Sprint timers and stats bars and word counts, oh my! It’s a whirlwind of activity as we kick off our first week of NaNoWriMo. Our minds are fresh, the excitement is contagious, and that leftover Trick or Treat candy is coming in handy.
The greatest challenge of NaNoWriMo is keeping those word counts high, especially once we’ve run out of ideas. Today, I’m sharing one of my favorite methods for sparking new inspiration, writing prompts!
NaNoWriMo is the ultimate challenge for a writer. It requires focus, endurance, and planning. To finish strong and come out as a winner is the ultimate prize, but forgetting the basics will leave you bleeding out on the battlefield before the halfway point.
To help you set up for a successful November, I’m here with a little Preptober pep talk that will have you raring to go November 1, well equipped for the mushy middle, and primed for victory.
During NaNoWriMo you worked 30 days (or 30 nights) to create a monster, which has now become a different kind of challenge. If you want to live to tell your tale, it’s time to wrestle this ungainly creature into something a little more marketable. I’m willing to bet it takes a lot longer than one month. But, as a writer, you can ultimately become the conquering hero. Here are a few reminders as you continue your writing journey this January.
Words are a puzzle; put them together the right way and you get something beautiful.
A young writer is easily tempted by the allusive and ethereal and ironic and reflective, but the declarative is at the bottom of most good writing.
Always move forward. Shelumiel liked to tell her that. He would look at her and say: “When you find yourself up against a strong force, always move forward. Never Stop. Something will have to give, and you know it won’t be you.”
I work backwards with the ending in mind as I create art, stories, poems and books. Always in a process of becoming.
Lists are awesome. They keep us organized, they’re great for reminders, and they get stuff To Done. But putting together a list isn’t the same as writing, is it? Well, everyone’s process is a little different, but I would argue that lists are one of the best (and easiest) tools for a writer to utilize.
I don’t write a book so that it will be the final word; I write a book so that other books are possible, not necessarily written by me.
A great writer reveals the truth even when he or she does not wish to.
