Denise Jaden's Top Tips for Winning #NaNoWriMo! #FastFiction

With NaNoWriMo right around the corner, I'm hearing many writers talk about how they are planning to try it this year, give it a shot, write a first draft novel in a month. Last year, I gave my top five tips on the NaNoWriMo Blog, but the more I hear from real writers, the more I'm tweaking those tips.

So here are a few of my best tips to win NaNoWriMo as I see them today...

1. Believe you can do it! You know how sometimes you'll be reading a great book, but then something happens in the plot that seems way off base? You have a choice at that point. If you're enjoying the book enough, you'll likely choose to suspend your disbelief on that one plot point. You'll give the author the benefit of the doubt, keep reading, and likely really love the book and forget about that small point that had stopped you up for a brief time along the way. Or you can get angry at the author, feel a glaring sense of disappointment, and throw the book in the garbage.

I liken these attitudes to authors as they approach NaNoWriMo. There is a suspension of disbelief that you have to CHOOSE when entering into a challenge like this. The truth is, it's a ridiculous challenge. It doesn't actually fit into most REAL LIVES. We should, by rights, feel a glaring sense of disappointment that this challenge even exists, let alone that there are hundreds of thousands of super-humans that somehow leap close-to or even past the finish line. And we have every right to say, "No, it's stupid. I'm not going to waste my time on it." Or even, "I'll try it..." followed silently by, "...but it won't work." And to be honest, those are the unspoken statements I hear when I chat with most writers about NaNo. It's sad, but I'm quite sure from the cadence in their voices and the words they don't say that they probably won't succeed with writing a first draft in a month.

The first thing I believe writers need to succeed with the NaNoWriMo challenge is a conscious decision to suspend their disbelief. Making a choice to say, "Yes, it's a dumb idea, but just for thirty days, I am going to believe it is possible. Not only that, but I am going to believe that I am the writer who is quite capable of achieving it."

You don't have to believe in yourself for ever and ever, amen...only for the next thirty days.

2. Gather lots of ideas and keep them all in one place. This is the bit of advice I give most often for people who want to fast draft. Writing a novel over a period of months or years is a little different, because you can wait for inspiration, or take the time to stumble upon the sticky note that held that great idea you jotted down six months ago. With fast drafting, you don't have time to stop. When you feel stuck, you need to be able to flip open your moleskin notebook or click onto your iPhone app and pull up a list of ideas to pick and choose from. I keep my ideas in my phone notes program, because I always have my phone with me--when I discover a supermarket clerk's name that I really love, or when I overhear an interesting line of dialogue in a coffee shop.

Figure out the storage system that works best for you, and then build your idea bank.

3. Break your goal down and put it in your own handwriting. 50,000 words seems like a lot to accomplish in a month. 1667 words per day doesn't seem quite as impossible. But at the same time, it's important to realize that if you skip a day, even just ONE day, that means you either have to write 3334 words the next day, or up your count to 1724 each day for the rest of the month...every single day. Plus, missing a day makes you lose your sense of momentum.

Writing every day, even if it's just a paragraph, helps you keep your story in the forefront of your mind. You'll think about your characters when you're driving. You'll dream about new and crazy plot points at night. Plus, I believe in writing your goal down in your own handwriting, even if you've signed up on the NaNo website and tweeted to all of your friends that you're doing it. There's a certain sense of integrity that comes with taking the time to hand write your goal. Obviously no one has pushed you into it. You wrote it, and so you will accomplish it.

4. Don't jump in without a plan. You don't necessarily have to stick to your plan, but it's great to have something to come back to if you're feeling stuck. This next part is going to sound like a pitch, like I've only brought you here to sell you something, but I don't mean it to be. You see, I wrote FAST FICTION because I believe in my methods of planning for NaNoWriMo. I believe they can help any writer, whether they are a plotter or a panster. I believe my methods will help any writer who is trying to push through and needs a nudge to make him/her-self get to the end. My Story Plan is a very loose plan that will encourage you to think ahead of time about your characters' greatest strengths, desires, and flaws, about the settings that will inspire more words and detailed descriptions from you, about the themes you're passionate about and you'd like to see emerge from your work.There are other guides out there as well, of course. I encourage you to find one that inspires you and encourages your belief in your abilities.

5. Don't do it alone! Sign up at NaNoWriMo.org (I'm denisej over there if you'd like to become my "buddy"), follow Twitter hashtags #NaNoWriMo, #NaNoWriMo2015, "NaNosprints, #FastFiction, #amwriting, #WIPMadness... to name a few. Make some friends and keep each other accountable. Track other writers down and ask them about their progress...and they'll likely do the same for you if you disappear from the Interwebs for a few days. Just that little nudge from someone else can make all of the difference!

This is not, of course, an exhaustive list about what will help you write 50,000 words this November. These are simply my best tips as I see them today, and as I've sensed from those I've been chatting with lately.

Please share your best tips in the comments. Do you write twice a day? Get 500 words down before breakfast? Gnaw on carrot sticks when you're stuck for inspiration? What helps you reach toward the finish line?

On Muses, @AvrilLavigne, #NaNoWriMo, and #WIPMadness Check-in

This photo is licensed for use:
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If I had a muse, it would be Avril Lavigne. There's something about her Girl Power brand and individualistic lyrics that make me feel like I can do anything and that the world needs my unique words.

I say "if" because the truth is, I don't believe in muses. I used to, before I discovered NaNoWriMo. In 2007, I started taking on the 30-day, 50,000-word challenge, and that changed my thinking. You see, when forcing yourself to write 50,000 words in a month, you don't have time to wait around for inspiration or muses. Most of the thirty days you will not feel like writing at all. At least I don't. But I push myself to meet my goal, and inevitably, words and metaphors and story lines show up on the page that blow me away when I go back to reread. Those nuggets of gold are not the result of my muse, they are simply the result of my dedication.

One of the reasons I'm such a big advocate of NaNoWriMo and fast drafting is because I believe that by pushing ourselves to write, even when we don't feel like it, helps us access our subconscious mind where all of our best ideas are stored. You see, if we take our time and only write when our "muse" strikes, we already think we have the best ideas, so why on earth would our subconscious mind pipe up to tell us any different?

I'm curious if you agree, or if you have some sort of muse that truly helps you get your stories written.

Also, I should mention that if you are fast drafting this month, I'm live-tweeting tips from my nonfiction writing book Fast Fiction, using the hashtag #FastFiction.

Also, NaNoWriMo posted my Top 5 Tips to NaNo Success this week. I hope you'll check it out.

And finally, don't forget to leave your progress on your goals so far this month in the comments. Write on, friends!

On Criticism, #NaNoWriMo, and #WIPMadness Check-in

Whether you're trying to fast-draft a novel in a month, or taking many years to draft a story, chances are good that you have faced or will face criticism that will threaten to halt your progress. Every writer I know hears criticism from even the most unexpected sources (and sometimes the unexpected sources are the most painful!), and those criticisms can feel like the only thing any one has ever said about our writing when we hear them.

But the truth is, there are many readers out there in the world with vastly differing moods and opinions! Because I think it's ridiculous how much criticism can affect our progress as writers, I decided to make a list, all in one place, of things I've personally heard, or seen in reviews of other authors I love in hopes of shining a light on the ridiculousness of spending any time at all thinking about one person's criticism.

• "There's too little description I couldn't picture it."
• "There's too much description and it slowed down the pace."
• "Cardboard characters, lacking detailed description."
• "Why would I want to know every detail about what this character eats for breakfast?"
• "Starts off too slow."
• "I got whiplash from the breakneck pace."
• "Too languid and boring."
• "Too quick-paced and choppy."
• "Unlikable characters. 
• "Characters are too perfect."
• "Too short. I like my books at least three hundred pages."
• "Too long. Went on forever."
• "Too much sex and cursing."
• "Felt too clean to be realistic."
• "Melodramatic."
• "I wanted to feel more emotional connection."
• "Strange plot. Unbelievable."
• "Cliche. Felt like I've read it all before."
• "Main character is too angst-y."
• "I wish the characters had more passion."
• "Not enough conflict."
• "Too much going on. I wanted a minute just to breathe."
• "I hate issue-driven books."
• "I hate character-driven books."
• "I hate plotty books."
• "It's too simple."
• "It has everything in it but the kitchen sink."

That's a long list, but I'll bet there are many more I haven't mentioned. Seeing them all together helps me at least to remember not to put too much weight in any one thing anyone says. Feel free to add to my list in the comments, and let me know if criticism has ever hindered you from something creative. And how did you get over it?

Also, what are your goals for November? Are you joining in on NaNoWriMo, or do you have your own different set of goals for this month?

Fast Fiction Friday: Respect Your Beta Readers

Good critique partners and beta readers are worth their weight in gold.

My readers are an integral part of my revision process, and when we're talking about getting a book into a polished state in as quick of time as possible, one of the first things to look at is finding the right readers for your books. And then KEEPING those right readers, once you've found them.

Finding appropriate, helpful readers, quite honestly, is a matter of trial and error. Your readers, hopefully, should enjoy the majority of what you write, even if they do see flaws in it. You don't want the process to be like pulling teeth for them, or it will take them six months or more to provide you with feedback.

Part of finding good readers is BEING a good reader. When someone asks you for help with their manuscript, make an effort to clear your schedule and read it in a timely manner. Then, hopefully, they will do the same for you when it comes time for them to read one of your books. Try to provide the most helpful and fully-explained feedback you can. Think of how clearly you would want it worded if you were hearing it about your work.

Then, when it comes time to sending your work out to these helpful, timely readers, don't send them unpolished garbage writing. Make it as good as you can on your own before sending it out. Get yourself a text-to-speech program (I use the one on my Kindle) to play back your story with an ear for typos and clunky sentences. You can hear the difference between "She went to her house" and "She went to her hose" even on the most computerized voice. Honestly, I think it comes across as disrespectful to a reader's time if you haven't taken the time to make your writing as easy as possible for them to read.

When it's as good as you can make it, then send your writing out to one or two people (save some readers for the next revision round - always assume there will be a next round).

 There are some parts of the process that are going to take time, they just are. But the idea here is to make them take the least amount of time possible.

Fast Fiction Friday: A Time For Fast and A Time For Slow

Even though I'm a big advocate of fast-drafting a first draft, I don't believe in rushing the entire process of writing a novel. Brainstorming my plot and character ideas, for example, will often take months or even years.

Once I finish a fast draft, I'm also not in any hurry to send it off to publishing professionals. Sending out messy, incongruent, unpolished writing will only give you a bad name in the business of publishing, because people in this business are very, very busy.

After a fast draft, I recommend taking some time to clear your head from the project. Generally, my books take over a year from conception to a point where I feel they are ready to sell. Much of that time is due to the process of either head-clearing or waiting for beta readers to get back to me. The best thing you can do for yourself is try to align those two chunks of time.

When you send your book to a beta reader, don't look or even think about it while you're waiting for feedback. And when you receive feedback, unless you're decisively clear about how to take that person's criticism and implement it to make an infinitely-better book, then sit on the suggestions for two weeks and then read them again before making changes. Sometimes our brains need time to rest, and sometimes they need time to digest new directions.

So, yes, there is a time to go fast (I even complete revisions quickly when I'm very clear about what I want to do) but there's also a time to go slow and let your mind have lots of resting space.

Fast Fiction Friday!

Today's thought on Fast-drafting:

Know why you're doing it. Why do you want to write a fast draft? Is it because life gets too busy and if you don't finish your draft this month, you may not finish it at all? Is it because you need a challenging goal to keep you motivated?

Those are a couple of reasons, but, for me, here's the main one: Once I have my whole idea down on paper, I can really see the shape of it. It's much easier to revise the story that is on paper, no matter how bad it is, than to revise a story still stuck in my head. Plus, by writing quickly, I forget plenty of it along the way. I'm always whisking forward through plenty of words and character actions and plot points every single day. There's no way I can remember all or even most of them. So when I go back to read my full draft, it's almost like reading someone else's book--I have that much distance and perspective.

The first draft of my first published novel was written in 21 days. The first draft of my second published novel took years. If you read them both, I think you'll agree that they are similar in quality, but I have to say, the 21-day venture was MUCH less painful on my poor little brain.

So think about why you're doing this. If the goal is really just to get the arc of the story down so you can have some perspective and go in with clarity and excitement to revise, then why are spending so much time worrying about the words you are writing and how wrong or bad they may be? Individual words and sentences and paragraphs and even scenes don't matter at this point. Just work your way through the main arc of the story. Don't worry, just keep moving forward to the end!

 

Shake It All About - A Guest Post by Tanya Lloyd Kyi!

November, in the midst of NaNoWriMo, is the perfect time for some extra ideas about staying motivated and getting un-stuck with your writing. I'm thrilled that Tanya Lloyd Kyi offered to stop by and give her thoughts on the subject--and she has some awesome ideas!

Shake It All About

by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Every November, I read Denise’s NaNoWriMo updates with awe. How can she create so many scenes in so little time? 

As soon as I think too hard about word counts – and that overwhelming number that signifies a finished manuscript – I stop writing altogether. I can’t take the pressure! When that happens, I have to shake things up. Jump around a little, do the hokey pokey, and turn my brain in a new direction. 

So for those who have joined Denise on November’s crazy writing ride, or for those plodding along like I am, here are my five favorite strategies for getting unstuck.

1. Let a secondary character take the spotlight.
When you need a break from the emotional angst of your protagonist, take the opportunity to delve deeper into a minor player. Too often, especially when we’re writing quickly, we treat our secondary characters as props instead of people. But here’s an opportunity for a best friend to spill his heart, a girlfriend to reveal her dreams, or a mom to offer a story from her past and a quiet word of advice. 

2. Write an imagined scene.
What would happen if your main character told her deepest secrets to the panhandler on the corner? What would happen if she stole her dad’s car and drove into the sunset? Or if she chained herself to the school doors and declared a hunger strike? An imagined scene is a great way to reveal interiority without resorting to long emotional descriptions. Plus, you can get a little crazy without being accountable later!

3. Force your character to multi-task.
Don’t give your protagonist too long to ponder his place in the universe. Make him figure it out while his mother’s nagging him about homework and his girlfriend’s sexting him and his dog’s peeing on the shoes in the front hall. If his best friend’s going to dump him, make it happen at work, where he has to deal with customers at the same time. What do you want to happen next in your character’s world? Make it happen at the most inconvenient time, in the most inconvenient place. After all, isn’t that the way real life works?

4.  Set your scene in an emotional place.
Where was your first break-up? Or your first sexual encounter? What’s your most embarrassing moment? Use one of those settings for your next scene. Even if your characters do something completely different than you did in the back of that Ford pick-up, you might find the baggage you associate with the place lends a new emotional power to your writing. 

5. Throw a party.
Too often, we think in baby steps. Character A needs to get information from Character B, then confront Character C before going home with D. Well, speed things up and throw yourself a shindig. Or send everyone to the same restaurant or the same school dance. Give your characters a chance to collide off one another in tight confines and see what melds and what explodes.

Good luck to everyone with today’s writing. And thanks for having me stop by, Denise!

Tanya Lloyd Kyi has written more than a dozen books for middle-grade and young-adult readers. Her most recent novel is Anywhere But Here (Simon & Schuster). She's also the author of the 50 Questions series and Seeing Red (Annick). Tanya lives in Vancouver, BC. 

Cole’s small town is a trap he’s determined to escape in this fresh and moving debut novel that balances loss with humor.

Ever since his mom died, Cole just feels stuck. His dad acts like a stranger, and Lauren, his picture-perfect girlfriend of two years, doesn’t understand him anymore. He can’t ditch his dad, so Cole breaks up with Lauren. She doesn’t take the news very well, and Cole’s best friend won’t get off his case about it.

Now more than ever, Cole wants to graduate and leave his small, suffocating town. And everything is going according to plan—until Cole discovers the one secret that could keep him there…forever.

Fast Fiction Friday!

It's another Friday, and so time for another Fast Fiction tip. Some of these tips come from my forthcoming book, Fast Fiction, some just come from my NaNo-tired brain. But hopefully you will find them helpful.



Today's tip: Find the RIGHT kind of accountability.

You may be a member over at NaNoWriMo.org, which is great, but are you plugged in there? Do you have buddies that are keeping up on your progress and messaging you regularly, especially if they notice your word count has dropped for a few days?

We can't do this alone. There may be people who can write a book all on their own, without the help of critique partners and beta readers and accountability partners and cheerleaders (I'm not one of them), but I don't know of any writer that can FAST-DRAFT without some support.

Get plugged in somewhere with one or two or three writers who will hold you accountable to writing every day, whether you feel like it or not. People who will cheer you on to dig deep, even when it seems like your muse has left the building.

This doesn't have to be on the NaNoWriMo website. I have a great group of accountability partners on Twitter under the hashtag #wipmadness. You're welcome to join us, or find your own little group via email or Facebook or Twitter, or even through a daily phone call.

Just don't try to do it alone. It'll work on the days you feel motivated, but it probably won't work through an entire draft.

More Fun Q&A

Since posting some recent questions and answers from my fan mail, I've received a few follow-up questions. I thought I'd post those here too, since they're such fun questions.

Do you make playlists and listen to music as you write?

No. I love music, it's important to me, but I can't listen to it while I'm writing. I suspect this is because I'm a dancer/choreographer of many years. I can't just let music play in the background without my mind wanting to count out sets of eight and picture combinations of moves to accompany it. It would make for a busy writing time, a little like mental juggling, trying to keep all of that going in my head at once.

I do, however, usually come across songs that remind me of certain books or characters of mine. For example, Things I'll Never Say by Avril Lavigne will always remind me of Loann and Marcus from NEVER ENOUGH. Sick Cycle Carousel by Lifehouse is Claire's song.

I also have a "rejection song." It's a song I listen to after I've received a particularly painful rejection. It's officially a breakup song, but publishing, in a lot of ways, can be like a relationship. This song doesn't build up bitter feelings or anything, at least not for me. Instead it reminds me that I don't want a publisher who is just willing to take on one of my books. I want an editor who is head over heels in love with my story. Plus it's good to dance to, which always helps. So here's my rejection song, Thanks For Nothing by Fefe Dobson:

 

Enough about music. Next question:

What's your favorite book?

Here's my answer: Anyone who has a favorite book doesn't read enough. LOL. I read over a hundred books last year. I loved over half of them. And that was just last year. I really, honestly, can't imagine narrowing my all-time favorite down to one or even ten books. Here are a few loves that come to mind off the top of my head, but it's by no means a complete list: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green, THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER by Sarah Dessen, GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn, CATALYST by Laurie Halse Anderson, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins, HARMONIC FEEDBACK by Tara Kelly, GUITAR GIRL by Sarra Manning, THE LUCY VARIATIONS by Sara Zarr.

Are you a fast reader?

Not particularly. I know I said I read over a hundred books last year. Thirty of those were audiobooks I listened to while driving back and forth to dance classes. Also, I keep books (or my kindle) with me EVERYWHERE. So, really, those books were read in very short spurts, and not terribly fast. Once in a while I'll find a book that I cannot put down, and I'll push off other responsibilities to read it in a day or two. Or once in a while I'll find a book I really want to savor, and purposely only read a couple of pages a day. Right now I have one of those "savor" books living in my gym bag--that gymnastics book by Lance Ringnald I talked about on the blog a couple of weeks ago. I keep promising to read it with my son, but I'm finding it inspiring, so I don't want it to end.

Are you a fast writer?

Yes. My next book (out either later in 2013 or 2014) will attest to that. It's called FAST FICTION and will teach you my process of writing quickly. It still takes me six months to a couple of years to get from the conception of a story to the point where it's salable, but I can quite easily write the first draft of a sixty thousand word novel in a month now (I've even written two of those in a month once!). Honestly, if I wasn't homeschooling and busy with other parenting/family/business responsibilities, I suspect I could put out a few books in a year now. But a season for everything...

Thanks for the questions, friends! Keep them coming and I will keep answering! (You can post your questions in the comments here, on Twitter @denisejaden, or email me at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com). I love interacting with people who are reading my books, and it's never a bother.