My Top 5 NaNoWriMo Essentials!

As a NaNo newbie, I am finding my own way around the bizarre NaNo-land and these five things have really helped me out when I’m writing:

1. A Good Mug

2. The Ultimate Playlist

I found this playlist last night and it’s really good for the essential background noise.

3. Comfy Clothes

There is nothing more distracting than being sat at your desk and not being able to concentrate because you’re clothes aren’t comfy. I suggest pj’s or maybe leggings/track suit bottoms. Unless you have a favourite pair of jeans, in which case – go for it!

4. Peace and Quiet

Peace is a must when you’re writing! I live with five other people so the only time it’s quiet is either at dawn or at 1 am. You need to find time when it’s just you so can focus.

5. A Trusty Notebook

It goes without saying that when you’re away from the keyboard, you’re still writing away in your head. So I suggest you carry around a notebook for that particular story, that way all of your notes are in one place!

Related Articles:

NaNoWriMo Update

Social Life vs NaNoWriMo

It’s no secret that although my friends are supportive of my career, it’s not that fun for them when I talk about it all the time.

So imagine what it’s like now I’ve madly decided to take part in NaNoWriMo for the first time EVER! It’s safe to say that it’s only Day 2 and they’re already bored of hearing about it.

By the end of Day 1, I had already told three people the entire plot of my NaNo novel, thought about the cover, given away the twist. But had I actually hit my target? Nope.

I was trying so hard to balance a full-on social life, work and writing (and after a vague week off as well!) that my brain just went “hey: you know you’re supposed to sleep at least  4 hours? Yeah well I’ve decided to keep you awake by making you panic about how much you’re annoying your friends with your writing. K bye!”. It’s apparent that this is getting to me on both a subconscious and a day-to-day level.

Am I going to quit? Hell no! I’ve quit a lot of things in my life but this isn’t going to be one of them! I will finish NaNoWriMo even if it kills me!

It’s now Day 3, and I’m starting the day with the grand total of 2150 words written: I’m so behind! I could do with some encouragement.

If you’re a fellow NaNoWriMo’er, feel free to buddy me. 

Related Posts: NaNoWriMo 2014, 7 Reasons To Take Part In NaNoWriMo, Elizabeth Haynes

NaNoWriMo 2014

After recommendations from friends and authors alike, I’ve decided to jump on to the NaNoWriMo bandwagon!

For those of you that don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s basically people all over the world spending the month of November writing 50,000 words – i.e. a novel. Which is about 1667 words a day – reachable but definitely difficult.

I’m hoping to write the first draft of The Descendants of The Month Children trilogy. I’m still deciding what to call the first book, but I know everything that happens and have already started planning.

The point of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing and managing to get a huge bulk (or all) of their book written in a month. You don’t edit during November – only write! And as someone that is always editing, I think it’s going to be a bit of a challenge for me but I will try all the same.

Another challenge is NaNoWriMo starts 1 November – my new book, Searching For Katherine, comes out 31 October. I HAVE NO BREAK! I also have a lot of assignments due in November so I’m trying to get them all done and handed in early so I don’t have to worry about it.

If you’re taking part this year, let me know and we can support each other! If you’re a Canterbury local we can even do writing groups and coffee meets.

Add me on Twitter @melissaholden94 and we can tweet each other encouragements!