavanaugh for founding the Insecure Writers Support Group, and to this month’s co-hosts, Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton.

I've participated in NaNoWriMo several times. It's great to feel a sense of community while writing, knowing that so many others are tapping into their creativity, too. I even served as a coach in 2020 and shared five organizational tips to help during November.

This year, rather than track my wordcount, I'm going to track my revision hours. If you're interested in using NaNoWriMo for a project other than 50K novel words, check out So You're A NaNoWriMo Revision Rebel by Becca Spence Dobias or How to Break the Rules for the Best NaNoWriMo Ever by Sue Weems. Both articles provide ideas for making the month work best for you. For more inspiration, check out these pep talks on the NaNoWriMo site.

Whether it's words in a new novel, creating a series of smaller projects, or revising an existing draft, there's still time to join the NaNoWriMo community and crush your creative goals.

Wishing you a productive November!

Enhance Writing Productivity with Accountability

4/6/2022

Types of Accountability

In case you missed my last productivity post, I discussed setting creative goals and Gretchen Rubin’s analysis (in her book, The Four Tendencies) of how people handle internal and external expectations. To recap, some people do well with quietly setting internal goals. Others do better with the pressure of meeting external deadlines. A smaller percentage rebel against expectations in general. (You can take her quick quiz for the price of your email address if you're not sure which category might best fit.)

Five Ways to Use Accountability for Motivation

How can writers use the idea of accountability (meeting internal/external expectations) to stay on track with creative goals and increase productivity?

Here are a few ways:

Mention your goals publicly— through your website, for example, or by taking part in Camp NaNoWriMo which runs every April. (It’s not too late for this! You can set word count or time goals for the month.)
Make a promise to yourself. For example, write a letter outlining what you want to accomplish and why. It can be for your eyes only.
Declare goals to an accountability partner. I’m sending end-of-day emails Monday through Friday to a dear writer friend with my revision progress. Having to admit it to her if I don't achieve my goal adds another level of motivation.
If the idea of accountability is de-motivating, (Rubin’s “rebel” category), consider leaning into your identity as a writer. You might remind yourself, “I’m the kind of person who can complete a manuscript if I want to,” and set appropriate goals in that way.
Play with a productivity app. Habitica, for example, lets you set easy, medium, and hard tasks, and success leads to pet eggs and potions to hatch them. You can join forces with other users on quests, which also helps to hold you accountable, because if you don’t complete a goal the health of your team suffers. Another app, Forest, increases focus by growing virtual trees if you work for a set time. (I downloaded the app and planted my first tree composing this post!)

IWSG Blog Hop
Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group hosts a blog hop with an optional question. Special thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for creating IWSG (and congrats on his latest book, CassaDark) and appreciation to this month’s blog co-hosts: Joylene Nowell Butler, Jemima Pett, Patricia Josephine, Louise - Fundy Blue, and Kim Lajevardi. This months question: Have any of your books been made into audio books? If so, what is the main challenge in producing an audiobook?

Pandemic was made into an audiobook and narrated by Monika Smith. Since the process was done through Audible, I didn’t have any challenges in the process.

One Last Thing

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. To raise funds through #WritersforHope, I’m donating a Pandemic “Book Club Bundle” (eight signed paperbacks and a zoom visit). Bid through April 8th and check out all the other awesome items available!

Best of luck to everyone who set April goals of blogging from A to Z! Share your monthly theme (or other goals) in the comments.

#NaNoWriMo is over. Now what?

12/17/2020

#NaNoWriMo, that flurry of writing new words, has ended. As a #NaNoCoach, I've gotten a few questions about what comes next. I've gathered some thoughts and resources which apply to anyone who's competed a first draft of a novel (during NaNoWriMo or otherwise).

1. Take some time away from what you've written. A first draft is a starting point in the novel-creation process. Giving yourself a break from the project is a good way to gain perspective on what you've created. What works in the draft? What needs fleshed out, deleted, clarified? As Neil Gaiman says, "The best advice I can give on [revision] is, once it's done, put it away until you can read it with new eyes."

2. Once enough time has passed (it can feel like someone else wrote the words--that's a good sign you're ready), then begin the revision process. And it is a process. Don't rush this step in the hurry to submit. Revision is a huge topic in and of itself, with whole workshops and books devoted to it. In essence, you are trying to identify how to make the story stronger. (I offer a bit more information about this in "Self Editing Tips for Writers.")

3. After you've revised (usually in multiple rounds), find a critique partner or beta reader to provide a fresh take on the story. Often, writers are too close to their work to clearly identify what still need revision. This is an important step. You do not want a prospective agent or editor to be your first reader; learn how the story can be improved before you submit it.

4. Revise and repeat until the story shines!

Obviously, this is a big picture overview. For more detailed resources, check out NaNoWriMo's "Now What" page, where they feature a workbook that includes information on how to find a critique partner. Susan Dennard has also written a series of posts about revision, and Holly Lisle offers a streamlined approach to the process.

Share other revision resources in the comments.
Best of luck with your writing!

NaNoWriMo, Productivity Styles, and IWSG Blog Hop

11/6/2019

Helpful Links

Each month, I like to share writing, reading, and productivity resources.

About productivity: What productivity style are you? Here are descriptions of four types along with the tools that might best help you: The Four Types of Productivity Styles. (I'm a "planner.")

For writers: Why try NaNoWriMo? Some thoughts from a few years ago that still hold true.

For readers: Why You Should Surround Yourself With More Books Than You'll Ever Have Time to Read (As if I need this encouragement....)

IWSG Blog Hop

Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group poses an optional question that members can answer in their blog posts. Special thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for founding IWSG, and to this month’s helpful blog hop co-hosts: Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie!

This month's question:
What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story?

In the past few months, my research has led me to search about various types of ghosts, an American castle as a possible setting, and decades-old arson fires in Hoboken. I’m not sure any of that counts as “strange,” but it does make for an interesting browser history.

One of my favorite tools to store research images, by the way, is the “secret” board option on Pinterest. If I look for castle photos, for example, I save them on a hidden board until the story makes it out into the world. (I don’t share research as I go along because of too many false starts and changes as the work progresses.) Here’s an example of a board that was initially secret for Black Flowers, White Lies that I made public and added to over time.

Follow Yvonne Ventresca on Pinterest.

Writer friends, are you participating in NaNoWriMo19?
Why or why not?

NaNoWriMo and IWSG Blog Hop

11/1/2017

Helpful Links

Happy November! Here are a few helpful links to start the month.

For NaNoWriMo participants: How To Start a New Book by author April Henry and Building Self-Care Habits: Refilling the Creative Well to Write Your Best Work by Jamie Raintree.

(If you are unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo or undecided about trying it, I have a post here, plus a nice photo of me and my mom.)

For introverts: People Who Prefer To Be Alone Have These 6 Special Personality Traits. (I'm not sure how much of this is based on science, but it's a feel-good read.)

For readers: the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has compiled their annual free recommended reading list of books written by SCBWI members.

For complainers: The 21 Day No Complaint Experiment. (I would probably be on day one of this forever.)

IWSG Blog Hop

Every month, the Insecure Writers Support Group poses an optional question that members can answer in their blog posts. Special thanks to Alex Cavanaugh for founding IWSG, and to this month’s awesome blog hop co-hosts: Tonja Drecker, Diane Burton, MJ Fifield, and Rebecca Douglass. (Be sure to stop by their blogs and say hello!)

This month’s question is:

Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project? Have any of them gone on to be published?

I participated in NaNoWriMo once and completed the 50,000 words. I think it can be a worthwhile experiment and the sense of community support during the month is helpful. I'm still untangling the mess I created (also known as Revision), so that novel is currently unpublished.

Even if you choose not to participate in NaNoWriMo, the concept offers some interesting productivity principles that can be applied to other projects (or other months):

Set a concrete goal.
Publicly declare that goal. (Whether this works because of accountability or shame, I’m not sure. But it does change the dynamic from just promising yourself.)
Find other people trying for the same goal, if you feel like that will help. (You are all suffering together!)
Monitor your progress on a regular basis. (NaNoWriMo includes daily word count tallies.)
Consider changing the way you approach a project. For example, I normally edit as I write, but NaNoWriMo encourages participants to keep going, without revising, until they reach the word count goal.
Check the results at the end of the project. If you encountered obstacles, think about how you can avoid them in the future.

Best of luck to those who are participating!
Random questions of the month: Are you a complainer?
Is daylight savings time something you complain about?

N is for NaNoWriMo Principles

4/16/2016

By Yvonne Ventresca

My theme for the April A to Z blogging challenge is productivity for creative people.

November is National Novel Writing Month, and whether or not you’ve tried to accomplish writing a novel in four weeks, I think there are some useful principles that can be applied throughout the year. (April is Camp NaNoWriMo if you are interested.)

Principles for Any Month

Set a concrete goal. (NaNoWriMo suggests writing 50,000 words in 30 days.)
Publicly declare that goal. (Whether this works because of accountability or shame, I’m not sure. But it does change the dynamic from just promising yourself.)
Find other people trying for the same goal, if you feel like that will help. (You are all suffering together!)
Monitor your progress on a regular basis. (NaNoWriMo includes daily word count tallies.)
Consider changing the way you create. For example, I normally edit as I write, but NaNoWriMo encourages participants to keep going, without revising, until they reach the word count goal. I found this change very freeing. Because I kept writing, instead of going back and fixing plot problems, my story evolved in a different, wonderful direction.
Check the results at the end of the project. If you encountered obstacles, think about how can you avoid them in the future.

Have you ever tried NaNoWriMo or creating in a crunch-time atmosphere?

NaNoWriMo Resources for Young Writers

10/27/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

My blog is turning two!

To celebrate two years of blogging this month, I recently put together a new Resources for Teen Writers page. It includes:

Interviews with editors who publish teen writers
Links to places where young writers can submit work
Advice from other authors
Teen writing communities and more!

Take a look and let me know what you think.

NaNoWriMo has a modified program for "young" writers (classified as 17 and younger.) Because of school and other commitments, you can sign up to complete a word count of your choice. You set the goal to something that will be manageable--whatever length you want! The website includes free access to downloadable workbooks (elementary, middle, or high school), pep talks for motivation and encouragement, and an online community of other writers. (I blogged about my own decision to try NaNoWriMo here.) You "win" by meeting your word count goal by the the end of the month. Any progress toward a creative goal is winning! As Napoleon Hill said:

What goals do you have for November and beyond?

Why Try NaNoWriMo?

10/22/2015

By Yvonne Ventresca

I've decided to try NaNoWriMo this November. (If you're unfamiliar with the concept, many writers use the month to begin a new writing project, with the goal of drafting 50,000 words.) My mom, who has provided huge moral support throughout my writing career, had two questions: Isn't 50,000 words a lot? (YES!) And: Why in the world would you want to try that?

Me and Mom: a favorite pic

I've thought a lot about the answer, because apparently the concept of NaNoWriMo can be controversial--some people believe that writing slower is the better approach, that quality is better than quantity. Trust me: I certainly don't expect to have a submission-ready manuscript on December 1st. I've used the slow and steady method, so why not give this a try? One thing I've learned is that public accountability works for me. The act of declaring my goal means I have to make a serious effort! Besides, there's no failing at this--even if I only hit 25K words, that would be a huge accomplishment. I think the community aspect makes this fun. And the timing is right for me, personally. I've been researching a new novel, but haven't really started writing in earnest.

Now if I can just convince my mom to come visit for the month. . . .

What's the last experiment you've tried? How did it go?

Make National Novel Writing Month Work For You

16 Productivity Posts to Improve Your Writing Life

Crush Your Creative Goals with NaNoWriMo

Enhance Writing Productivity with Accountability

#NaNoWriMo is over. Now what?

NaNoWriMo, Productivity Styles, and IWSG Blog Hop

NaNoWriMo and IWSG Blog Hop

Helpful Links

IWSG Blog Hop

N is for NaNoWriMo Principles

Principles for Any Month

NaNoWriMo Resources for Young Writers

Why Try NaNoWriMo?

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