Well, Squiders, we’re about a third of the way through November. How goes your word counts? How goes your motivation? Week Two tends to be a bad week. Your enthusiasm has waned, you start to hit points in your story
My Nanowrimo Challenge
I’ve been swept up in this November insanity for a long time now. This is my ninth year participating. When I first started, I was a junior in college, double majoring in two different engineering degrees, and I would fit
Nanowrimo: Week One Tips
Well, friends, November is upon us. All that planning you did (or didn’t) do during October, all the excitement and the anticipation…and now it’s time to go. Don’t get bogged down in the beginning. We’ve talked about beginnings here in
The Social Aspect of Nanowrimo
Writing, as so many books and other sources like to tell us, is a solitary activity. We think of the “great” writers, holed up in their studies, never seen for days at a time, chain-smoking and drinking their absinthe and
Putting the Pep Back Into Nanowrimo
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.
Nanowrimo Prep and Avoiding Plot Death
Nano looms ever closer, my friends. (Also, it’s my birthday!) I talked last year about Nano Zen and Plot Death — this cheats Nano Zen a bit, but I do think it’s important. It’s hard to experience Plot Death if
Being a Nano Rebel: The Zotukou Clause
This is an advanced topic, so if you’re a Nano newbie or still thinking about if you even want to bother, I suggest you read the Nanowrimo – Is It Worth It? post from last year. The nice thing about
Hooray, October!
It’s October, Squiders! Best month of the year. Bold claim, I know, but how can you resist? The leaves are turning on the trees, the heat of summer is burning off, and then there’s Halloween and my birthday and Nano-planning,
Word Count Challenges
Every April since 2006, I’ve been participating in a writing challenge known as April Fool’s. You can choose your word count goal – anything from 500 words to 300,000. (Or more, if you really want, but that’s already 10K a
The Art of the Write-in
We all hear that writing is a solitary activity, but this is a new age of social media and I end up talking to other writers all the time. I suspect, if you’re here, you’re the same way. One of
