We are almost there—the last four days of National Writing Month (or #Nanowrimo) in which we have all collectively spent drinking copious amounts of our caffeinated drink of choice, binging on snacks that don’t fit neatly into the four food groups and deep cleaning areas we have been putting off for months.
This time I did something that I hadn’t done previously: I won Nanowrimo. To be fair to past Megan, I had given myself the goal of editing 50,000 words of my manuscript rather than starting from scratch. Editing is my favourite part of the writing process, and I ended up meeting my goal on Nov. 16.
Procrastination is my middle name—well, actually, it’s Vana Hailey, named after my great grandmother and a woman from my mother’s favourite soap opera, but it might as well be procrastination. Motivation is hard to come by, and it usually takes a tight deadline to get me even thinking about starting a project.
So how did I, self-proclaimed Queen of Procrastination, manage to win Nanowrimo,
you ask? It took a lot of cajoling, a wee bit of self-manipulation and a whole lot of anxiety.
I am going to share with you the lessons I have learned throughout the month—about myself, writing process and creating discipline. Mostly, I will offer advice on how to hold yourself accountable without being too hard on yourself. These notes are not only applicable during #Nanowrimo, but every day.
*Disclaimer: I have the privilege of working from home without children or any responsibilities outside of my job.
Ready, Set, Go.
I had a plan, chapter outlines and summaries. I had the #Nanowrimo website up, tracking my word count every day and giving me cute little badges. As a professional editor, I had even provided myself with an editing brief on what needed editing in my manuscript. I felt confident; ready to take on this manuscript and have it ready for beta readers by December.
Please do: When it comes to writing and editing, chapter summaries make it so much easier to go from scene to scene without too much resistance. Outlining the upcoming chapters’ main goals gives momentum and general direction to the chapters you work on hitherto. Even if you are a self-proclaimed panster and love the freedom and spontaneity of writing without an outline, I recommend briefly outlining the next couple of chapters ahead. It could be as simple as “Protagonist falls down a cliff, has epiphany” or “Girl kisses boy for first time, discovers it is overrated” or “Dad buys milk and discovers it’s out of date.” It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it gives you a place to land whilst still allowing room for your creativity to flow. It could even change on the way, but at least you were headed in that direction.
Please no: To my fellow plotters: please don’t panic if your stray from your outline/chapter summaries. We spend so much time working them out, creating multiple spreadsheets and outlines, organize lists and schedules that it can feel catastrophic when we stray from it. When I shifted from my initial plan during Nanowrimo, I would feel what I call “quiet devastation.” This is because not only am I a procrastinator of tasks, but also of emotion. Something unnamed built up, and I could feel the pressure of it in my chest fuelling my imposter syndrome and causing anxiety that made me churn out results despite my already poor mental health. Don’t fall into the cliché about being your own worst critique. You’re a writer, not a horologist—you don’t always have to be precisely on time. Everyone’s creative process is different, and fluctuation is okay.
I’ll sleep when I’m dead.
What is sleep? I’ve almost completely forgotten how to during this Nanowrimo. I seem to fall into exhaustion rather than sleep. Every day into the month, the time I pass out appears to be later and later—and it’s not always because I’m writing into the wee hours of the morning. Often, I procrastinate for most of the night, and then my lovely friend, guilt, comes and tells me that I have done nothing, and so I try to get into my daily word limit. In fact, as I write this blog, it is nearly 2:30 AM (so if this blog gets more and more incoherent as it progresses, you know why) because I had procrastinated writing earlier in the day—or any other day before.
Please do: People are productive during different times of the day due to routine, responsibility, childcare, work schedule, etc. It’s good to find what time of the day you are most productive and make the most of it. It’s okay to make time for yourself to write during the day. Make writing one of your responsibilities. Even if it’s just thirty minutes between getting off work and making dinner, put it in your schedule around your most productive time. One of the writers in my writing group wakes up at 3 AM to write before they work and have to deal with their kids. This early schedule won’t work for everyone, and you shouldn’t force it if your body tells you no. Make sure to listen to your physical and mental health when making time for writing. And Sleep! For the love of whatever god(s) you worship (or not), sleep!
Please no: I am, without a shred of doubt, more productive in the evening. However, it’s not because I feel more energized or even more creative at this time. Rather, the guilt of not doing enough during the day weighs on me and pressures me to start writing at 9 or 10 PM. Luckily, I have a writing group with many members who are also night owls to motivate me. Try not to feel guilty when making time to write between your other responsibilities. Many of us may not yet be published, and so the guilt of not being paid to write makes it seem like a hobby to do in your spare time. Just because you’re not published doesn’t mean you’re not a serious writer. Remember that next time you start to feel that guilt weighing—I’ll join you in trying.
That old cliché: Write every day
During Nanowrimo, this piece of advice almost becomes law. We are told we have so many words to hit every day to achieve our goal and win Nanowrimo. This year has been easier and more challenging for finding time to write every day. I’ve found myself with a schedule—or lack thereof—that allows me too much free time. It stretches out before me, an abyss filled with lethargic anxiety that is often wasted as I stare into space or scroll through one of the social media apps downloaded onto my phone. I use to work better in cafes and outside my own home, but as COVID-19 has made that impossible, I’ve had to get creative. I work better when I am held accountable, so I had to create a schedule for myself. Yes, this included eating, sleeping, the attempt at naps, along with my work, household chores and other responsibilities. I found it easier to find the time to write daily when I had to fit it into a schedule than if I had all the free time in the world.
Please do: Similar to my previous point about finding the time of day where you’re most productive, writing daily means being creative in the ways that create creativity (How many more times can I use create in a sentence?) Try a writing sprint half an hour before you start work in the morning or an hour before you go to bed. If you take transit to work, write on Google docs—as long as you don’t get motion sick. If you have a story idea during the day, write it down! It could help later in inspiring creativity. Do small things to reward you for your progress. One of my friends was having trouble staying motivated to write daily, so she bought stickers and a diary and gave herself a sticker for every 500 words she wrote. You know your biggest motivators; use them!
Please no: Okay, now that I’ve said that, come closer and listen to the sweet sound of my nearly monotone voice—ready? If you don’t write every single day, that is okay too! If you can’t write every day, be it time, responsibility, mental health, ability or what have you, it’s okay. Stop beating yourself up over the things you can’t help. Give yourself breaks; you deserve it and when you are able, try to think of ways to encourage inspiration. Read books in your genre. Try writing prompts. Daydream. Read fanfiction. Watch a film or Tv show. Take notes on all of it. There are all steps in the extensive process we call writing.
“Writing is writing. Thinking is writing. Playing is writing. Dreaming is
writing. Deleting is writing. Trying and failing and trying again is writing.”
– Victoria Schwab
Finally
Whatever you achieve this Nanowrimo, be it a finished manuscript or a couple of pages, be proud of it. It’s more than you had at the beginning, and even if you have nothing, you hopefully have taken away with some lessons.
In conclusion:
- No one’s creative process is the same. Give yourself leeway in discovering your own.
- Take care of yourself in the process and for crying out loud, sleep!
- Every minute spent trying to write is still writing. It’s part of the aforementioned process.
Good luck with these last few days, and let me know in the comments below
how your projects are coming along and what you’ve learned about your writing
process.
Secret Writers Guild 