To be sure, there are mixed opinions about the utility of getting words-down-any-words-down and powering through to get something on the page. Personally I feel that getting words-down-any-words-down can be very helpful, as I find it much easier to go back and revise than to try and conjure something for the first time.
But how does one power through? I have never attempted the marathon/race to the moon/mountain climb that is NaNoWriMo, but I’m sure that at some point that brain starts yelping, “No! More! Words!”
How do you quell that feeling and power through to keep going?
swampfox says
Still revising my third book. No time for Nano. Good luck to everyone else, though
Claudie A. says
Word wars/word sprints/word orgies, depending on how you call them. This is how I power through most of my "I don't know what to write and I don't want to go on!" moments.
On the bigger scale, I find other Wrimos that have about my speed and do competitions with them. This year I race someone else (two, actually) to the 50k line.
Any amount of sugary goodies and chocolate will help, too.
Judy Black says
I usually just keep writing. Even if it's writing, 'I can't think of anything to write. I really want to put this novel down and go out with my friends but my character has to get out of this dungeon at some point.' I keep my fingers moving and type whatever comes to my head. When I'm back on track I go back and highlight that part to know to remove it later. Hey it's not editting, I didn't delete the words!
It's a lot like running a marathon, when you hit 'the wall' the only way to get past it is to keep running. Writing's like a muscle it will only get stronger with daily use.
James says
Writing a novel in a month has its own inertia. The more you write, the more you're able to let go the inner critic, etc. The more you can just…write.
1600 words a day is pretty doable. Sometimes it's like blood from a stone, but in the end there are ALWAYS more words. The trick I fell into was simply figuring what I was interested in writing every day. I merely chose an aspect – what my main character was eating, thinking, wanting to do, or what a room looked like, or what a new character felt like – and would just riff on it.
Which I thought would have created a stilted read, but I went back and reread it this year and was amazed to find: it didn't suck at all. In fact, there were some really great parts in it. True, here and there it was apparent I didn't know what to do on a day, but on the whole…I'd say 80% of it was useable.
The trick with NaNoWriMo is really just writing on faith and then coming back later to edit (like Nathan said.) Honestly, this is how I feel most writing is done.
Forget plans. Just write into the book and discover it page by page by writing wherever you feel the most heat.
Aidan Ryan says
I don't see NaNoWriMo as a very good idea in the first place. It generally results in sloppy writing, disappointment, and bad hygiene.
By the way, how's that mountain of queries? Getting any smaller? Mine's in there somewhere but I didn't want to pester you with another email…that's probably the last thing you want to see.
Nora Coon says
I just remind myself that it's a first draft and it doesn't matter if the words I write are absolutely terrible – I'll revise them later (come revision time, I'm usually very angry with myself).
I'm not sure I get tired of writing, really – I love the unfettered creation inspired by NaNoWriMo – but if my brain can't come up with anything good, I just write in minute detail until I've figured out what to do next.
Kristi Helvig says
A trick that works well for me is to never stop writing at a chapter break. I find it difficult to start writing with a blank page, so whenever I finish a chapter, I write at least a paragraph of the next one to give me direction. It makes the next day's words flow so much easier–and faster. Good luck to all the NaNo'ers. 🙂
alisonwells says
I open a second document in which I write down all my pain, fear, gripes, anxieties! as I go along and just leave it there. And I've blogged recently about that STOP feeling being your brain wanting to incubate and simmer ideas, so if you build up a buffer, take time for a day or half day completely to relax, walk, go to a cultural activity, read and refuel and get the synapses firing again.
Graham Bradley says
Seriously, I just ramble and write things that have absolutely nothing to do with the plot. I make my characters do nonsensical things that defy logic or setting, just to hit the word count. It makes it amusing to go back and read the next day, and then I can usually find where I was going to begin with.
Haste yee back ;-) says
Think in pictures not words!
Haste yee back 😉
Remus Shepherd says
This is unorthodox, but it got me through my successful NaNoWriMo run:
Put music on with a driving beat. Put a single song on loop play, if you don't have a good selection of music with pounding backbeats. Then sit at your keyboard and commit to pressing a key on every beat — while trying to form words, of course.
A 3/4th time song lasting 3 minutes should give you 240 characters or about 50 words. An hour of that is 1k words. Two hours of that and you've met your NaNo quota for the day. But don't stop until your fingers are too tired to keep dancing. 🙂
Remus Shepherd says
To clarify: Yes, I have listened to a single dance song on loop play for two hours.
I didn't say this method was good for one's sanity. 🙂
Mariam Maarouf says
I'm currently working on the first draft of my second novel, and it would be awesome if I could finish it by the end of the month, but I'm not participating in NaNo.
Sometimes, I get 5,000 words done per day. Other times, I barely get a little bit over 1,000 words per day, and sometimes I'm not even in the mood for writing (even tho I have time). So I'm not the right person for NaNo.
Josin L. McQuein says
Dialogue.
If I get blocked, the easiest thing to fix that is for me to ignore the action of a given scene and try to figure out what the participating characters would say in it. (Dialogue is the easiest thing for me to write.)
If that doesn't work, I'll try a semi-outline.
Generally, I hate outlining (It sounds crazy, but outlining confuses my brain.) However, if I'm stuck and can't figure out what comes next, then I try and do a skeletal story sketch or outline of some sort.
Then I skip the scene giving me hives and do another.
or
I'll work on something else (which is always dangerous because it fools you into thinking you're making legitimate progress while actually diverting your attention from the wanted goal.
If it gets really bad, I'll stoop to satirizing something else I've read, all the while repeating the mantra: It's not fanfiction; it's satire. It's not fanfiction; it's satire.
😛
Mira says
I wish I was doing NaNo. This type of writing to a deadline works really well for me. Especially if I set up a small reward at the end. Sigh.
In the times I do power through – right now, it's for school papers – I just write them and turn the editor off. Just get the words out, worry about everything else later, let go and trust the process.
Next year! 🙂
Rose says
I agree with James, we write it expecting it to be all throw-away, but when we go back, six weeks or six months later, it's fascinating to find how much really doesn't suck. AND wondering where it came from… knowing it is something I must have written in the middle of the night half conscious and trying to meet an artificial, self imposed word count deadline.
One other thing, and this especially for people like me who are constantly "almost finished" with that "other novel"…. Nano gives me permission to create again. And that reminds me why I love to write in the first place. It's fun to listen to the new characters tell their story… like having a harmless fling, while not betraying a serious relationship. It's only a month, and by next year, the fling may well be the serious relationship you need the break from.
Your question though was how do you power through… for me the answer is just giving myself permission. The words are all there for the taking.
Tracy says
Like James said, 1600 words-a-day is pretty doable. It was harder before I became an avid writer…but I tell myself to sit down and knock out my 1600 words when I get home from work before I have the chance to get distracted by anything else. I've also learned that if I'm rocking & rolling on a particular day to keep going, because it will balance out the super tough ones.
Once I get to somewhere around the 30,000-word mark the word count acts as it's own motivation. The "I've already gotten this far, no sense in quitting now" sort of thing.
Oh and Starbucks. Lots and lots of Starbucks.
Jesse says
To answer Aidan–it's not the what, my friend, it's the how. Yes, you can write a good book in the NaNo atmosphere. And then the rewrites and edits make it a great book.
But most of us use it for the discipline. To get started on that work and keep to the writing. Sometimes it's crap, sometimes it's not. Guess what, NaNo isn't going to change that whether you do it or not.
To Nathan–as someone has already said, I just keep writing. I put words on a page with the theme and plot of the story I'm writing. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. But when I'm actually writing, I don't care about a word count. I just care about what I put on the page. AFTERwards, I check my word count.
But doing NaNo forces me to block my time, set my space, and sit down and do it. That's the hardest part I have, losing the ennui and getting to it. NaNo makes me think about that, makes me get it together and get to it. That's what I love about it.
Lynne says
I'm with Swampfox. Not Nanoing myself (I just finished my second MS and am halfway thru my 3rd) but I wish all Wrimos (NaNoers?) a great month of inspiration. Because for me that's the key. A writer must be inspired.
For me, it's more that I have trouble stopping. The ideas & words are coming fast and furious all day long as I take care of kiddos. I try not to lose any (ideas, that is) until I can write at night. Then I write until the letters start to swim and my eyes betray me. And that's when I stop. Because coffee at midnight is just wrong, especially knowing I must get up at 6 and start again.
letmewritethat says
I agree with everyone's suggestions of stimulants. Caffeine and sugar help a great deal! Also helpful when I’m absolutely stuck is a five to fifteen minute walk/shower/cooking/nap break. This allows my brain to process what I just wrote. When I return to my keyboard, I can write again!
Lynne says
One more thing: If you have an idea, and are inspired, I would guess the key to a successful NanNoWriMo experience is the old Nike slogan: Just Do It. There is no substitute for the hiney in the chair when it's time to knock out the necessary words on the computer.
Good luck to everyone participating. I think anything that encourages writing is a good thing.
Kathryn says
Last year I reached that point, where I just felt like it was too much. I had my characters break the fourth wall. They started complaining about everything, from the romances to their personal character arcs, and back to how terrible that scene was going. They really tore me apart. Then two of them started making out. It was incredibly random and silly, which my novel definitely wasn't.
As soon as I ended that scene, I realized that I was fired up again and ready to continue.
I suppose if there's anything that you can take away from that, it's that sometimes you should just relax and let go. Stop worrying about everything for a bit (plot, characterization, etc) and just have fun. You can edit it out later, and you can start being serious again in a minute.
A3Writer says
No matter if it's writing 50k over 30 days, 80k over 3-4 months, writers run up against this idea of No! More! Words! usually in the same places where the novels naturally become kind of tedious and you have to slog through, anyway.
This is my 4th year doing NaNo, and the actual process for me is no different than other times I write. When I get kind of stuck and need to forge ahead, I think of the next scene that I want to write about, and make a big push to get there. Writing that good scene becomes the carrot on the stick/light at the end of the tunnel/cliche of choice to keep me moving when I just want to sit down and stop.
Jules says
I write press releases every day, so if my characters find themselves in a slump I just lead them to a megaphone where they can spout advertising power statements for a few paragraphs until we're ready to move on.
My word verification was "digaster." A digging disaster? Is that what happened to those Chilean miners?
Nancy says
I find friendly competition keeps me going. If I'm battling with another Wrimo, suddenly the words come a little easier. I also write to a movie soundtrack that brings to mind the same images I want to convey. Like Josin, I often skip action in favor of dialogue.
After eight years of NaNoWriMo, I write at this pace all year long. It really is a matter of disengaging the critical part of your brain long enough to get the words on the page. I put all my time and care into the editing process.
Anonymous says
The first time I did NANOWRIMO, I didn't have enough story OR time so I didn't make it, but I learned that early and dropped out.
The second time, I had an idea I was jazzed about, one I could think about ALL the time. AND I had the time. But no idea where the story was going to go. But it was so cool. Every day, I went to the computer and thought: what's going to happen next? It was SO FUN!
The Tom Robbins pep talk that year was *perfect!* The characters developed, the plot thickened.
I got through 86,000 words and went back and spent more months finishing it after the Christmas holidays (while also learning about your blog and relearnng more about craft along the way). The editing was nearly as long as the novel.
Missed the next year, too much still in the above novel to participate.
In the next NANOWRIMO, I worked to progress another novel, wrote another 52,000 words in it. Then had to/needed to put it aside for awhile, let it germinate, and wanted to do something shorter.
So I used the NANOWRIMO technique to write a whole new shorter novel in about a month. (first draft)
But by now I was using plot outlines and workshopping my characters.
And now, the word count is no longer hard to imagine. I can write more. (Or, off NANOWRIMO, go at a much more crafterly pace.)
Being part of a HUGE global group of people doing the mad dash novel month is exhilarating and motivating. I can't believe how many good young people are writing novels there as well as seasoned folk. The forums are great. I've made some really great friends all over the world.
It's a blast to do and, overall, it really helps writers learn how to write, how to muscle through and do it like you know what you're doing until you learn how to do it.
But time, having a compelling idea and/or a plot (Bwa-haha) (No, seriously, I LOVE your bootcamp suggestions, Nathan.),a sense of adventure, and a joie de vivre camaraderie and NANOWRIMO is a ride worth taking.
Elizabeth says
don't believe in waiting for the muse to strike, but I don't believe in using forceps to get the words out, either. Some ideas take more thinking than others do, and thinking is as much a part of writing as writing is.
Everyone has their own way of doing things, but in my experience, sometimes writing out what I think should go in a spot or what I want to go in a spot is just as beneficial as if I'd known enough to write the scene in the first place, because 1) if I don't write it down, I usually forget it, and 2) I can move on to what I do know and get that down before it's gone.
Anonymous says
Also:
Updating the word count is fun (don't ask me why – I just feel sooo like I'm winning).
Also:
I set myself to write 2,000 words a day. That way, if I miss/ or underwrite a few days, I don't get that "fell behind" flu.
D.G. Hudson says
And what is the value of powering through for Nano?
One value I can see is you learn to turn off the inner editor and force yourself to get the story arc down.
Like swampfox — I'm revising my novel and prefer to dedicate my time to that.
Good Luck to all participants – enjoy the exhilerating rush of creating at high speed.
Carin S. says
Am I the only one who thinks you should put on Berlin's "No More Words" and sing along at the top of your lungs? Seriously, the comparison to a marathon is apt. With marathon training, you only run 4 days a week – do alternate training 2 days, and take 1 day off every week. I think that's a good model for NaNo too.
Iliadfan says
I agree with Jesse about the discipline. I've been writing stories since I was eight years old, but it wasn't until I discovered nanowrimo that I finally powered through and completed a first draft of a novel-length story. Nano was a wonderful tool to keep me focused.
I started out with a writing schedule (waking up early to write, and then designating hours during the day as well), until I realized I didn't need it – the decision to hit a specific goal by a specific date was enough. Everyone's different, but just the general idea of nanowrimo was a breakthrough for me.
V says
NaNoWriMo doesn't work for me at all. I've tried it twice.
I do all my writing and early revising in my head. Word count is only achieved by emptying out my brain. In this way, I'm more of a tortoise than a NaNoWriMo hare. (or a marathoner to a sprinter) I schedule my writing time and make myself type a page a day, minimum, six days a week, 50 weeks a year. (I give myself time off for holidays.)
Plus, starting for me is ridiculously easy. I'm halfway through one novel and have three more in the form of a trilogy waiting in my writing queue. (that's not counting all of the other cool story ideas that are sketched out.) All three of the books in the trilogy are in various stages of completion, as well. It's what I was working on when the inspiration for my current work in progress hit.
Being "mugged" by a story concept is an interesting experience. I hadn't planned to write the story I'm working on for another five or six years.
Sierra McConnell says
The people at NaNo Forums swear by a thing called WriteOrDie. I've never used it, but they say it will start playing baby crying noises or Rick James if you stop typing.
For me, personally, I just love to see the word count bar go up. I'm all about verification. So anything goes. There were so many scenes of bathing and eating in the first few drafts that were written out…
reader says
Two kinds of writers in the world, the pro NaNoWriMo and the ones that want to hide under the bed at the mere thought.
These comments remind me why I'm the latter — writing nonsence to up a word count, writing description you know won't stay, writing dialogue that you'll have to rip out later…
It's hard enough for me to edit the crap I meant to write, much less the word-vomit, but I think it's a great idea if you're an expert reviser. Good luck to those plugging along! 🙂
Debbie says
I've used many of the "tricks" listed already. Plus, I find I can keep going better if I'm not in a really quiet place. But too many distractions, well, distract me.
I stumbled on the solution the last year I did NaNo–and finished it. I spent a Saturday writing while a Deadliest Catch marathon played in the background. If something gnarly was going on, I'd stop and watch a few minutes, then go back to the writing refreshed. I logged 5,400 words that day.
My writing mantra when there isn't a Deadliest Catch marathon is "Shitty first drafts! Shitty first drafts!" Because Anne Lamott said they were okay.
Kathleen says
For me, focusing on the storyline rather than the mechanics of grammar, dialogue, etc… in the moment helps. Then I go back with my English Teacher hat on and edit. When I am wrapped up in my story, the words fly around in my head too fast to type them sometimes. NaNoWriMo gives me license to do that and I love it!
S.B. says
First, I remind myself that it's a draft (of a very short novel) and doesn't have to be amazing. Since I have used NaNoWriMo in the past as an exercise ("Huh, I wonder if I could write comedy?" or the like), that helps me not take it too seriously.
Second, pick an idea that has lots of good conflict. My last NaNo had a very simple premise (man versus parrot versus freeloading flatmate), but the situation was inherently full of comedy fodder, so it kept the words flowing.
Kaye Dacus says
I either get out my spiral notebook and a favorite pen and write longhand (with lots of doodling and notations in the margins) or I do timed writing blitzes (45 minutes of writing interspersed with 15-30 minute breaks) with a minimum word-count goal, reminding myself it's a first draft and I can fix everything later.
I definitely don't stop to do research or try to find "the perfect word" when I'm feeling the no-more-words block. And I always try to walk away when I'm in the middle of something—even if it's the middle of a sentence. It makes me want to get back to it.
Ishta Mercurio says
I'm new to NaNo, and this is what I want to know. I'll be reading the comments to find out.
I'm guessing that one way to do it would be to jump to another part of the novel that you're more confident about.
Jill says
When I'm done writing for the day, I leave myself notes on what should happen next. That way, I'm never stuck when I open up that document again.
Eileen Wiedbrauk says
Dr. Wicked's Write or Die online.
I'm particularly a fan of the Kamikaze Mode.
https://writeordie.drwicked.com/
K.L. Brady says
I'm with one writer who says she stops at the end of a paragraph rather than a scene. Sometimes I stop mid paragraph, other times I've stopped mid-sentence, that way I can get back to it the next day and at least get started. That was a very helpful technique.
Write or Die is awesome, I have it installed on my computer. Not only does it play noises, but if you put in on one particular setting, if you pause for too long it will start deleting your words. LOL Talk about motivation. At that point, you start typing anything just to keep it from deleting the little you cranked out. I highly recommend it and it's cheap or free.
hannah says
I always have trouble about halfway through, and I know I'm not alone in this, so getting the first half down as quickly as possible gets the easy part out of the way. Then I have time to agonize over the second half, to take a day or two off and avoid the thing like the plague. And then the far of losing kicks me into gear.
Nate Wilson says
You're supposed to power through?
Since I've never played NaNoWriMo by NaNoWriMo's rules, I've never had to worry about that.
My rules:
1. Write as much as you can without sacrificing quality.
2. When November is over, repeat for December. And January. And February. And…
jjdebenedictis says
When your brain says, "No! More! Words!", interpret that to mean, "More! Research/Outlining! NOW!"
Anonymous says
OK, so you are rock bottom and need to write a chapter of 2000 words.
So, write down 20 points of progression through that chapter, eg. 1. hero arrives home 2. hero finds poisoned dog 3. hero calls mother-in -law 4. hero sharpens knife – and so on. Then write 100 words on each point – hey presto WORDS! 2000 of them.
It's a cheap trick, and in my case avoids 'writer's block' ie. procrastination and laziness. xxx
Joe G says
Generally if a project just isn't coming to me, I'm not that interested in it. I can usually sit down and get something out, even if it's not inspired. If I can't write, it's probably related to other things that are going on in my life that are distracting me.
I think there's this perception, though, that we're supposed to write things as quickly as possible and then start revising. I'm the sort of writer who generally takes his time doing something, because you never know how a story is going to evolve (and once it's written, odds are good you're not going to be making massive revisions to the plot). You can fly fast and loose with your writing or you can write slow and steady, carefully. Running out of steam for a little while could just be the natural rhythms of your imagination. You never know what you might come up with during the down time.
It's important though that once you start finding yourself thinking all the time about what's going to happen in the next chapter, you'd better sit down and start writing. It's like exercise. Easy to do once you're in the habit, but boy, that first day, you need to get off the couch, put down the slice of pizza, or, in writer's terms, turn off the TV, stay in for the night…
J. T. Shea says
Let's see. Cat wheelbarrow iceberg rhinoceros perspicacity bradycardia hello whelk…
No, I don't think this 'get-the-words-down-any-words-down' technique works for me. Not even if I read them backwards.
Lynne, coffee at midnight is plain right for me! And I'm up at 6 am too, but that's because I haven't gone to bed yet. I blame Nathan. I'm on San Francisco time, even though I live in Ireland.
Sierra, that's right! Dump the bathing and eating scenes. Dirty hungry characters are more interesting.
abc says
Way back I read in an interview with director P.T. Anderson (Boogie Nights, There Will be Blood ("are you an angry man?")) where he described his writing process as getting up really early and smoking and drinking coffee. Supposedly in the wee hours your brain is still tapping into your unconscious and therefore producing all kinds of juicy and creative stuff.
Now I'm too lazy to get up earlier than I absolutely have to, but I'm thinking this could be an interesting experiment. I won't condone smoking, but I think coffee is always a good plan. Wine too. I'm feeling a couple glasses of wine are sometimes just the trick. Unless you can't drink because you shouldn't and then of course don't drink wine.
Can you get a prescription for medical marijuana with writer's block as an ailment?
Anonymous says
no internet
no tv
telephone only for dependents/spousal calls
a lot of woods to walk/think in or a winter beach (won't keep you that long)