Adopt-a-Day ToNaNo PEP TALKS!

Is today the date in November that you've adopted? Here's where the pep talks go!

For more details, see the Adopt-a-Day thread: Adopt-a-Day fundraiser details

DAY 1 PEP TALK!

You know those stories where the hero is stuck in the middle of a desert, or a swamp, or a barren wasteland, and she has to get to the distant mountains (or that ominous forest, uninhabited village, or fairy godmother's castle) for shelter? And she only has a tiny flask of water and maybe some desiccated raisins to help her survive on that interminable journey?

Right now, NaNoWriMo looks a lot like that survival mission. You've got a monumental amount of territory to cover (50,000 words), a limited amount of time in which to do it (30 days, yikes!) and you're not sure you have what it takes to survive. I've done this six times, and I still panic at the start of November when I look over the map and realize what an overwhelming distance I have to go in the next month.

But.

The thing is, NaNo isn't that much like a journey over barren desert. It's not even much like swampland (except insofar as you and your surroundings are probably going to start to smell a bit funky once the cleaning schedule and personal hygiene go out the window in favor of writing). Do you know WHY NaNo's not that much like our hero's endless trek? It's because you've got resources that she never dreamed of.

She might have a bit of water and a handful of dried fruit, but you've got your writing implements. Whether you're writing on a computer, or with pen and paper, that's so much better than any rusty old sword or half-drained phaser she might be carrying. So you don't have to worry about being attacked and eaten in the middle of the night as you travel.

You've also got all the resources of the NaNo website, advice from other successful writers, and the Toronto NaNo community at your back in our chat room and on these forums. That's like bringing thousands of people along for support as you hike!

Last but not least, you have access to Toronto's awesome writing events, parties, and unofficial write-ins to provide inspiration and socialization in this insane month of noveling. Think of events as fuel for the process of NaNo: You can bounce ideas off other writers, borrow personalities and characteristics from the people you meet, and get excited about writing over and over again. Events are superpowered fuel for winning NaNo - like bringing a limitless supply of hearty meals along on your desert trek.

So, can you do it? You betcha. Today's the day we start walking. Don't look for too long at the desert sands, the sun, or the lack of shade. Just set one foot - I mean, word - in front of the next, and don't look back!

WRITING for NANOWRIMO is like PERFORMING IMPROV

So it’s day two, and you’ve gotten a good start yesterday. Or, perhaps you still haven’t started yet. Here are some of my tips for you, to get you writing. Because, really, writing for NaNoWriMo is a lot like performing improv. It takes guts. It takes moxy. It takes energy, creativity, and support.
Here are some specific ways that I can use the rules of Improvisation to improve your NaNo, or at least to help you reach that 50k goal:

START IN THE MIDDLE
If you haven’t started yet, START. And start in the middle of the action, or in the middle of the story. Somewhere with high-tension will get people interested and suck them into your world. You can always flashback to the beginning later, or forget about it – your choice. People will understand the narrative as it unfolds around them.

YES AND…
Do you want to reach the 50k mark faster, or have you struggled with your word count in the past? Keep writing! Be descriptive! Describing the environment can take up a lot of words. Even if that’s not your regular style, you might find that you like some of it, and if not, you can always edit it out in December. You can also think of this as “and then…” and then this happened, and then that happened…

MAKE BOLD CHOICES
Make bold and strong choices. Don’t be afraid to do something out-of-genre to your character(s). Don’t be afraid of MOVING THE PLOT FORWARD. In fact, this brings me to my next point:

HAVE NO FEAR
Don’t be afraid. Just do! Write with reckless abandon. NaNoWriMo is the perfect time to experiment and try something new.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO WIPE/EDIT
Okay, now for this, I don’t mean actually going back and editing your first draft in the middle of writing it – on the contrary. To “wipe” in the middle of an improvisation set is to run across the front of the stage, essentially wiping it clean of actors and story, to start fresh with a new idea. How to apply this to your NaNo writing? Simply this; if you find that you are getting bored with the scene you are currently writing, or you feel like you’re writing yourself into a hole, and you don’t know how you’re going to get out – just stop, and start writing a different scene! Don’t be afraid to use the *** kind of symbol, to take the action somewhere else. The scene you were just writing can either be resolved off-screen, or you can always go back to it later, maybe when a better idea has struck you, or after a new character has been introduced, who might further the scene in some way.

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
If you feel it in your gut that something should be a certain way, it probably should. Go with it, even if it doesn’t follow certain conventions. Especially if it involves “wiping” as explained above.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD/DON’T SECOND-GUESS YOURSELF
Don’t worry about spelling and grammar so much. That’s what December is for. If you keep going back every 5 seconds to correct something, you’re going to lose that momentum. Besides, even if you’re anal about spelling (like I am) many programs you’re typing with today will auto-correct them for you. EVERY time I’ve typed the word “Improv” it tries to make it “Improve”, for instance. In the case of you notebook writers, just don’t look at it. No squiggly red line appears under YOUR spelling mistakes, so it should be less irksome. And if it’s still haunting you, turn the page, and get on with your writing!

BE COMMITTED
Remember those bold choices you made earlier? Well don’t drop them. If you’ve decided that a character only has one leg, and gets angry when it’s pointed out, stick to it. Every character has a THING, and they should each stick to it. This isn’t to say that they can’t transform at some point, when it makes sense for them, but until they’ve “seen the light” or whatever, keep their thing going! This also goes for styles of narrative. If you started off writing like ye olden faery tale, keep it going that way – even if your novel is SET IN SPACE. Whatever your thing is, STICK TO IT!

EVERYTHING MATTERS
Okay, so while this one isn’t really a “rule” of improvisation, it’s something that I’ve found helps me perform my best. When I react in character to the other people in the scene EVERYTHING matters. Don’t forget that someone just mentioned they have a son. Have the characters react to that-even if it’s in a small way, or is a somewhat delayed reaction. If everyone is constantly reacting to EVERYTHING, you’ll find yourself writing more words than you thought possible!

HAVE FUN
If you’re not having fun, why are you doing this? Go away, relax, take a breather, play some videogames, do something else that is fun for you, and come back when you’re in a mindset to write. When that creative urge is tugging you, come back to the PC or paper, and get writing!

REMEMBER: YOU ARE NOT ALONE OUT THERE
In improvisation, you’re never doing a set alone. There’s always someone else there to back you up in your scenes. If you’re starting to struggle, or a scene is lagging, at least one of your other performers will jump in and rescue you. For NaNo, it’s the same. There are plenty of people here on the forums, and in the chat, who are here for you. There are specific forum sections to help you with grammar, ideas, genres, and more! We have links to free downloadable programs to help you out. There’s a mentorship program for people who want extra help. We’re all here for you, like a family.

Well, that’s it from me! HAPPY WRITING!

(This post was a donation of 993 words.)


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(Also, is it weird that I was singing the TETRIS theme while finding the links and formatting this post? AH, but that's all part of NaNo. Don't be afraid of going crazy. All artists are inherently at least a little crazy, anyway! Haha! HAVE FUN!)

Everyone has a dream. Many people will be releasing their dream to the world this month through a little event all of us know as NaNoWriMo. So much of the world wants to let their voices be heard and the brilliant thing is that, for at least one month, you, the one who is reading this right now, wi'll have the voice and the audience to achieve this.
Isn't that awesome?
Nanowrimo has been a very important part of my life for the better part of my adult life. Stories I've written through NaNoWriMo have become novels, plays, dreams and short stories that have helped to enrich my life and have allowed me to thoroughly root myself in my imagination.
What a great word. Imagination. So many people complain that imagination is only reserved for children. I'm proud to say that this isn't true. Your imagination is your ultimate weapon against the nemesis of mediocrity.
I may go out on tangents sometimes, but I like to think it's a result of my overactive imagination.
I want to tell something to every writer out there, and if you take nothing else from this posting, I hope you take this.
You matter.
Your voice matters.
Your writing matters.
You matter.
Why do I want to impart this to you?
Well the first reason is simple. I want everyone to know that they possess a voice that is distinctly their own, and that even though they may be in a world that will openly reject, dismiss and humiliate them, they still matter. Your voice is your own and no one else can see the world exactly as you do.
The second is slightly more complicated. I believe that your writing is a reflection of you. What you write down is your soul exposed to the world. It is you. Your visions. Your beliefs. Everything. You. Are. What you write. You live in your writing. People get to know you through your writing, even if you never meet them. It's amazing how much you can tell about a writer by simply reading one of their poems. Even haikus.

Everyone matters.
Everything you're creating
Will help you in life.

Think about your favorite authors. Rowling, King, Gaiman... They all started where you are right now. (although maybe they started on typewriters) With a blank page and made some of your favorite stories. They created characters out of nothing, and now you find yourself totally free to follow in their footsteps and stand on their shoulders.
Now, I know you might think it's a little overwhelming... And it is. Blank pages can be scary. Terrifying. Even bad! When all you can see is the little blinking line at the top of a blank page the pressure to write { 1,667 } words in a day can be downright daunting. Terrifying. Just awful. Gut wrenchingly, painstakingly awful.
But... all it takes is one word to unleash a cavalcade of emotional genius. And before you know it, the story will start to happen.
But Matti, you say, why do you think my writing matters?
Well... because there are people out there who desperately need to hear what you have to say of course. Your work will be read: Maybe not as fast as you'd like them too (I have friends who have had my book for MONTHS and not read it yet. SO FRUSTRATING!) but eventually, they will. They will drink in your words like a glass of fresh water into the soul. Writing can be the ultimate release for many feelings: Anger, regret, remorse, grief... and someone out there who desperately needs to know that everything will be okay will be looking for someone who's been through their experiences. Someone out there may be looking for the validation, or inspiration, or imagination that your writing will provide them.
Donald Miller wrote a blog a little while ago called "The Best Writing Advice I've ever received", and in my opinion it's brilliant. He says that we all need to love our reader. And he's write. (ha ha! I made a pun!)
I have a tendency to ramble so I just wanted to tell everyone that you matter. You all matter.
You sitting there reading this. You matter.
YOU!

PS- I'm totally posting this to my blog as well ( mattiwrites.blogspot.com )- on there you can find all about me and my debut novel Catalyst!
I'm shameless. Sorry.

DAY FOUR!

Oh, jeez, it's day Four, isn't it?

If you're at all like me, you're probably staring at your novel in some combination of horror and disgust right now. There's probably some level of "Did I actually write that?" and "Am I going to be able to keep going?". You may have, like me, already given up on your initial NaNo idea/story and gone on to the next! Or (again, like me) gone an entire day with 0 words written.

Almost all of my current wordcount was written in a blitz the first day; I didn't make the "quota" on the 2nd and I didn't even look at my novel(s) yesterday -- and this is definitely a recurring theme for me, since I've done this each year, and each year I tell myself that it'll be *different* this year!

Realistically: We're all crazy.

When I was in high school, our "normal" essay length, for English classes, was 600-800 words. I ended up usually going a little over that, but as soon as a teacher said "a thousand-word essay", the class was sure to groan and ask for at least three weeks to do it. Three weeks to write a thousand words -- most of us have written more than that already, and almost all of us will write more than that before three weeks are due. Most of us will write two "standard" essays a day. It's not quite the same, but think about how much that wordcount used to be -- just in trying to conceive of 50 000 words, you've come a long way.

Even if, on Day Four, you've changed your novel day 2 and not written day 3. (Oops.)

It's the first Saturday of NaNoWrimo! You, the brave WriMo that you are have made it to this day. Take a quick moment to reflect on your novel (no, not edit or read it, reflect.) We are five days in to this marvelous event which we call NaNoWriMo. Do you love your characters, your plot, your setting? Or do you hate them (much like I currently do in my original novel I started writing.) Yes, I started a second novel, and while I don't advise this for most people, if you are finding your novel literally sapping your will to write, then it's a great idea!

That said, as much as you might not be happy with your current novel, think about this. How unhappy would you be if you didn't write anything for the rest of your life? We are all writer's, born with stories inside of us to tell. I won't sugar coat it for you all, because that wouldn't be fair. It's not going to be easy, in fact, it gets harder. You start off strong with lots of ideas, and then the second and third week hits, and you may find yourself stuck! You might say to yourself “Why the heck did I even think I could do this!? I have no ideas!”

Here's what you have to remember though.

If you quit now, think about how you are going to feel on December 1st. People will be celebrating the end of NaNoWriMo, lot's with at least 50,00 words, some with finished novels. (Finished so far as the story, obviously December is for editing!) You are going to go “Man, I really wish I hadn't quit NaNoWriMo, I wonder what my novel would have been like.”

You will feel regret.

As frustrating as your novel might be, there is nothing worse than the frustration you feel when you regret something. Human's haven't developed a way to travel backwards in time, and thus regret will always be something we live with. You've been waiting for NaNoWriMo to come around, eagerly awaiting that hour in which you could start pouring the ideas in your brain, on to paper (or in most cases, a blank word document.) Now it is here, has been here for five days, and your characters are counting on you to tell their stories.

So instead of having to face regret at the beginning of December, a much more difficult task than NaNoWriMo, just tell yourself “I WANT TO DO THIS. I WANT TO TELL MY STORY.” I know it's easier said than done, but you have help when you need it. You have the whole NaNoWriMo community at your disposal. You have the wonderful and friendly folks of ToNaNo. You have your characters, who might tell you to do something different than you had planned. Write these ideas down, so if you get stuck, you have your character's ideas to fall back on.

And most importantly, you have yourself. YOU are a magnificent specimen of the human race. The writer. It is not a job, or a hobby, but a title you should WEAR PROUDLY. People ask me what I do. I don't tell them about school, I don't tell them about the jobs I've worked... I tell them I write. I AM A WRITER.

Say it with me.

I AM A WRITER.

Feels good, doesn't it? Remind yourself why you did this in the first place. You love writing, and you probably couldn't imagine a world in which you didn't write. You have a story to be told.

So what do you do if you find yourself stuck? Throw caution to the wind. I mean it. So your main character is stuck, with nothing to do? Throw caution to the wind. Make something happen. It could be as simple as dropping something he or she has in his or her hands, which could spark a chain reaction of events that brings your character on a journey you never even imagined. Or it could be drastic, like a herd of sentient walruses approaching your character, and telling him or her “You are our King/Queen. We need your help in the land of Walrustopia, a great war is being waged!”

That's the beauty of writing a novel. No one can tell you what to do. It is your creation! You alone make the final decision, you tell the story. No one can tell you it's a horrible story, except yourself. We are our own worst critic, it's human nature. However consider this question. Are you having fun writing your novel?

If not, why not? What do you need to do in order to have fun writing your novel? If that means the story meanders far off the path you had planned it to... then why not follow the new path? That's the beauty of writing a novel! There is no set path that you have to follow! The story is yours! Did anyone ever tell R.A. Salvatore that Drizzt Do'Urden had to be a human? Did anyone tell J.K. Rowling that magic didn't exist? (And if anyone did, well to be honest, their opinion doesn't matter. IT'S YOUR STORY.)

We do a lot in our daily lives that seems like monotonous routines. Work or school may seem boring. Don't let your writing become just another one of those things that you have to do. No. This is something you enjoy doing, that's why you signed up for NaNoWriMo. That's why you abuse your body with ridiculous amounts of caffeine, sugar, chocolate, and an extreme lack of sleep. You have a passion for writing, a fire inside that cannot be quelled by a simple rainstorm of writer's block. No, you burn so brightly, that you evaporate that writer's block storm, and you keep that flame inside you alive. You create the thunder and lightning... ON YOUR OWN TERMS.

I know things are going to get hard, but writer's are a tough breed, and I don't care what anyone says. To take something that is in your mind, and put it into words, into a compelling story that you at least can read and go “Wow, there are some good bits in this!” No first draft is perfect. None of the writer's I mentioned above ever wrote their first copy of a novel and got it published just like that. You have December and beyond to edit.

November is for pushing through, getting that story on the page, no matter how painful it is because in the end, you end up with the greatest reward a writer could ever receive, and one that many never do. A novel. Your own novel. That's why NaNoWriMo is so great. You throw yourself into this novel for an entire month, and then when December hit's you get to look back and go “Oh my gosh. I did it. I did something that most people could never do in their entire life time. AND I DID IT IN ONE MONTH.” That's a lot more appealing than a December in which you are going “Darn, I really wish I had written that novel when there were so many people there to write along side me, to help me when I got stuck.”

In the end, remember it's not how good the novel is. It's only a first draft. It's the fact that YOU (yes I'm talking to YOU right now,) have written a novel. It's tough, but if things in life weren't tough, would the reward really be anything special? If you didn't have to work at it, the reward wouldn't be that great, and then you would have nothing to push yourself to do the things you love doing. Remember, this isn't a job, this isn't school. This is writing! You love it, or you wouldn't be here, and I have faith in all of you, that you can meet your goals, whether it's twenty five thousand, fifty thousand, or a million. I know you can do it, it's the writer in you.
I leave you now with a quote from author Miguel Angel Ruiz.

Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Hello fellow Nano-ers,
I want to talk a very little about roadblocks and the quality of your Nanowrimo story.

You see, I had planned this elaborate and eloquent dissertation for you on approaching week two with enthusiasm instead of fear, and tricks you could try to make the dreaded week two wall a little softer - padded versus brick.

However, I hit a roadblock. Namely, my entire household came down with the flu. It started slowly, just my daughter on Friday. I wrote through that, she was sleeping a lot, so I figured I should move forward with the story.

Then Saturday evening my sister (who was staying with us this weekend), started to feel queasy. And I thought - wow, I am so glad that I didn't get it, because that would make working on my Nano story and my pep talk *really hard*.

And then my husband and I both came down with it before midnight.

And I was not wrong about it being really hard.

Sidenote: If you're thinking about getting the flu shot this year: Get it. I hope NONE of you goes through what my household is going through this weekend.

So, this afternoon, once I was feeling well enough to set up my laptop to type you all this pep talk, I thought to myself, what can I write that will be short and to the point?

That is this: Nanowrimo may go swimmingly for you. You may have all the time in the world, the words may flow, you may amaze yourself with the stunning beauty of your prose..

OR

Nanowrimo may, at some point, become a slog. You may hit roadblocks you hadn't anticipated - you suddenly don't know what to write next, you get sick, you get extra work hours, you lose your work hours, etc., etc., etc.. I am here to tell you that it is okay. That despite what may happen to you, what may slow you down, if you want to finish Nanowrimo, you can. You *CAN* do it. We are here for you, to help you brainstorm, to commiserate, and eventually to celebrate.

If I can write out this pep talk while in the throes of the flu, you can get down a few hundred words of your novel... and then a few hundred more. And if you have to sacrifice quality the way I did to get those words down? Do it! Because the rush when you hit the end of your 50K, the sheer, pure joy of it will make it worth it.

(Completing NaNo has never been my forté, as you can see from my progress. I'm instead going to talk about writing, in general, and motivation.)

When I was a child, my mom worked the night shift, so I stayed with my grandmother every night through the week. She encouraged all sorts of intellectual and artistic growth, and we'd do everything from science experiments to arts and crafts, (after my homework was wrapped up, of course).

In grade three, I had a teacher that encouraged creative writing so, for the first time, I had to fill page after page with unique, vibrant fiction. In turn, Grandma switched focus. She'd sit me down with lined paper, a pencil and sharpener, and some (healthy) snacks, and we'd talk. She thought if I could say my stories, if I could tell them to her, I could write them down. She'd encourage and laugh, (even when I'm sure I was just being a weird kid, talking about adventures and magic,) but I got the assignments done, and many more stories unfolded that way.

Throughout my teenage years, I wrote a lot, and Grandma read, edited, and made suggestions. My parents had no interest in writing, so she was the outlet that kept me going, and is the reason I write today, both professionally and in exasperated attempts like NaNo. Even as she became ill, she always enquired about my writing.

After she passed away, I didn't write much of anything for years. Any attempts were halted, if only for the fact that I had no reason to keep putting pencil to paper, or fingers to keys. In my late teens, publishing was not even a thought, and writing only for myself was difficult, so that part of my life went on extended hiatus.

I realized several years later that I could still write for and with her, that she came with me as an inner motivator, an inner critic, an inner source of inspiration. Whenever I have something published, whenever I complete a great chapter or poem, I feel a sense of pride, if only that I've achieved something from that which my grandmother started all those years ago.

Find someone to write for, whether it be your spouse or your cat or your family or your audience. Your writing will start to have more of a purpose, even if that person or people will never read what you've written. A muse doesn't need to be an apparition; it can be a real person with real intentions that inspires you with a smile, a word, or a way of being, like the warm-hearted, encouraging way my grandmother continues to inspire me.

I don't feel very peppy today. I feel very unmotivated.

I'm at 4500 words, and by the end of today I'm supposed to be nestled comfortably at around 13336 words.

This is how I'm feeling, yes, and I understand it's not uncommon to feel bogged down by the weight of walls, words, and a lack of will to keep going.

Fight it. I am.

I've read above many of the things I wanted to include in my pep-talk today. That I broke through a conceptual wall yesterday that leaves me hungry to write because it expanded the story. I also broke through a perceptual wall in how I self edit. Constantly. Before I even write the words to the page. My inner editor is a vile demon, wrought from the stuff of the seventh circle of hell that wants to leave me paralysed in front of a blank page constantly asking the question "Why the hell am I doing this? My writing is no good. I'm no good."

I killed my demon yesterday. It was a battle that only saw 500 or so words hit the page, but a world open up and develop in front of me. I know that I will write some crap. I need to let myself do so. We're panning for gold, here. With such a constraint of 30 days, what do you expect? Our words will be muddled, our plotlines all over the place, and our characters probably leave some things to be desired. At least, that's where I find myself.

"Damn the man, save the empire!"

So my demon lies dead at my feet, and yes there is a mountain of words left unwritten that I have to scale. I'm okay with that now. This month has become a playground of experimentation for me now. I'm going to go Pollock on my paper and see what sticks.

Don't let the bastards grind you down. The ones in your head. The ones that are telling you to just take a seat by the side of the road. They want you to sit down so they can steal your shoes and leave you begging for water or transportation or anything to get you out of the doldrums. Don't trust them. Their voices spew lies at you. You really can do this, and your writing is far better than you may think in the moment. In hindsight, later, you'll be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and bring everything together.

Now? Now is just for writing. Writing. Writing.

You can do it. Believe that you can. Know that you can. It's just one word following the next following the next.

So, I may not feel peppy today, and I may feel unmotivated at the mountain ahead, but I also feel determined. I'm not the first to feel these things in the face of falling behind or in the face of the blank page. I'm not the last either. I'm on a pilgrimage.

One step at a time, and I'm confident I am going to get there.

You can haz victory too. Trust me.

Hey! HEY YOU!
You there staring at your non-moving word count!
Don't do it! Don't even THINK of doing it!
Put away that red pen, do not even TOUCH your spell checker.
Now stop take a deep breath, count to five and write the first thing that comes to your mind. I'll wait.
...
...
...

Oh... it sucks?
Who cares?

I don't and you shouldn't either. I believe the motto is “no plot, no problem.” I got to 15,000 words without a plot in sight. I'm still trying to figure out how a semi-colon works; never fear though. There is time!
So what, if you're only at one thousand words, you still have twenty days! This is no big deal. You got this! You are awesome! You are the greatest novelist since that person that wrote that one amazing novel that you love and cherish so dearly that you’ve planned on putting it in a glass case.
No, I'm not talking about me (hehehe.)

In all seriousness though, don't be discouraged. It doesn't matter if your novel is at zero words or a thousand or if you're done already. We all have this one thing we do, we write. Whether it's for fun or professionally, we all do NaNo for some reason. Even if you don't finish, guess what?
Your word count is higher than it was before!
You created something beautiful, it's yours and no one can take that away from you. Not even the pesky little stats page that says 'at this rate you will finish on “December thirty-second-thousand-and-never.”
Embrace the creativity even if you just ran face first into writer's block, or wall, or cliff. I believe in you because whatever comes out of those speedy, or not so speedy, fingers of yours will be amazing.
I promise.

A very late Day 9 pep talk.

Coming from someone who is immensely, hopelessly swamped in other commitments and activities and is terribly behind in her novel (apparently I won't finish until Dec. 17 at this rate ...) I will attempt to keep you as well as myself going.

Novel writing is hard. It really is. Especially when you start off with a really shiny, new novel idea that you think will make a pretty good novel manifest itself out of the madness that is your brain. Then, as you progress, you think to yourself,

"Shit - who the hell is writing this? It sure ain't me!"

Of course, you may think in a way that is entirely less colloquial and altogether more proper than that, or you may not. I digress ...

You get discouraged, and think that your novel will never be finished, because such a terrible idea should never be finished.

But let me give you this one nugget of knowledge. In the end, it isn't about greatness. It's about the fact that on November 30th you finally have a novel sitting in your hands (or on your hard drive, USB stick, etc.) and no matter how terrible it is, you can proclaim to the world,

"I AM A NOVELIST!"

Or you just pat yourself on the back, send your favourite coworker an email with the details of your trial, and fetch yourself another mug of tea/coffee/absinthe/whiskey/hot chocolate or whatever strikes your fancy. You set up those 5 free copies of your book through create space and think to yourself,

"Well, I'm glad that's over."

And no matter how difficult it was, or how painfully bad it was, something inside you will say something along the lines of ...

"We gotta do that again next year."

This is Day 12. I chose this day to give the pep talk because I knew it was right around the time when I would either be ready to throw in the towel and give it up for lost or it would be the day when everything changed and I suddenly could see the end of this long, dark, horrible journey that is NaNoWriMo.

This is the part of the month where we realise that 50,000 words is actually work. It is hard work. We haven't quite passed the half-way mark, so we don't have the advantage of realising that there is less ahead of us than there is behind us. We just have this growing pile of mostly-uncomfortable words and a giant (but shrinking) void where words -should- be to add up to 50,000.

Everyone had their own way to deal with this mountain of work ahead of us, but every single method has one thing in common: butt in chair. Whatever it takes to get you to your desk, your laptop, your pad of paper...whatever it takes, do it. If it means that you are sitting and staring at a blank page for hours on end, do it. If you're behind, look at the calendar and reserve a day where that is what you do. The whole day.

Because if you can't get your butt in that chair, you're quitting before you even got started. It's not until you're sitting down that the magic happens.

And it will happen, guaranteed. Because it is impossible to write 50,000 words and not get something good.

I don't have much else to say except to sit down, and -work-. No matter how discouraged you are, no matter how far behind you are, this IS possible and the only thing stopping you is you. Whatever gets you to that chair.

...and now for something completely different!

From the moment that I decided I was going to do a pep talk, I knew I wanted to talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder. For those who don’t know what it is, SAD is a mood disorder that causes depression in folks as the seasons start to change. It’s most common in fall and throughout winter because the days are shorter and there is less light.

I suffer from both Dysthymia (chronic low mood) and Seasonal Affective Disorder, so when November rolls around, the two of them dog pile on top of me and make it difficult to do anything or be excited about anything -- which is terrible, because here’s NaNoWriMo which I know I love, but I start finding it hard to actually enjoy it. Some of my lowest moments in the past few years have been in November, and it’s made it difficult to finish my novel!

If you are feeling blue, here are some suggestions to keep your spirits up:

1. Sunlight! Go outside at least once a day. Stop writing and talk a walk around the neighbourhood, get some fresh air, bring the dog, whatever. You’d be surprised at how much of a difference getting some light makes. Also, open your blinds and get some daylight into your room.

2. Eat right! We’ve all got a lot on our metaphorical plates, since we’re trying to fit novel-writing on top of our normal schedules, so get a lot on your physical plate as well! Three meals a day! Or five small ones. Whichever you’re more comfortable with. Keeping yourself fueled up will help you feel less tired.

3. Exercise! This can go with number one, assuming you’re taking a walk around the neighbourhood, but some more vigorous exercise is good, too! Hard exercise is a great way to naturally boost your serotonin levels, and that will make you feel happier.

4. Talk to people! Don’t isolate yourself. I know many of us are introverts who need some alone time to recharge, but don’t stay away too long. There are plenty of places to talk to other Wrimos (like our chat room, the forums, or on Twitter), so keep in touch.

5. Don’t overwhelm yourself! Know when to take days off from writing to just relax for a bit. Relaxation is very important. I find there’s less flow if I have too many things to worry about. Just make sure to prioritize.

Those are my tips, but I am not a medical professional. If you are very sad for prolonged periods of time, I strongly encourage you to speak with your general physician. Sometimes we just need a little medical intervention to get us through rough patches. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. :)

Keep well!

Ren

Welcome to my Monday Morning Pep Talk, and my overuse of Parentheses. :)

So it's 8 am Monday morning, and I'm writing this while I eat a hurried breakfast, then run off to the eye doctors for an appointment. Since my glasses broke and are currently held together with duct tape, getting new ones is kind of important.

It's actually quite a trip to get out to my Optometrists. Since I'll be waiting a while, I got told 'bring a notebook! Write your NaNo!'

No. Can't.

What I'll have to be doing instead is working on a custom jewelry piece someone's ordered. Thank goodness it's portable, or I don't know how I'd get it done. When I get back, I have lots of writing to do -- but not my NaNo, since I have two -major- papers due late November that I've only vaguely started, as well as 2 Final Exams coming up. (I might escape from my papers by writing my NaNo anyway, we'll see.) And I'm going to try and come to the half way party tonight. (That's going to be my break!) Tomorrow, I'm off to a presentation on the same topic as my Psychology Thesis, (when I got invited, I didn't think about NaNo when I said yes. . . whoops!) so there won't be a lot of writing time there, either!

Top that off with working on a creative Christmas gift for a friend (which I'm not going to go into detail just in case they read this thread) which involves a -lot- of painting, a Tournament on the 3rd of December that I'm nowhere near ready for, and a major family event that looks like it's fallen on the 30th of November. . . oh, yeah, and the dust bunnies in the apartment are bigger then the cats, and I think the pile of dishes in the sink is gaining sentience.

Yeah. . . I've got a lot of things to do.

Oh, yeah! And I'm behind in my NaNo.

Why am I rambling about -this- in my Pep Talk? Isn't everyone stressed out and overburdened? Well yes. But bear with me.

I'm saying this to give you some context to my next statement: this is the one year I think I will win, and I'm doing better then I've done with NaNo for ages.

See, so many people have said to me, "Oh, you've got so much on your plate! You don't -have- to do NaNo, it's ok!"

Yes, I could choose not to do NaNo. I could back out. But I'm not going to, and here's why.

The year I failed NaNo most spectacularly was the one year I had nothing to do in November. My school was on strike, I didn't have a job, and I wasn't really involved in much. So. . . 'I'll write later! I've got time!" "I'll write later! I've got time!" When the 30th of November rolled around, I realized I'd written almost nothing and run out of time. I still have the sad one-half a chapter (couple pages?) I'd written saved somewhere on my hard drive.

I don't have a lot of free time right now. So every moment I do have for writing becomes important. I don't have the luxury of 'oh, I'll write later,' because there might not -be- a later. I know I can't dither over a blank page, because I don't have the time. I just have to write whatever drivel pops into my head (I do try to keep it -somewhat- related to my story, mind!), because I don't have the time to think about it.

So if you feel like you have no time, make those writing moments, whenever you steal them, precious. Forget about a blank page, lock up your inner editor -- you don't have time for that kind of self-depreciation.. Just sit your butt down (or stand, your choice), and write. Maybe you can only steal time on your commute, or between classes. That's fine. Just do it, and get it done. If you can't get your wordcount one day, you can make it up later, I promise.

And get creative with your writing time. Bring a notebook on the bus. Sneak in some writing time during class lectures or boring meetings, (if you can get away with it, of course. :P ) Get up a bit early, or go to bed a bit later. Skip out on your favorite TV show -- or more humorously, write while you're watching your show. (It's funny what will creep in that way) Hey, I know one NaNoer who wrote in the bathtub while having a bubble bath! (I'd be too afraid of dropping my notebook into the bath water.) Whatever enables you to find that time, be it alone, with others, whatever. It's all good.

Above all, keep in touch with other people doing the same crazy journey as you. No, you might not be able to make it to every event, (or even any!) but even just being in chat; being on the forums, will remind you that this is doable, and you are not alone. I think the other major reason I failed that one year is because I wasn't on the forums or chat, and only ever came to the the kick-off party. I didn't have any community, any sense that someone else was doing this journey as well.

And at the end of the month, you'll have something. No, maybe it won't be beautiful prose and wonderful characters, but it will be something you can be proud of, even if it doesn't seem that way right now.

That 'something' will be more then you started November with. Exams, meetings, appointments, they all come and go. When your meetings are done, your appointment is over, and your last exam written, your NaNo will still be there, as a testament to the journey you took this November, a journey that I hope none of you will ever forget.

Day 15 Pep Talk


So let me start by saying something that may sound as though it is coming a little bit out of left field…

I’m proud of you!

I may know you, I may not have met you yet, but regardless I’m proud of you.

Now, let me provide context, or at least an explanation for why I’m proud of you.

Of course I’m extremely proud of anyone who endures this (possibly masochistic) endeavor we’re all taking part in this month and overcomes it – those who write 50k! You’re awesome.

But here’s the thing: If at the end of this month all you’ve written is 10k, 1k or 500 words, I’m proud of you!
If you’re new to Nanowrimo, this challenge may seem impossibly daunting – that’s okay! This is my sixth year doing it and I still find it daunting.

I’ve never won Nano before, though not for lack of trying. November has tended (for the past few years at least) to be a bad month for me (deaths and post-secondary school in particular). The closest I’ve managed to come to 50k is only 27,500 words.

But again, here’s the thing: I come back every year and try again and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I’ve kept everything I can from Nanos past – things like post-it notes I scribbled on when a story idea insisted on making itself known and notebooks with names, places, characters and general observations about the world around me. I also have collected a plethora of research and images. This collection has become a huge repository of ideas/inspiration. Even if you don’t “win” Nano this year (though I really hope you do!), keep what you’ve written and be proud of the time and energy you put into however many words you did manage to write!

If all you did this year was sign up, come back next year! If you only write 15k, come back next year! If you “win” – come back next year! You might have another 50k hidden away somewhere.

So keep writing. And remember: I’m proud of you. ;)

So, NaNoers, it is November 16th. Today, the par is 26,666 words. But even if you have written nothing, never fear! It's only 3,571 words that you need have to write per day in order to win, and even less than that if you have more than 0 words!

...I'm going to stop being nice and encouraging now. >:( The truth is, if you say to yourself "I am tired today. I will write tomorrow," then you will never win. You have to write those 1,667 words (or however many words you have to write per day in order to win) EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I signed up for the mentorship program, and I have four manatees. I invented a mantra for them:

EXTERMINATE. ANNIHILATE. DESTROY.

They are supposed to exterminate, annihilate, and destroy my other manatees above them in word count, and thankfully they are all fans of competition, so this method works extremely well. But most of the people reading this are not my manatees, which is probably something that you are very grateful for. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't some hardcore exterminating, annihilating, and destroying that you can't do - there are still people above you in word count! Look for the people who are a bit above your current word count, and aim to exterminate, annihilate, and destroy them. If you're not the competitive type, the "EXTERMINATE. ANNIHILATE. DESTROY" method can also apply to those inner, procrastinating demons that have placed you in a state of peril perilous enough that you sought out comfort in the form of this pep talk thread in the first place.

So whether or not you prefer to exterminate, annihilate, and destroy people and their word counts, or the evil, procrastinating anti-writers within yourself, you can do it. Every single one of you.

EXTERMINATE. ANNIHILATE. DESTROY.

It's 10pm. I forgot that I needed to write a pep talk.

Right now, I am not filled with an overabundance of pep. I am 10k behind. You can check. I'll be right here when you're done.

Last night, I had about 4 hours of sleep. That's probably a little generous. I've completely fallen behind on work. My plot, which was already about 90% incoherent when I started, seems to have fallen under the weight of my admittedly low ambitions. I have no idea what's happening next. Right now all I'm hoping for is that this peptalk, which, as of yet, seems to be completely devoid of pep, will not be made entirely of rambling.

Previous experience tells me that is unlikely to happen

After Nanowrimo, my novel is likely to be completely useless. My writing style has completely fallen apart. Right now, it's got terrible pacing and horrid prose. My MC has lost his voice. Not literally, I mean metaphorically. That's probably a bad enough problem when you're doing a novel in the third person, it turns out it's even worse when you're writing a novel in the first person. I've begun making meta-references to the way I write, the way that I do when I run out of things to say, but still want to keep my fingers moving. In fact, I did that about15,000 words ago. I'm not even entirely sure I've referred to my plot even obliquely in all those words. If I have to throw out 90% of it because it doesn't make sense, it won't be any sort of a surprise to anyone, least of all to me

Am I even making sense? Sorry, it seems to be a pattern to my writing. I thought I had a point in here, somewhere. I did when I started, I think. Even if I didn't, it wouldn't be any surprise, not really.

But you know what? I'm going to keep doing it. Well, I'm going to start doing it again, I mean. I stopped for a couple of days there. But that's not my point, my point is that I seem to be a total mess when it comes to doing nano. Wait, no, that wasn't my point. The point is that even though even though I seem to be a complete flake, even though I've completely fallen behind, even though I am unlikely to get anything even remotely resembling a workable novel from this month, the point is simple.

I am going to finish. I know that I am, with complete confidence.

Day 18 Pep Talk
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I was on Google chat, or twitter, one of the two, and I knew that Vix was busy. So I asked her, "Hey, if you're so busy, I don't mind doing an ML update for you!"

She then said, "SIGN UP!"

And I thought, "Sign up? Waddaya mean sign up?"

She then pointed me to the adopt a day thread.

And I thought, "OH! that's what that is for."

So I signed up for today, because tonight is the overnight writing session, and I thought that maybe I could give a pep talk about that.

Now the time has come to write the pep talk, and I'm thinking to myself, what exactly goes into a pep talk. I mean, I don't know, I never wrote one before. In my mind, I was just signing up for an ML update where I tell you things like, "The writing session is tonight!"

I then decided, "OH! I know, let's read the other pep talks."

But they're long. Now, there's nothing wrong with being long, I mean, this pep talk is going to be excruciatingly long as I go on about how I don't know how to do pep talks. But, I didn't want to read essays on example pep talks when all I needed to do was write one.

I checked out MoOman's pep talk above me. He's mostly talking about how he's failing but persevering. And I then thought to myself, "OH! If all we have to do is complain and talk about ourselves, then that's easy! I can do that!"

However, I do that enough in the Atlanta/Toronto Word War thread. If you want to see complaining and me talking about myself, you can go there.

So, I figured, hey, maybe what I can do is give you guys 10 tips. I wrote something a while back along the lines of 10 tips on creativity. Or something.

I actually can't remember where that is, but I put it somewhere. I think I even emailed it. Hold on. Let me see if I can find it. It may be applicable here. Or not. If it isn't, well, I'm hoping most of you aren't reading because it's Saturday, and it has my name attached to it.

...

Oh bother, it was 10 tips on Songwriting. Which, of course, doesn't apply that much here. Hmmm, tell you what, I'll adapt them, and if I don't have 10, I'll just make them up on the spot.

1. Creativity can be practiced - Always create, always write, always play, always make things up. Believe it or not, you can practice getting into the zone of creativity.
   
   


2. Laugh more - Daniel Pink's book "A Whole New Mind" has a whole section on "Play", and makes the claim that joyful people are more creative. Not that we ignore the other emotions, but for those that think only the suffering artist can put out works of intense art, then maybe you need to expand your horizons and lighten up. :)
   
   


3. If you cannot find inspiration, then you are restricting yourself - The world is banal only because you have stopped paying attention.
   


4. Like what you create - Your first audience is you, because you know what you like. Other people may not like it, but don't worry about it. Your purpose in life isn't to make everyone else you.
   


5. Don't be elitist - It's OK to not like a genre, a style, a book, an author, my face. But your taste isn't intrinsically better just because you like it and others are talentless hacks. In fact, you may be able to learn from 'those people' you deem 'beneath' you. If not, then see #3.
   


6. Collaborate - Sometimes, you can't do everything. Collaborate with others. That may be a bit harder to do with writing, but you never know, it could get your flow going.
   


7. Finish - The world is filled with those wishing they could have finished something they started. Nano is perfect that. Finish HIM! I mean... it.
   


8. Listen and support other people - If you hang out with other creatives, they want to push their stuff as much as you do! They are excited about their works of art as much as you are of yours. If all you can do is talk about your stuff, well, don't be offended if they no longer wish to listen.
   


9. Criticism - Your worth as a human individual is not based on your talents. Some may like what you write, others may not. Don't let it get to you. Yes, you may have poured your soul into something you love, but remember #4 and #5. It's ok for people not to like your stuff! Maybe they just don't like stories about, for example, pony apocalypses. These things aren't for everyone. However, finding someone who may give you good advice on how to make your writing better is a treasure. Don't toss it away because criticism is too hard.
   


10. Art is for yourself, but also for others - Remember, a story is normally meant to be shared. Sure, no one may ever read your nano novel, but eventually, you may want to write something for others to enjoy. Learn to interact, to accept, to enjoy people different from you. You may learn a lot.
    

I'm done. You may not agree with me, and that's ok.

I really hope I can last for tonight's all nighter. Wow, I'm tired just now reading through all that.

Day 21 Pep Talk

**********************************

When I signed up for this Adopt-A-Day business, I chose the 21st very intentionally. It’s a third of the way into the month, and that marks a very important turning point in the month. This will be my ninth year doing NaNo, and every year, this is the part of the month that is the most difficult for me. People in the NaNo community love to go on about how difficult it is to slog through Week 2, and they’re not wrong, but every year I wish someone would stand up and stop claiming that the final stretch is somehow a breeze. This year, I’m going to try to be that person. So, for those of you that are gliding through your novels unhampered right now, for those of you that have words falling out of your fingertips faster than you can type them, congratulations. I am genuinely, truly happy for you, despite how wildly jealous of you I am. I’ll see you at the finish line, and you can tell me all about how easily and perfectly your novel rolled downhill. For the rest of you that are bumping and jostling around on the way down like me, this pep talk is for you.

Week 2 is a difficulty because the shine of a new adventure has worn off, things have suddenly become hard work, and out of nowhere you realize you might not know where your plot is going. The home stretch, as we approach Week 4 (a terrifying thought, I know) is a difficulty because it’s the point where you realize that after all of the work you’ve done to get your novel to where it is now -- after all of your careful planning -- the wheels have come right off. Things aren’t headed in the directions you planned, characters have abandoned epic quests to open bagel shops, and suddenly you have no idea how to reconcile any of it, and that’s exactly when you realize that not only do you have to figure out how to fix things, you have to figure out how to fix them right now because the month is winding down and those words that you’re behind by are seeming a more insurmountable deficit with every passing minute.

So, here’s what I want you to do. Stop trying to fix anything. You can fix later. That’s what editing is. It’s fixing. And we don’t edit in November, remember? The sheer terror of the impending end of the month is an opportunity that our inner editors love to take to come rearing back up. Ignore it. Get back to your keyboard and just type. Let your characters have their bagels. Run with whatever ridiculous plot twists you’ve accidentally implanted into your novel, even if they completely undermine the novel you thought you were writing. Put one word after another, and just don’t stop doing it. At the end of the day, if you’re reading this pep talk at all, it means that no matter what your word count is, no matter how good or bad your novel is, and no matter how much else is going on in your life, you haven’t given up. It’s been 21 days, and like me, there’s a good chance your body is falling apart from sleep deprivation, but you’re still doing it. That alone is an achievement, and I’m proud of you. Of all of us. So, no matter what, just keep writing. For better or worse, there’s only ten days left, and then you can get back to the rest of your life. Don’t abandon this adventure yet, because the best is yet to come.

Creativity loves adversity, you see, and if you fight through this, some truly amazing things will happen. Think back throughout all of the words you’ve already written to get here. (Don’t read over them, just think back. This is an important distinction. If you read over them, you’ll be tempted to edit them, and we can’t have that.) Think of your favourite turn of phrase from the month. A time when all of the words fell into place just so. You wrote that. And you wrote it because you made yourself write it, no matter how difficult it had been to keep going and no matter how awful your writing had been forced to become on the way to that scene, that line. Understand that if you continue to force yourself to keep plodding along, that will happen again.

Instead of thinking about the 50,000, just start thinking about writing every word you can in every spare moment you can find. No matter how many words you write, and no matter how many truly awful words you throw out in December, you’re still going to have more words than you did on October 31st, and you’re still going to know, that for thirty long days, no matter how hard it got, you didn’t quit on yourself. That’s something to be proud of, and if you just stick with it for another ten days, you’ll have something amazing when it’s all said and done. You’ll have a novel. It won’t be finished, and it probably won’t even be very good, but you’ll have plenty of time to worry about that until November rolls around again. It will be a novel, crafted by your own hands. Not many people can say they’ve done that. Stick with this, keep putting words after other words, and you’ll be one of the select few who can.

Day 22 Pep Talk

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We're nearing the end of Nano, and I know that there are plenty of people out there who are, by now, thinking, "There's no WAY I'm going to finish this! I can't do it!" I know it because I'm one of them. This year has been extremely frustrating and disappointing for me - frustrating because I've hit block after block writing, from household distractions to physical ailments, and disappointing because my wordcount seriously sucks. So this talk isn't about hitting the 50k mark, exactly. Instead, it's about something my mother used to say to me, a quote that has stayed with me for all these years, and colored my thoughts when I've been close to failure.

"'Can't' never did anything."

That sentence has always sounded a little strange to me, and it took a long time for me to really get the punch of it. It took longer still before I truly understood not only the meaning behind it, but also the feeling, and while it may be very self-apparent to the rest of you, I'm going to belabor the point just a little.

Can't never did anything. If I let myself think that I "can't" do this, then I won't, because that's exactly what it takes to ensure failure. I'm not willing to let that failure get a handhold this way, and neither should you! There are still eight days left to go, and it doesn't really matter how far along you are or are not, because if you really put your mind to it, then you can accomplish your goals and dreams. All you have to do is turn your back on one little word: can't. Ignore it, and it will go away.

I've turned my back on 'can't'. I will hit 50k, though my own roadblocks have left me wondering exactly what I'm going to have when I'm done. Being sick for half the month certainly didn't help my initial progress, but I still have a little more than eight days, and I can make it in that time. I know I can, because as of right now, I'm making that other little word my best friend. "Can" will be the companion who sees me through to the end of this, and all I have to do to keep that friendship in the forefront of my mind is to remember the one sentence my mother taught me as I was growing up.

Can't never did anything.

I'll add my own sentence to it, as well.

Can will do everything.

There you have my mantra for the next eight days. I hope you like it, because I'm going to go back to working on my novel now. It's crunch time, and I believe that we can all make it, if we just keep trucking along.

No matter where you are in your novel, you're all awesome for continuing to try. We can do this!