It's getting close to that time of year. No, not the holidays, November is National Novel Writing Month and this year I plan on doing more than just finishing. This year I plan on writing a novel that will be good enough to publish. I have been writing fiction regularly for five years and actively working to improve my skills. I think I'm finally ready.
All I need now is a story. I've read No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty, but I think one of the problems I've had in the past is that I don't have a plot laid out ahead of time. So this year I'm planning on spending the month of October plotting, writing character sketches, and generally getting ready for November.
One of the ways I will be preparing for NaNo is by doing what some people have called "word wars" where you write for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. The only object is to write as many words as possible in these small sprints. The backspace is not allowed and you don't get to edit anything until afterwards. My goal for the 31 days of October is to write 1,000 words per day during the week and 4,000 words per day on the weekends. We'll see what we get.
Are you planning to do NaNoWriMo? If you are or you know of some similar challenge (NaNoFiMo - Novel Finishing Month and NaNoCoMo Noivel Continuing Month both come to mind) please post a comment here and tell us about it.
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