by alkamy | Nov 16, 2017 | Writing
We are just over the halfway point of NaNoWriMo. If you’re pacing along at 1,667 words a day, you should be at 26,000+ by the end of the day. How’s it going? If you’re like me, maybe you’ve encountered the Fear of the Blank Screen. When the juices aren’t flowing it...
by alkamy | Oct 31, 2017 | Writing
Day 31: Wrap Up Okay, peeps, this is it! Nano starts tomorrow! Are you ready? There is no new content today… just a quick index of topics covered in case you need to review anything to get ready for Wednesday. Best of luck to all of you. Remember that the spirit of...
by alkamy | Oct 30, 2017 | Writing
Day 30: Why You Write Oh, man, we’re really getting down to the wire now! Starting Wednesday, it’s Nano time! Are you ready? This, our next-to-the-last post, is fairly lightweight. I’m sure you’re pretty busy with all your Nano planning activities, but if you will...
by alkamy | Oct 29, 2017 | Writing
Day 29: Perfectionism Yesterday we discussed the distractions that may hold you back during November. If NaNoWriMo is your Hero’s Journey, then distractions can be thought of your test of trials. I left one species of dragon off the list yesterday: yourself. One of...
by alkamy | Oct 28, 2017 | Writing
Day 28: Managing Distractions Yesterday we explored how to manage expectations—yours and others—in navigating the challenge of NaNoWriMo. Today we’ll be talking about what distracts you from your writing, including other people. Schedule time. Each day block out...
by alkamy | Oct 27, 2017 | Writing
Day 27: Managing Expectations Today I’d like to delve into how you manage expectations. Gaining this insight is critical because the art of conquering a challenge like NaNoWriMo is really all about managing expectations: yours and those of others. Gretchen Rubin has...
by alkamy | Oct 26, 2017 | Writing
Day 26: Inspiration One week from today, the floodgates will open. You’ll be one of nearly 300,000 people setting out to accomplish the heady feat of writing a novel in 30 days. Are you excited? Nervous? A little of both. I am. And despite all my preaching in these...
by alkamy | Oct 25, 2017 | Writing
Day 25: Self-Care NaNoWriMo is a bit like running a marathon. Or perhaps thirty sprints is a better analogy. In either case, you want to train your body and mind for the challenge. Self-care is an important aspect to getting ready and staying in shape to conquer Nano....
by alkamy | Oct 24, 2017 | Writing
Day 24: Space and Environment We’ve spent a good deal of time contemplating the setting for your story. Giving the same degree of attention to your writing setting will serve you well come November. The art of managing space and environment for the contest really...
by alkamy | Oct 23, 2017 | Writing
Day 23: Write Fast One of the tricks to winning at NaNoWriMo is to write fast. It is pretty essential if you are going to try to crank out 1,667 a day or more. Calibrating your expectations of yourself is one key to writing fast. The goal here is to produce a first...