So this doesn't get too chaotic; choose a word or phrase to indicate what area your tip addresses - like writing software, character names, plot bunnies, getting unstuck, motivation, noise canceling headphones, streaming music sites etc. Your tip can be information you read, a website you know about, something you've discovered in the course of doing Nano - whatever it is, let us in on it!
Area: Time management
Tip: Don't let yourself get rigid and negative, thinking you MUST have a certain block of time in which to write. If you can't be in front of a computer one day, or you're in classes or at work, keep a small pad of paper with you. Make the odd note here or there, a scene that just came to you, a list of chapters to cover, whatever. Make use of whatever small piece of time you have, it won't be wasted. Any time you spend thinking about your novel generates more ideas.
Area: Keeping a word count log
Tip: Keep track of how much time you spend actually writing. On a piece of paper (or on the computer, natch) write down your exact starting time and current word count. Write. When you need to stop, or feel like stopping for a break, or run out of gas, write down the exact end time and the new word count. Calculate how many words you wrote and how much time you spent writing. The next time you begin writing, whether it's 10 minutes later or 3 hours, do the same thing. Keep doing this. You will begin to get a clear sense of your pattern as a writer and how long it will take you to reach your daily quota. You may notice that you tend to write in 40 minute spurts and need a half hour break in between. You might notice that you tried to write for 5 hours, but your output diminished steadily after that 3rd hour.
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With Anticipation
2005 "Two Truths and a Lie" literary fiction
2006 "Slipping the Tracks" literary fiction (Winner)
2007 "The Dream of Safety" literary fiction (Winner)
2008 "Insufficiency" literary fiction (Winner)
22,020 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 09 29
Let it Flow
Don't stop for anything. The name of the great wizard not coming to you? Put in 'Bob' and search and replace later once the perfect name comes to you. Not sure how the scene where two of your characters meet should go? Skip it and fill it in later. Hey, it could even be a flashback, or maybe you start jumping around in time a la Pulp Fiction. The point is not to let anything stem the flow of words.
Share it Forwards
This was in a tip from Chris Baty, I believe, but it's helped me already so I want to make sure to spread the word: Never stop writing at the end of a section; always leave yourself with the first line of the next part you want to write. This will serve as a jumping off point when you come to your writing cold and will give you the chance to warm up.
That's all I have for now - I hope some of it is useful.
----------runtime
2008 Soul Trader [13k]
2009 Motley's Crew
13,460 / 50,000
nov. 5, 2009 - 10 49
Area: Communication, Planning, and Motivation
This is almost a religious issue for some people, but here's my thoughts on the matter (taken mostly from Stephen King's On Writing): don't write outlines in any great detail and don't discuss your story with other people in any real real way before it is complete and revised once. The idea is that anything you do to explore the world of your story other than actually writing your story saps all of the enthusiasm for discovery you might have and leaves you with no work product. If your goal is to actually produce a novel instead of a description of a novel, you have to stay motivated to uncover the world of your characters and their lives. It is almost impossible (for me, at least) to get excited about describing something that I've already thought through entirely.
I think a fair amount of people would disagree with this position, and I honestly used to be of the opposite opinion. After reading On Writing, I changed my approach and found my productivity really rocket up. There's just no comparison between uncovering an entirely novel story and scripting out a story you've already told yourself or someone else.
You can disagree if you'd like, but it's working for me, so I felt the need to share.
Off to explore the strange world of these people that I've just met...
----------jeff
31,017 / 50,000
nov. 6, 2009 - 18 33
Everything Counts
Everything you write, whether or not you expect it to end in the publication, qualifies in your word count. A character analysis counts. Explanation of how your magic works counts. The layout of your hometown counts. Synopses, glossaries, lexicons, geography, history, ranting about why your novel sucks, ranting about how you're going to make it better, ranting about how someone else did something badly and you're going to do it right, all count.
Keep in mind, for example, J. R. R. Tolkien's extensive notes on the world of Middle Earth which he fleshed out en extremis to give his people and his stories a more-real-than-history feel. Much of that has since been published.
It all counts. So count it.
----------Frequent haunts (San Francisco)
Cafè Enchantè, Geary @ 26th Ave.
Coffee Bean @ Market, 3rd & 4th streets next to Four Seasons
Peets, Fillmore @ Sacramento
Peets, Van Ness @ Bush
Peets, Mission @ 3rd Street
On The Corner Cafè, Divisadero @ Oak St.
38,115 / 50,000
nov. 7, 2009 - 20 01
Area: Time management
do not linger on this site
http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=1362022144
----------2005 Now Serving Lunch 50k
2006 Starts Friday 50k
2007 November Weekend 50k
2008 Good Girl 50k
48,812 / 50,000
nov. 7, 2009 - 22 35
Hi, I'm a NaNo newbie, but I've been writing on and off for my own pleasure for decades. Here are some tips:
I often write on my phone (Palm Treo 650) whenever I'm in line or on a bus. It's so portable I can write in bed or on the toilet or while I'm waiting for someone. If I take the bus instead of the car, first I'm helping the environment a bit, but I also have lots of undisturbed time to write.
Character names come from passing signs and store names. Example: Needed a name for a minor character. Passed "Nena's Nails" so my character's first name was "Nena." By the time I finished writing those four letters, I looked out the window for her surname and found a restaurant with the name "Petalos" in it, and I had a painless character name.
I chose to write about a new science fictional form of media and how it affects random people all over the place. When I run out of things for one character to do or say, I draw a line of dashes and start writing about either a new character or maybe I have something else to add to another character's story.
I hope something in the above can help another writer.
I have not had this much fun in years. Letting my imagination run wild is so much fun that I forget to eat, and anyone who saw my belly would instantly know that I'm not someone who usually skips a meal!