1 Piece of Advice About NaNoWriMo — guest post by @martieKay
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Last November, I decided to participate in my very first NaNoWriMo. Some thought I was crazy (they might have been right), but I did it none-the-less. I ‘won’ NaNo before Thanksgiving much to the happiness of my family and my poor, worn-out fingers.
What I ‘won’ was a very horrible first draft with multiple points of view, head hopping, run-on sentences, and characters with multiple personality issues.
In short, I won myself a mess.
Chances are you will too.
The thing about NaNo is it allows you the opportunity to be free, to write, to live in that book without worrying about messing up, to make those ‘mistakes’ (though mine weren’t really mistakes. They made me realize I needed a two point of view book which worked so much better).
If I could give you one piece of advice on how to make it through NaNo it would be to not stress about your plot, your characters, any of it. Don’t worry if you forget names of secondary characters or even what your main character’s eye color is. Just write. Freely. Write. Have a direction in mind, but let your imagination go wild.
Then, when you are finished and you have that jumbled story. Sit down with a notebook. Figure out the plot points (and yes, exactly what color your main character’s eyes are). Get it going in a certain direction. It will get there in time. I promise you that.
Last year was my first NaNo. I re-wrote it three times total and edited it numerous times before I sent it off to the agents/publishers. In July, I signed a contract with Astraea Press and my sweet little NaNo was published in October. June was my first Camp NaNo. That novel has been re-written, submitted, and contract signed with the same publisher.
Folks, winning NaNo is very doable. Will you have a stellar novel? Nope. But you will have excellent backbones to work off of so you CAN have a terrific novel when it’s all said and done if you are willing to work at it.
Be free with NaNo. Let your imagination run wild and don’t worry about anything. NaNo is the most freeing month for me, personally, as writer. I hope it is the same for you.
Kelly's first book
(from NaNo 2011)
CROSSING THE DEEP
is available now.
Author Bio
Kelly Martin is a southern girl who lives with her husband and three rowdy, angelic daughters. By day, she is a teacher. By night, she is a crazy-haired, multi-tasker who writes with a two year old standing on her shoulder while watching PBS Kids. She loves God, is addicted to chocolate, and would rather write than sleep.
Find her online
www.kellymartinstories.com (author blog)
www.encourage365.com (daily devotional blog)
Twitter: @martieKay
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelly-Martin-Author/136506059763138F
