NaNoWriMo is about to kick off. Since I can't get my mind off my (unrelated) presentation this Friday on Increasing mobility options for adults with developmental disabilities, I'm going to share teasers of the Tips and Tricks presentation I'm giving next week at Page One Books in Albuquerque.
First thing to realize if you're a new WriMo nerd, you're already halfway to your destination.
Most people say, "I'm gonna write a book" or "I have a great idea for a book. I just need to find the time."
You've already put your money where your mouth is (literally, I hope by donating a minimum of $10 to the WriMo cause...though it's completely free to join and participate). You've decided to put up or shut up. You know you have a book to write and a story to tell. Congrats. The worst is over.
Now comes the easy part.
1.) Go to NaNoWriMo.org. Sign up. Build a bio. Super easy Facebook bio sort of stuff.
2.) Notice at the top of your dashboard that you can click on lots of fun links. DO THAT!
- You can join "regional" aka local WriMo groups that host "write-ins" around your area. These can be great morale boosters. A bunch of you crazed Wrimo'arians getting together in the middle of the night or during the day to type out a million billion words while sucking down hot chocolate and sharing stories. What more could you ask for???
- You can buy crap tons of NaNoWriMo swag. I bought the Camp WriMo box, stickers, and all sorts of fun stuff!
- You can donate to the cause. Though it's completely free to join and participate in NaNoWriMo, it is not free to produce. If you give a simple $10 donation, you get a thank you, a halo over your picture, and you pay for 30,000 words worth of someone doing NaNoWriMo. Awesome.
- Like any other social site, you friend other WriMoarians.
3.) Let your friends and family know what you're up to. They will thank you later. Trust me. Most WriMoarians are not unemployed couch potatoes. We have jobs, we have families, we have school, have to SLEEP!
Let everyone around you know that you're going to be...how shall we say...less available??? over the coming month. Tell them you love them and you hope Aunt Edna's birthday goes on without a hitch. Because, if you're anything like me, you'll start losing sleep, your fingers will have minds of their own, and you will just go plum crazy.
4.) Prepare yourself for anything!
It never ceases to amaze me how many people DON'T SAVE THEIR DOCUMENTS REGULARLY! Personal home computers have existed for an entire generation now. And people still forget to save their work, their computer dies, their dog pees on their keyboard, SOMETHING!
Personally, I use Google Docs. You might hate Google for whatever hipster reason you want, but Docs saves every keystroke instantly and saves everything to the cloud instantly. I never ever EVER have to worry about losing my novel.
Hope this was a good start for you. I'm sure I'll post more. I'll also be posting NaNo drafts of each chapter as they are written. Keep reading and keep writing!
Labels: nanowrimo, tips and tricks, wrimo, wrimoarian