Continuing our October Nano-prep series, today (tonight, I guess, technically at this point) we will discuss what to do when the initial excitement of doing Nanowrimo begins to ebb.
(Don’t worry if you have no idea what I’m talking about. Some people never get tired of Nano. This will be my ninth year, and the first year I’m not doing a straight Nano. There’s nothing wrong with you. You can sit this one out. The Landsquid will provide lemonade and cookies.)
Some people, after they’ve done Nano a few times, find that they just don’t look forward to the event like they used to. Some of the magic is gone, and a “been there, done that” attitude asserts itself.
What can you do? Well, you can always sit Nano out, but then when it’s part of the way through Nano and all your friends are doing it and it’s all your writing group will talk about, you feel a bit sad and lonely.
So here are some ideas to spice up your November:
1. Change Your Genre
This is risky, but if you’re not feeling the love, you can always try something new. Always dreamed of writing a gothic novel? Give it a spin. Want to give romance a try? Why not? Just be aware that you may run into issues with an unfamiliar genre and get stuck.
2. Raise Your Wordcount
You think 50K is a piece of cake? (I hate you, by the way.) Up your word count. I know people who have managed 300K in a single thirty-day month. Sure, it was probably all crap, but if you feel you need more of a challenge, go for it.
3. Write Multiple Books
Alternately, you can try to do more than one story. This can take a variety of forms — related short stories, for example, or you can quite literally, write two or three complete novels. (I recommend you go back and read the post on compartmentalization, however, before going forward with this.)
4. Invoke the Zokutou Clause
We talked about this a few weeks ago, but this allows you to write 50K on a book you’ve already started. Nice if the drafts either aren’t getting done or are piling up in the corner.
5. Write Crack
If Nano’s got you down, why not pick something completely for fun? Write that fluffy gay romance fanfiction you’ve always wanted to. Tell the tale of intergalactic space monkeys (and their forbidden cheese fetish). Write something you know’s going to be fun.
Any additional ideas, Squiders? Anything you’ve tried in the past?
Wait, you mean that people don’t write crack by default? What unwritten rule have I been missing?