10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Novel Writing Journey This NaNoWriMo

October 21, 2022 | 3 min read

Are you gearing up for NaNoWriMo? If so, you'll want to check out this blog post! We've compiled a list of 10 ways to jumpstart your novel writing journey and make the most of this month. Whether you're a first-time novelist or a seasoned pro, these tips will help you get in the groove and write more words per day. So what are you waiting for? Start reading and get ready to write!

 

1. Start with an outline: This will help you stay on track and ensure that your novel has a cohesive plot. Plus, it'll be easier to hit your daily word count goals if you know what needs to happen next in the story.

 

2. Set a daily word count goal: Make sure it's realistic so you don't get discouraged if you don't hit it every day. But having a goal to strive for will help you stay focused and motivated.

 

3. Find a writing buddy: It's always more fun to write with someone else, and you can help keep each other on track. Plus, it's nice to have someone to celebrate with when you reach your daily word count goals!

 

4. Make time for writing: Schedule it into your day like any other important appointment. And if you can't find a solid block of time, just write for 10-15 minutes here and there. Every little bit helps!

 

5. Set the mood: Create an environment that's conducive to writing. Whether that means lighting candles, brewing a pot of tea, or putting on your favorite music, do whatever it takes to get into the right headspace.

 

6. Take breaks: It's important to step away from the computer every once in a while, or you'll start to feel burnt out. So take a few minutes to stretch, take a walk, or just step away from your desk.

 

7. Keep distractions to a minimum: This means turning off your phone, closing social media tabs, and anything else that might pull you away from your writing. The fewer distractions you have, the more focused you'll be. Consider a distraction-free writing tool like the Traveler from Freewrite if you have trouble staying off your phone or other devices while you write.

 

8. Write in short bursts: If you find yourself getting bogged down, try writing in short spurts of 500 words or less. This can help break up the monotony and keep your momentum going.

 

9. Read other novels: Not only is this a great way to find inspiration, but it'll also help you improve your own writing. As they say, the best way to learn how to write is to read as much as you can.

 

10. Reward yourself: When you reach your daily word count goal, treat yourself to something special. Whether it's a cup of coffee, a piece of chocolate, or some extra time spent on social media, find something that will motivate you to keep going.

 

11 (BONUS!). Have fun: At the end of the day, NaNoWriMo is all about enjoying the process of writing a novel. So don't take it too seriously, and just have fun with it!

 

Freewrite is a proud sponsor of the NaNoWriMo 2022.  Participants can find more tips from other users, a participant discount on product, and more at our NaNoWriMo sponsorship page!

 

NaNoWriMo Sponsor

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It's no secret that the tiny island of Ireland has contributed way more than its fair share of brilliant writers and poets to the canon of literature known and loved across the globe.

The island is home to four Nobel laureates and five Booker Prize winners, and has spawned household names like James Joyce, Colm Tóibín, Maeve Binchy, and Sally Rooney.

People the world over have tried to speculate why this is. Is it something in the water? Is it the luck of the Irish?

As Colm Tóibín says,

"In Ireland, novels and plays still have a strange force. The writing of fiction and the creation of theatrical images can affect life there more powerfully and stealthily than speeches, or even legislation."

So we decided to go on a mission to learn from some of Ireland's greatest writers.

Here are just a few of the quotes that struck us:

"A writer is someone who has taught his mind to misbehave."

Oscar Wilde cuts right to the heart of creativity here. What is creativity but the mind striking out of the grooves of regularity?

 

"I love communicative problems. They always introduce just enough friction for me to feel drawn into a scene, when there’s some slippage between what somebody is trying to say, or feels capable of saying, and what the other person wants to hear or is capable of hearing."

If you've read any of Sally Rooney's award-winning books, you'll recognize this device in her plots. Try the same in your work when things are feeling a little dry or slow.

 

"I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again."

Nobody presents writing truths as concise and witty as Oscar Wilde. Who among us hasn't agonized over a comma for hours?

Sounds like Oscar needed a Freewrite.

 

"I don’t ever plot. And I do very little research, as little as possible. I prefer to use my imagination. Language is older and richer than we are and when you go in there and let go and listen, it’s possible to discover something way beyond and richer than your conscious self."

Claire Keegan's a freewriter! In this interview, Claire explains that the main character in her award-winning book, Small Things Like These, completely changed over the course of rewrites and revisions.

 

"The novel space is a pure space. I'm nobody once I go into that room. I'm not gay, I'm not bald, I'm not Irish. I'm not anybody. I'm nobody. I'm the guy telling the story, and the only person that matters is the person reading that story, the target. It's to get that person to feel what I'm trying to dramatize."

Colm Tóibín perfectly sums up the disembodied experience of writing here. The writer disappears and the characters take center stage.

 

"The important thing is not what we write but how we write, and in my opinion the modern writer must be an adventurer above all, willing to take every risk, and be prepared to founder in his effort if need be. In other words we must write dangerously."

James Joyce was certainly an adventurer, and though his notion to a "modern writer" predates ours by about a century, we don't think all that much as changed. Writers still need to take risks!

 

"I don’t say I was ‘proceeding down a thoroughfare.’ I say I ‘walked down the road.’ I don’t say I ‘passed a hallowed institute of learning.’ I say I ‘passed a school.’ You don’t wear all your jewellery at once. You’re much more believable if you talk in your own voice."

Maeve Binchy's own voice is apparent in every book she wrote. Her characters speak like real people, and that makes them all the more endearing.

 

"Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry."

What a poetic way to encapsulate the experience of writing poetry. Yeats certainly knew a thing or two about using that internal quarrel to create beautiful, timeless work.

 

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