We are officially halfway through November which means we are halfway through NaNoWriMo! Many of you should be nearing 25,005 words! Some of you though may be struggling and that is perfectly fine! I have three tips for those who are having a hard time right now. If you are behind on your word count, unable to make headway, or just feel like this isn’t working then this post is for you.
Shake it Off
Many of you may not be near the halfway point of 25,000 words. To be honest I am usually struggling after week two. Being behind on the word count does not mean you are doomed though! I have done WriMo six times and have only been ahead of the word count twice! It takes a bit of effort to make up the difference, but you can overcome any word count deficiencies! With focus and some solid weekend writing, you can overcome many obstacles. On my first successful WriMo in 2015, I was almost 11,000 words behind the count. I set up my writing time, put extra effort in on the weekends, and got lucky with a few scenes that just poured out of my head. You can do this too! You just need to keep going forward! Press against your limits! You might be shocked by how far you can go. I ended that season at 52,000 words. You can make this up. Just don’t give up!
Focused Writing
Some of you may be having trouble just making progress. It can be hard to wrap your brain around what needs to be accomplished during WriMo. I approach this season as laying down a foundation, not even a rough draft, just a foundation I can build upon later. I do not spend a lot of time editing, I try to focus on making progress in the story itself. As I write I am constantly adjusting the voice, the characters, and the setting as I lay words down. Like puzzle pieces, I am turning characters and setting around, matching edges, seeing where others do not fit together. This means that what I start off with can sometimes be different than what I end with. This is fine. We work on computers now which makes adjusting things easier than ever. If you feel like your character should be Irish halfway through don’t waste time going back and fixing each bit of dialogue, make the adjustment on the page and keep moving forward. If I need a character name or a place name that I don’t have I might just call them TALL MAN and use Find + Replace later to change it. Focus on getting your characters to the end of your story no matter what. In my experience having an ending in place will greatly improve your editing in the coming months. Finding a path to the ending of your story will provide you with a solid understanding of what works and what doesn’t as well. For example, I will need to completely rip out and replace chapter two of Facet. I highlighted the chapter in red, made a note of what to keep, and moved on. I am excited that I will get the chance to come back to it once I finish the book. This is why I really like the process of forcing out a book in one month (or 50,000 words if your stories are a bit longer like mine) because while your plot might seem glorious and amazing in outline form, it might not work once your characters are in place. Make adjustments, leave notes for yourself, keep moving forward. No matter what!
Write to Your Strengths
This is going to be a bit different compared to the other two points of advice. Each writer is different. All of us create these stories and put them onto the page in a vast array of different techniques and approaches. Not everyone is going to succeed at WriMo. This is just a fact. Some writers will not be able to leave a note or adjust as fluidly as I described in the second point above. This does not mean you should stop telling your story. Use November to write as much as you can and then keep going. Find a method that works best for you. I ran into a wall on day 10 of this year, I had nothing and the scene I was on wasn’t working. I spent time in my notes fleshing out some more of the world and keeping tabs on my character progressions. I spent some time editing the first chapter as a way to de-stress. You know what? I was inspired. I finished the scene I was having trouble with and got to move forward. My little brain noodle works like the tide, pushing forward and rushing back. I know that going back over things can unlock new things for me to write. It is tempting for me to go back and do this so much that I don’t make any progress on finishing my story. This is why I focus so much on making forward progress. I know this about my style because I have written several books now. You will not write as I do and that is awesome. Learn what you are good at. Figure out what inspires you to even greater heights. Then do it again. Maybe WriMo is a good time for you to edit the book you’ve been working on all year. Maybe it’s a time you can use to world build. Just because you can’t jam out 50,000 words in a month does not mean that your story has any less worth. Whatever you do, if you have a story to tell, tell it. You are the only one who can.