DOs and DON'Ts of NaNoWriMo

As promised, lovelies, here is the NaNoWriMo post. Most of you know what it is, but here's a friendly reminder in a nutshell. The month of November is National Novel Writing Month, "30 days of literary abandon" where nothing matters except WORD COUNT. That's right, quantity over quality. You hit 50,000 words and you win.

I'll be doing it this year, and if you are too, I'd love to be your buddy since we are clearly crazy people together. Just click my participant badge on the side there. I'm kangaru.

Anyway, here are my and Alz's tips for staying chic in the midst of NaNo madness.

DOs and DON'Ts of NaNoWriMo

DO bring a butt-kicking attitude. As they say, confidence can do wonders for your looks and books. Work it!

DON'T delete!!! Remember what we said about confidence? Yeah well, confident people don't worry about suckage, and I did mention this is about QUANTITY, right?

DO let yourself suck. Yes, we're giving you permission. We're even ENCOURAGING it if it means you up your word count. And yes, you will suck, but that's the beauty of being human. (Unless, of course, you're like the novel-writing equivalent of Mozart, in which case, don't talk to me.)

DON'T freak out too much about plot points. You can fix them later (just make a note somewhere for yourself). Unlike zits, they are not red and prominently displayed on your face.

DO have some kind of plan before you start though. Fortune may favor the bold, but it helps to know where you're going.

DON'T think sleep is more important than writing. I know, you need your beauty sleep, but hey, the whole sleep-deprived vampire look is IN.

DO keep your caffeine and candy/snacks stores well stocked. No on likes a grumpy writer, and hungry writers are grumpy writers.

DON'T procrastinate. You let one day slip by without writing, and it turns into two, then three. Before you know it, you are on a one way trip to FREAKOUT Land when the last week of November rolls around and all the people you've told ask you, "So how's that novel coming?" and you've only got 100 words written, and no, your name and the title don't count. Trust, you CANNOT write 10,000 words a day for 5 days and hope for it to have any semblance of being a novel. ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY.

DO kill characters when things get boring. Seriously. Do it. Alz does it every time she gets bored with a scene. Besides, it'll show those uncooperative people who really holds the power here. Mwahahaha!

Alternatively, you could also just blow something up. If anything, it will at least make you feel better.

DON'T forget to save and back-up your file. It's like always keeping some gloss and powder in your bag for touch-ups. Or you know, having a back-up printer the night before a paper is due because yours will inevitably jam while you're trying to print it.

DO congratulate yourself for whatever you manage to write. It's awesome. You're awesome. We're all awesome. Just don't try to sell it.


SO, you all ready for this?! Do you have DOs and DON'Ts for this month of madness? Please share!

Now, I'm off to be pre-occupied with Halloween! See you Friday!