Created by a freelance writer and his friends in 1999, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) posed a challenge: Write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. This annual, community-driven project spurred NaNoWriMo to become a nonprofit in 2006, and this organization continues to offer writing challenges, youth writing camps, and local writing initiatives.
The NaNoWriMo website supplies writers with tools and forums to track their writing progress throughout the month, and the IRRC has put together a list of tips and tricks you can apply to any long-form writing project at any time of the year.
Organize Your Ideas
When planning a longer piece of writing, there are a lot of moving parts: characters, plot and timeline, setting, backstory, worldbuilding, and so on. There isn’t a "right” or “wrong” way to organize your thoughts—some people like detailed outlines while others prefer simple concept maps—but it can be helpful to make a few notes for yourself before diving into the first draft. For more tips on organizing your ideas before starting an academic or creative writing project, check out our blog post on prewriting strategies.
Set SMART Goals
Setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-specific (SMART) goals ensures that you can meet your objectives within the time frame you’ve chosen. Many writers set word count goals (e.g., write 1000 words each day) or duration goals (e.g., write for one hour each day). Remember that everyone works at their own pace, and you don’t need to set the same goals as your friends or other writers. Think about how long you want your final piece to be, how much time you can dedicate to writing each day, and how soon you want to complete a draft. And finally, write your goal down and track your progress to hold yourself accountable! If you’re looking for a way to track your goals and progress, check out our Long-Form Writing Graphic Organizer.
Create a Routine That Works for You
Like any other task, writing benefits from a routine. Author Stephen King tells writers to go to the same place at the same time every day to work with no distracting windows and a closed door. Other writers prefer a local coffee shop with ambient noise or a room with natural light. Whether it’s drinking the same kind of tea, dimming the lights, or wearing a lucky sweatshirt, each writer has unique ways of setting this routine.
Some writers who work well in a structured environment orient their routine around time and place. When you set aside a specific time to write at a specific location, you’re preparing your mind and body for writing. A familiar and secure routine can help you shed any external stressors that may distract you, thus stimulating creativity and keeping writers’ block at bay.
Other writers require less structured routines that work around busy schedules. Writing doesn’t need to take long periods of time; allowing yourself to draft in short bursts between activities can be just as productive. Regularly putting words to paper encourages persistence with a project, and setting more relaxed goals (e.g., write at least once a day, even if it’s only one sentence, or produce just one page of work in a week) can help many writers embrace the imperfections of writing conditions and make the most of the time and energy they have available.
Give Yourself Breaks
While a consistent routine is valuable, it’s also important to break up your writing so you don’t burn out or feel overwhelmed. Setting timers for when to work and when to rest is an easy way to help develop a healthy routine. One example of this is the Pomodoro Technique, an interval-based time management method used to promote focus and avoid procrastination when studying, cleaning, writing, or completing any other task. For this technique, try setting a timer for 25 minutes and writing for the full time. Then, set a 5–10 minute timer for a short break. After repeating this cycle four times, take a longer 15–30 minute break. Remember that you’re in control! You can play around with the length of these intervals to meet your needs.
Need a little extra motivation? There are many apps that can help you track intervals for writing, such as the Bear Focus Timer, which is intended to eliminate phone distractions while also introducing the Pomodoro method. To learn more about other apps and tools to support your writing, you can explore our Assistive Technology eLearning module.
Save Revising for Later
One of the great mistakes writers can make is expecting perfection from their first attempt. It can be helpful to go back and touch up paragraphs here and there as you write, but try to focus on your progress instead of getting caught up in grammar and tiny details! That’s what your second and third drafts are for, once you’ve had the chance to get all your ideas out on paper. Looking for tips on how to revise and polish your writing? NaNoWriMo’s “Now What?” webpage offers resources and tools to help you chart the next steps in your creative writing journey.
Connect With Other Writers
Writing might seem like an independent activity, but community is valuable for both encouragement and learning opportunities. NaNoWriMo offers registered participants access to writing groups, chatrooms based on location, and pep talks from published authors. You can also visit your local library to ask about community programming, check out writing-related forums on social media, or even start your own writing group!
Writing strategies and routines develop over time, and it might take a few tries to find what methods work best for you. Whether you’re tackling a novel this November or planning to start a project in the future, we wish you the best of luck with your writing process!
