It's day 11 already! Wow, time sure flies when you're writing. I'm still a first timer keep in mind, but I've compiled a list of 11 tips for nanowrimo participants.
1. Chat. I've been in the MSN/Yahoo chats every weeknight (hosted by the great janipanda) with other wrimo writers and it has certainly helped my story! The word wars and suggestions they all make are great. And the people are very nice, they'll even offer up help. Last night I asked for help naming a character and they all jumped to help.
2. Word war. The idea is to write as much as you can in 15 minutes, some are themed some aren't. Just write in short bursts, it significantly helps your word count!
3. Steal all the time you can. Lock your door, eat your meals at your desk, write during your breaks, and realize that you don't have to answer every phone call.
4. Don't you dare give up! Avoid that week 2 wall and keep at it. Do as much as you can and if you don't get your 50000 at least you tried, and there's always next year. "The only thing you can't edit is a blank page"-WrimoRadio
5. Play some music in the background, it helps. Maybe an old movie you've seen thousands of times, just be careful not to put the plot from there into your story.
6. Manage your time wisely. Keep up with the daily quotas (1,667 words a day roughly) and try not to fall too far behind. If you can't be at your computer, bring a notebook with you and brainstorm. There's always the option of longhand too.
7. Compromise with your characters. If you made it to day 11, you've realized already they are not your's, you are their's. Allow them to make changes, but don't let them take over. Find some common ground and run with it.
8. Back up your file! I cannot stress this enough, in fact, this is the second time I wrote this post. Computers are malicious little devils, and you don't want one eating up your file. Email it to yourself, put a copy on that unused old laptop you have sitting around, or even better, on a flash drive. Just keep two copies and make sure it's always backed up!
9. Ignore how far you have to go. Lock away that calculator and don't worry about how many you have to write to reach your daily quota or until you reach 50000. Just write, write, and write, as much as you possibly can!
10. Ignore your inner editor. This is often easier said than done, I know. If you go back and read what you've got, that's fine I suppose, but don't ever cut anything out! Add things in, yes, that helps tremendously, but never take anything out--that'll take away from your word count too.
11. If all else fails, add in a cliché. Make it satirical of writing if you want, that's always fun. If you're low on plot, add in a love story, or a big battle between the good buy and the villain, a quest, a monkey, a vampire, the possibilities are endless! Don't dispare over lost plot, just keep going until you find it again. There's always the plot doctoring section of the nanoforums if you get stuck.
Above all, remember: November is for writing, December is for editing (and/or burning).
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