It’s November, also known as National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo can be a great jumpstart to a writing project, or to make progress on an existing project. The real value of NaNoWriMo is that it can help instill a regular writing routine, along with community and support.
But too often writers will start something in NaNoWriMo, and never finish it. Because after the initial inspiration fades, they lose momentum and drive.
So in this episode, I’m going to give you some guidelines to get the most out of your work in progress. And if you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, I’ll tell you how to get the most out of the next 24 days and beyond.
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Episode at a glance:
[03:32] Don’t Focus On Word Count
It’s a false metric.
It’s the quality of mind you bring to your writing sessions. It’s the energy and momentum you bring to your pages. So you want to get the most mileage out of your time.
[06:35] Write what you’re driven to write.
Don’t write what you think will sell. Don’t write for an audience just yet. Write to please yourself. Delight in your own pleasure in the writing. Write towards your curiosities, the things that concern you. Follow your creative instincts. If you do that, your audience will find you.
[10:23] Progress, Not Perfection
Your goal on any given writing day is not just to write a book, it’s to make progress. That means sometimes you’ll be producing B-minus or even C-level work, and that’s okay. Think of your draft as the first iteration of many. Progress is applying skill to do better than you did yesterday. It’s gradually moving c-level writing up to A+.
[14:14] Progress over perfection doesn’t mean you lower your standards. Learn the difference between healthy perfectionism and unhealthy perfectionism, and how to desensitize yourself to the unhealthy kind.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Episode 143: How To Get Better Feedback From Beta Readers
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