I just received this from Kate, an ML in another region I belong to (okay, to which I belong ... stop editing, damn it!). Thought it might be nice if some of the vets could share with us newbies their tips for surviving NaNoWriMo. I already thought of slippers and a warm sweater. What else comes in handy? (Note below: combini = convenience store)
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Hey guys! How goes the plotting?
While you're gearing up to write, let's not forget some other important things....
(1) Do the laundry and clean BEFORE November starts. Fortunately most of us live in shoeboxes. (2) Get snacks and cocoa to keep on hand! A combini run will disrupt your flow! (3) Invest in a USB key to back up your novel or carry it from place to place. The last thing I want is people giving up mid-nano because their laptop died! (4) Explain to your friends and family that you will drop off the face of the earth for a month so no one back home thinks you died.
(5) Take a good hard look at your social calendar and block out writing time NOW. Make it a priority! (6) Plan what you're going to do to reward yourself; new notebooks? a special order from Flying Pig? Sleep?
(7) Take time to introduce yourself on the forums so we know you're out there... please? :)
(8) Update your Nanowrimo profile on the site so we know who you are; if your e-
mail address has changed, be sure to update it,! Though if you're mail has changed, you're not going to be getting this...hmm...maybe I just typed that out for nothing.
If you've got more tips, come on and share them in the forums!
Love and Peace, y'all!
Kate
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TajLV - 50,000 words in 43,200 minutes or bust!
9,508 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2007 - 11 34
The USB key idea is brilliant! I was just wondering how I was going to go back and forth between my desk top and my lap top. I'm such a dummy.
----------"Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." ~Sylvia Plath
50,252 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2007 - 12 23
I have been doing big house cleaning... I only use my laptop (unless at work) then I send emails to myself... LOL a quick and easy way to back things up!!!
I also have set up some important social events that I have to attend to keep me sane... I also make sure I get out of the house alot to write. BnN's are great places (any coffee shop for that matter)
4,685 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2007 - 13 24
Wow those tips are great...
I find my self backing my stuff on writely.com..which is not google docs...that way it is online too..nods.
in order to get through the whole month..and keep my sanity, I take a day or two out of the month where I go enjoy a movie or nice dinner to just take a break..then I jump back in it full force..LOL
kathe
50,356 / 50,000
Oct 25, 2007 - 14 48
I have my black hoodie and fingerless gloves while I write. It keeps me warm and gets me into character.
Easy, snacky foods. Soup and sourdough, and then won tons and jr mints that I can take with me to the computer.
And if I get really bored, I take off my glove and glitter the backs of my hands. For a distraction. For some reason, the way it reflects in the light whenever I type seems to kind of reset my brain.
52,057 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2007 - 22 38
Way kewl! Here's a picture you can copy and use as your desktop to help you keep on pace for your wordcount:
http://humanespresso.com/images/nano_penandink.jpg
----------TajLV - 50,000 words in 43,200 minutes or bust!
50,371 / 50,000
Nov 7, 2007 - 05 37
That's a brilliant background! I'm stealing it for my laptop. I'm staying ahead of schedule so far!
----------My Portfolio @ Writing.com