7 Things I Tried for NaNo (That Failed)

So we’re in the middle of National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, and I haven’t even talked about it yet. That’s just not how things are done around here, and I decided it was time to fix it. Now, last year I made some posts about NaNo and tips and tricks for managing it.  Stay motivated …

Why I prefer Camp Nano to Standard Nano

It’s March 27th, which means Camp NaNo is just a few days away! If you’re not familiar with it, Camp NaNo is basically the same thing as NaNoWriMo, but with a camp theme because springtime I guess? Anyway, it’s as good an excuse as any to write as many words as possible. If you’re thinking …

3 Things to do now that NaNo is Over

We are into December now, and NaNo has come and gone. Hope you had fun with it this year! We’re now into the holiday season, cold weather season, and for anyone working retail, the very, very busy season. You’re probably (if you’re anything like me) running a bit crazy with everything you have to get …

What I Learned Doing NaNo 2018

So another year has passed, another NaNo completed. I’m really happy with my progress this year - so far, I’ve managed to input my word count into NaNo every day, and with only two days left I have absolute faith in my ability to get it updated those last two days. I actually hit the …

3 Things to do if You’re Behind in the Last Week of NaNo

We’re in the final stretch of NaNoWriMo, and I’ve been seeing a lot of people who are looking at where they are and are...less than happy with their progress. They’re finding motivation in this last week to push forward and catch the rest of the way up to still win. And that’s awesome! If you’re …

3 Ways to Deal with a Difficult Scene During Nano

At this point in NaNo, if you’ve been pushing ahead constantly, there’s probably a scene you’re not happy with. It’s become a bit like a scab, something that itches and you know you shouldn’t pick at, but you really want to because it’ll bring some relief. The best advice for NaNo is to keep moving …

3 Reasons You Should Be Doing Writing Sprints

At this point in NaNo, you’re probably in one of two places. You might be well ahead of the game, and you’re looking at your word count total and smiling and nodding to yourself, perfectly happy with how you’re doing. On the other hand, you might have realized that you’ve fallen behind, and are starting …

3 Things to try during NaNo

So we’re deeper into NaNo, and you’ve hopefully found a way to stay motivated. That’s awesome, and you should absolutely keep it up! However, you might be feeling a different kind of burnout. The kind that comes not from working too hard, but from doing the same thing every day, and feeling yourself getting tired …

3 Ways to Stay Motivated during NaNo

Hey everyone! We are, as of today, ten days into National Novel Writing Month. If you’re on track, you’re 16,667 or so words into your project. If you’re an overachiever, you’re much higher than that. (My friend is on 28,578, which doesn’t make me feel like a snail at all.) If you’re not on track, …

How I Outline my Novels – From a Recovering Panster

As I’ve mentioned before, I used to be a pure pantser. I’d go into a story, screaming with excitement, and run with it, just seeing where it took me. No outline, no road map, no plan. Sometimes, that would lead to weird and wonderful things that I never expected. Other times, it lead me to …