How I wrote a book in a month: part 2
More tips to help you conquer NaNoWriMo—or whatever fast-drafting challenge you're facing!
Hi! Welcome! This post is part two in a series. Read part one HERE.
How’s your NaNoWriMo going? Do you have (*quick calculation*) 15,003 words written, going into today’s work-session? Why not?!?!
Just kidding.
Mostly.
Because it’s November 10th, and if you’ve fallen behind on your writing goals at this point in NaNo, I do think it could be useful to take a moment to figure out why. What’s been going on that’s holding you back? Is it something within your control? What can you do to remedy the situation and move forward?
(Side note: if whatever-it-is is not within your control—if you’ve been stuck at home with a sick kid, or you’ve been ill yourself, or you got a last-minute work assignment you can’t ignore, or any number of other curveballs life might have thrown at you—give yourself some grace! Things will calm down, and when they do, you’ll get back on the metaphorical horse.)
Last week, I wrote about all of the prep work I did this past summer, when I challenged myself to finish a 40,000-word “zero-draft” of a new book in the four weeks my daughter was in camp. I wrote about breaking down the daunting task into manageable, bite-sized chunks. I wrote about my detailed chapter-by-chapter outline and about setting up a Scrivener document that optimized my productivity, allowing me to sit down each workday and just…write.
Perhaps, if you’re struggling in week two of NaNoWriMo, it really is time for you to take a day off from drafting and do some prep work—brainstorming, outlining, even document formatting—that will help you move forward. There’s no time like the present to get all those story-ducks in a row! Your future-self will thank you.
But maybe your issue isn’t with how much you prepared before diving into your draft. Maybe your problem has more to do with routine. Where does writing fit into your daily life? Whether books are your full-time job or your side hustle or your secret passion, you can decide to show up for your writing in meaningful ways that can impact both your outlook and your word count.
My first tip for writing a book in a month: Prep.
My second tip:
Prioritize
Before I dive into the nuts-and-bolts part of this post, a bit about me.
I am a freelance writer (and occasional freelance editor/proofreader). In addition to writing my own children’s books, I regularly write for several DanceMedia publications (Dance Magazine, Pointe, DanceTeacher+, etc.). I’ve done some ghostwriting and some marketing copywriting. And then there are the other jobs that go along with being a midlist author: social media, marketing, pitching myself for author school visits and workshops (and then planning and leading those presentations)…the list goes on. I’m also hoping to do more teaching in the future, and I’m currently in the research/brainstorming phase on how I can make that happen.
In a nutshell, each week, I build my own schedule. I have deadlines to meet, but I don’t always have consistent work hours or time requirements. The main thing I have to navigate, when looking at my workweek, is…
My kid!
I have a first-grader, and because of my flexible work hours, I am the parent who picks her up from school and takes her to dance classes and swimming lessons (and hangs out with her when she’s home sick, as she was for several days this past week). So, when I say I build my own schedule, I generally mean within school (and camp) hours.
Maybe your life looks something like mine. Or maybe it looks nothing at all like mine!
I said last week that I purposefully titled this series “How I wrote a book in a month” rather than “How to write a book in a month,” because no piece of writing or creative advice is going to be one-size-fits-all. These are tactics that worked for me, given my current life situation. Whatever your life situation, I hope that some of what I’m about to share resonates with you.
So, what do I mean by “Prioritize?”
I mean, quite literally: put your writing first. When you’re challenging yourself to finish a book draft in a month, you simply can’t let writing slip to the back-burner. It has to remain front and center.
For me, this manifested a few different ways:
Before my four weeks of dedicated drafting time began, I did as much as I could to clear my schedule of other obligations. I finished a few freelance gigs early and said no to some future assignments (or asked about a later deadline). I didn’t want to cut into my valuable writing time any more than necessary. I also know I am not at my most creatively productive when I am overbooked and overwhelmed.
Starting on day one, I gave myself an ultimatum: my daily chapter had to be crossed off before I did anything else. Meeting a friend for lunch? Hoping to take a dance or yoga class? Desperate for a walk in the sunshine and fresh air? Get those words on the page. As soon as my daughter was off to summer camp each morning, I sat down at my computer and got to work.
That time I was sitting at my desk? It was meant for writing. Not checking my email. Not scrolling on social media. Not doing the Wordle. How did I stay focused? I set a timer. Years ago, a writer-friend introduced me to The Pomodoro Technique: you work without distraction for 25 minutes, and then you take a five-minute break. That break could be for checking email, or stretching, or unloading the dishwasher, or going to the restroom…whatever you need. Then, you reset the timer and get back to work for another 25 minutes. I love this method! It’s motivating (“I can totally sit here and work for 25 minutes”) and effective (two “pomodoros” = almost an hour of progress!). Plus, in many cases, my timer would go off and I’d be so deep into the scene I was writing that I’d just keep going.
That’s three different ways I put my writing first, in order to achieve my goal of drafting 40,000 words in 20 days. Big picture: I lightened my workload that month, so I had more time to devote to drafting. Medium-picture: I started each individual workday with writing, before moving on to other activities. Small-picture: I made sure writing was actually happening during my dedicated writing time.
I hope that you can take inspiration from one or all of these tactics. For the remainder of NaNoWriMo (or the next time you find yourself trying to hammer out a book draft in record time), can you set aside some other obligations to make time and space for your writing? Can you start each day with your book—or if that’s not feasible for you for whatever reason, can you find a specific time each day that can be dedicated to your draft? And when you have that time set aside, can you make the most of it by minimizing distractions and interruptions? Can you set a timer and just go for it?
Over the years, I’ve found that when I put my writing in a place of priority in my routine, it also occupies a place of priority in my mind and heart. It feels important, because it is! It’s not an afterthought. It matters.
If your writing matters to you, do what you can to put it in a place of priority in your routine—this month and every month.
That’s all for now. See you next week for part three!
~Kathryn