A Master List of NaNoWriMo Writing Tips

We’re now a week into National Novel Writing Month 2020 and although I’m behind on words myself—we’ve had a family passing—I decided to publish a master list of NaNoWriMo productivity tips in hopes that it offers some motivation for all writers to keep going.

I look at NaNoWriMo as a writer’s community event, that globally unites writers. And I love to check up on other writers as I feel like it gives me the energy to keep working on my own creative writing projects. So be sure to browse the NaNoWriMo hashtags on all social media to get more inspiration in realtime.

Although these tips are in celebration of NaNoWriMo, these are also practical writing tips that you can follow all year long.

The Master List of NaNoWriMo Productivity Tips

Schedule your writing time

This may or may not work for everyone, but whether it works or not, it’s worth trying it anyway during NaNoWriMo. Take a look at your schedule for each week and book times specifically for you to put some words down. It could be a 30 minute block, or a 90 minute block. Just book that time with yourself and try your hardest to stick with it.

The more you book this time and stick to it, the more your writing sessions will feel like routine. It will come natural after some time.

Write multiple times throughout the day

Remember, you don’t have to stick to the times you booked in to write. If you find yourself with some free time, why not have an extra session while you can? NaNoWriMo is a marathon after all. It’s all about maximizing your time to knock out those worse and have a finished manuscript at the end of November. So use whatever time you can to put extra words down.

Change your surroundings (when possible)

I know we’re in a middle of a pandemic. In fact, the United Kingdom just went into the second country-wide lockdown of 2020. So this advice is mostly for those who have the ability to write from different locations. People may revisit this article in November 2021 when the world is in a better state afterall.

The point is, if writing from the same location every day is becoming daunting then try switching it up. You could go to a library, a coffee shop, a park or a hillside with a nice view of your town or city. Go somewhere that inspires you. You might be surprised how much your prose improves when your senses are stimulated by the world around you.

Make notes about each chapter

One of the things that helps me the most with my writing is my Chapter Notes system. In the future, I plan on making a video on my process for this, but for now I’ll do my best to explain it here.

Before I write each chapter, I create a separate page (in Scrivener) where I fill in a pre-written form. This is a form I created myself that’s structured like a list. And within this form, I write down a basic description of what should happen in the chapter, followed by any specific details I need to keep in mind.

I also fill in sections where I ask myself some of the following:

• “what is the reader supposed to know?”
• “what isn’t the reader supposed to know”
• “what special items does ___ character have in their posession?”
• “What injuries does ___ currently have?”
• etc…

That’s a basic look at some of the things I cover in my Chapter Notes. But what this does is help me keep my story organized, so that as I’m writing a scene, I can quickly flip back to a previous chapter’s notes and remind myself of key information. Instead of having to re-read full passages over and over.

Doing this also makes it so that when I start the chapter, I can pump out words effortlessly, because I’ve already done all of the thinking.

Make sure others understand your goals

Let’s face it, friends and family are easily the biggest distraction when it comes to writing. Writing is such an intimate skill that trying to write in an environment populated with people we know can be complete chaos (unless they are also writers).

This is why it’s important for you to communicate your needs as a writer so that other people understand. This can be a complicated conversation to have, but if you plan to find success in writing then it’s something you’ll have to overcome. Otherwise, you can follow my earlier advice of finding a different location to write in.

Listen to content from other writers beforehand

Nothing inspires me more than binging YouTube channels that talk specifically about creative writing. Whenever I watch these kinds of videos, I find myself even more inspired to write.

If YouTube isn’t your taste then I also suggest the Creative Penn or Writing Excuses podcasts. Otherwise, you can find plenty of blogs on writing, including this one.

Connect with other writers

Being in a writer’s group definitely keeps me in check. In fact, my writing group held an online word sprint just yesterday. I didn’t attend the session due to family reasons, but things like that help to keep you accountable for your writing.

Even if you’re not in a writing group, simply talking to other people who have the same goals is important. Whether it’s a friend, or a random person on Twitter you decide to engage with. There are also many discord communities on writing, as well as forums such as r/Writing and Kboards.

I’m also very open to talking to other writers as this is a genuine passion of mine. So feel free to reach out and I WILL respond if I see it.

Read More Books

I can’t stress enough how important this is. Reading is a super important part of writing. It’s where we develop our super powers. I didn’t know I could write a book until I read about 100 books. After you read that many books, your mind starts to understand the process of storytelling on a much deeper level. And that’s true whether you read fiction or non-fiction. Non-fiction books also include a level of storytelling, as well as the skill of communicating information.

Read more books, period!

Rethink your scene if you don’t enjoy writing it

Sometimes our subconscious is trying to tell us that we’re writing a bad scene, but we just don’t catch onto it. If you’ve been putting off writing a particular scene, then maybe you need to rethink it. Maybe you need to come up with new ideas that will make you excited to write that scene even more.

With my current work in progress, I remember starting a chapter which was going to have my characters relaying information to one another as they drive from A to B. But as the writer of this scene, it felt boring to write because I knew I already knew everything. And even the reader of the story would know some of the information being swapped between characters. So to keep the story engaging, I decided to add a perusing car to the scene. So a boring information-driven car scene, turned into an intense car chase where my characters were being shot at. And I was still able to fit all the information around that suspense.

That’s a basic example of what I mean. Always think of ways to spice up your scenes so that you’re not bored writing them. Because chances are, the reader will be bored reading it too.

Plan each chapter before writing it

This sort of ties in with what I was saying earlier about making Chapter Notes. Basically, you want to have each new chapter already outlined so you understand where you’re going. This cuts down on the uncertainty that stops a lot of writers from continuing to write.

But also understand that every writer is different. Some writers are pantsers, who work better without planning. They like to feel their characters and let the characters guide them. These types of writers may have no clue what’s coming next until they sit down and open up the blank page. If this is you, then it’s completely fine. Just make sure you do turn up and face that blank screen. And instead of planning out your scene, you could maybe write down a list of your character’s traits and see if this sparks any new ideas within you for the next scene.

Write down sentences in Notes when they come to your mind

I often daydream about my books when I’m not writing. And sometimes, I’m writing great material in my head that I forget before I sit by the computer again.

This is why it’s important to carry a notebook around everywhere. And if you’re not a notebook person, then the chances are you at least have a smartphone on you. Use that Notes app to capture the ideas that come to your mind so that you can add them into your story when you sit in front of that page.

You never know, an entire paragraph may come to you on a whim. And this will add to your word count. It’s in your best interest to always write down this material whenever it comes to mind.

No editing until after NaNoWriMo

Be sure to understand that the idea behind NaNoWriMo is to come up with a fully written first draft of a novel. A first draft is messy for every single writer on the planet, whether you’re J.K Rowling, Stephen King, John Grisham or Gary Swaby (I figured I’d sneak myself on this list too). A first draft isn’t supposed to be a final draft. Your first draft is never going to be perfect. Every single manuscript needs to be read through and edited multiple times before it’s ready for publication.

Therefore, the primary goal of NaNoWriMo is to pump out as many words as it takes to finish your story. You are not meant to be editing! Editing only slows down the writing process. Leave all of the editing for after you’ve completed your first draft.

Reward yourself

In order to maintain good mental health, make sure you reward yourself for reaching milestones. Reward yourself for reaching 10,000 words, and then again for reaching 25,000 words. And keep doing it. This will make you feel happy about all of the hard work you’ve but in, and it may keep you wanting more rewards.

Don’t put pressure on yourself to win NaNoWriMo

I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo many times, and not once have I ever tried to win. My main purpose for participating is to use the event as inspiration to keep me focused on my projects, in hopes that I can complete them by the end of the month. And while there are some pretty cool writing-related prizes offered by the NaNoWriMo sponsors for completing the challenge, finishing my books are worth more to me than anything else.

If you go into NaNoWriMo without the expectation of trying to win something, it eases the pressure associated with the event, and it might make you relax and just have some fun writing.

One year, I do intend to go for the official prize. But I don’t feel ready for that yet. For now, I just want to enjoy writing and finish my work. If I can do that then I’m more than happy.

If you have any questions about anything I’ve said here, or you have more NaNoWriMo writing tips, feel free to drop a comment below!