OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
It's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and I'm working on a new book in a new series which is all very exciting!
First draft material is allowed to be crap, and often is and it's meant to be so.
So don't worry! A perfect sentence does not appear fully formed on the page, and it is not followed by another one, and another, to create a perfect story in one go. That's not how writing works – but it is the myth of writing which we must dispel.
“Writing is rewriting,” as the great Michael Crichton said. Remember that, and then go write 50,000 words of first draft material that you can shape into something marvelous later.
So how do you get your first draft material from your head onto the page? Here are some of my tips.
(1) Set a word count goal
This is why NaNoWriMo works so well for people, as you have to write around 1700 words per day in order to ‘win'. Many pro-authors, like Stephen King, have a goal of 2000 per day, even birthdays and Christmas.
If you don't have some kind of goal, you won't achieve anything. I really believe that. It also breaks the work down into manageable chunks.
For a full length novel, say 80,000 words @2000 words per day = 40 days of consistent writing
For a novella, say 30,000 words @2000 words per day = 15 days of consistent writing
Of course, you have the editing process after that, but you can't edit a blank page. So set your word count goal, and get writing.
[Personally, I always use word count goals in the first draft writing phase, but I don't do that many fiction words every day of the year.]
(2) Write Or Die
The software allows you to set a goal in time or word count. I started with 20 minutes, and then you have to keep typing or it will play some psycho violin music, or the screen will start turning red, or in kamikaze mode, your words start disappearing. At the end of the session when you reach your goal, trumpets sound and you can save the text.
I highly recommend this if you are struggling. This is how I wrote 20,000 words in my first NaNoWriMo and created the core of Pentecost. Maybe 2000 words survived the culling/editing but you have to write a lot of crap to shape it into something good (at least when you're starting out anyway!)
(3) Scrivener
I wax lyrical about Scrivener all the time, but it has some cool productivity tools. You can set Project Targets, so 50,000 words for example, and you can also set Session Targets, so mine is set at 2000 words. Every time you sit down to write, you can have those targets floating by your work and the progress bar moves so you can see how its going. Very motivating.
I also like to put as many scenes in as possible before I start writing, so I have somewhere to start each day. So right now, I have 11 one-line scene descriptions that I can fill in as I go along. I will change them, add to them etc but it means that whenever I sit down for a writing session, I can start filling in the blanks if I don't know what else to do.
There's also a Compose mode so you can fill the whole screen with a blank piece of paper. Keeps you focused 🙂
(4) Set a timer for focus sessions, and use Freedom or other software to turn the internet off
As part of my daily productivity tools, I set my (iphone) timer for 90 minutes and then I write, or edit, or work on a specific project for that long. But you can start with 10 mins or 15 or whatever you can manage.
The important thing is not to get distracted in that time, and DO NOT check the internet or twitter or your email or make a cup of tea or anything. You can use software like Freedom to stop you accessing the ‘net if you really can't resist without help.
(5) Get up really early and work while your brain is still half asleep
Johnny B. Truant recently did this to write 2 novellas in 2 months (although he started at 4am some days – ouch.)
I think the early morning helps because your brain isn't polluted by everything that has happened in the day, and your internal editor is still asleep. However, this totally depends on whether you're a night-owl and your family situation etc etc … so find your own groove, but the point is, you need to schedule some time that you don't have normally to get stuff done.
[Here's another productivity tip. I got rid of the TV nearly 5 years ago, about the time that I started writing, blogging and changing my life – there's some correlation there!]
Trust the process of emergence
I heard this in an interview with Brene Brown on Jonathan Fields' Goodlife Project, and it is totally true.
Even if you plot your books, sometimes you won't know what is coming until the words appear on the page. Something happens when you commit to the page, to the word count goal and you write through the frustration and the annoyance and the self-criticism.
Creativity emerges. Ideas emerge. Original thought emerges.
Something happens – but only if you trust emergence.
You can see the process work itself through by checking out the journey of my first novel. It starts in NaNoWriMo 2009 with my first draft material and ends with 40,000 books sold nearly 2 years later. The core idea completely changed 🙂 but I hope it will encourage you to see that first drafts are just the beginning.
If you don't force yourself to get the first draft material down, you will never have anything to work with. So fight resistance and get it done.
How do you get your first draft material written? Please leave a comment below.
Image top: Bigstock Shakespeare, Flickr CC Sunrise by Pilottage
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1 2 3 … 6 Next »Scrivener definitely beats all other ways to write, it's got so many ways it can help productivity! Getting the first draft of anything on paper is the toughest part of the process for me, revising and rewriting the whole story are treats compared to it. So to avoid going mad, I need to outline, and I need wordcounts and deadlines and a black-clad undead with a scythe standing beside me, hunting me down to The End, so your advice in this post makes perfect sense to me, Joanna! Thanks. :)
I'm with you Vero, I love the editing and adding layers once the story is sorted in terms of word count etc. This first bit is a struggle though. I love the Scrivener status bar that turns green as I get closer to my 2000 word daily count!
This post has come just at the right time! I'm currently 70 000 words into my first novel and trying to push myself to get to at least the 100 110k mark. I know it will be finished when the story 'decides' to be finished but its a great motivational tool. I use a general word count and deadline to move me along (first draft by New Years- fingers crossed). Scrivener word count is awesome! I also advocate getting ANYTHING on the paper. Even if it sounds ridiculous. I have heard and read this advise so many times (and agreed with it) but It has only just sunk in for me. I think if ur an obsessive control freak like me it's hard advice to swallow. But you really CAN'T edit a blank page :)
In summary, I agree with everything here :) thanks for all your amazing advise Joanna
It is interesting how when we start writing anything, the brain warms up and eventually something sensible comes out - or outrageous - or whatever you're aiming for! It's about getting past that initial censor and just writing that crappy first draft. It's good to aim for 100k if you'll be doing a lot of word count culling as well.
I'll chime in as another fan of Scrivener, which I just discovered, and am using to draft my first novella. Love the project targets and corkboard, since I'm with you, I "pin up" all the main scenes with just a line or two, then start filling them in when I get stuck. It's much less daunting to face the laptop every day when there's some sort of direction.
I do the same Deonne, and often add more 1-liner scenes as I go - so kind of outlining on the fly :)
Cool post!
I am doing NaNoWriMOo for the first time this month. Have problem of self discipline so this really helps to be accountable, responsible and move forward.
Will also try the other tools you have mentioned.
The first novel draft will most probably be ready by December but than the harder part starts - where to find editor, whether to look for publisher or self publish and finally how to market and sell brrrrrr
Ani - we ALL have self-discipline problems :)
and do come back when you need help with your next steps - there's lots of resources here! All the best.
One other suggestion: Be sure to take some time off. Even if you're doing NaNoWriMo! It's better to plan to write 2,200 words per day (rather than 1,600 or 1,700) and then TAKE TWO DAYS OFF PER WEEK!! We all need time to relax and regroup. The downside of projects like NaNoWriMo is that they can burn you out. So, sure, you may be able to churn out 1600 words a day for a month, but THEN what happens? Instead, protect yourself. Write like a demon five days per week and then spend two days going to movies, going for walks, listening to music etc. This "down" time is what will allow you to write!
I totally agree with that Daphne - I actually prefer to do a 4000 word day and then have a few days off. I have front-loaded my NaNo days because I'm going away for 4 days next weekend so I know I will miss some - it's definitely about working with your schedule and I'm not one of those people who can write every day anyway (not fiction at least!)
Be gentle with yourselves!
Joanna,
A lot of good ideas on Getting Writing Done. I use several of them. I'd like to suggest an addition. Exercise. I find that when I exercise without the benefit of watching TV, reading, or listening to music or audio books, that I get good ideas (perhaps it is a lack of oxygen to the brain :-). This flow of ideas happens often enough that I look forward to exercise just on that account alone.
Fritz.
Excellent idea Fritz, and I agree. I've started taking my smartphone to the gym so I can write down notes as I exercise.
Fritz, you are bang on. I used to run with my iPod, but when the battery died 1k in, I found that my mind was able to 'flow'. What a fantastic cure for writer's block! Another added benefit is that exercise prevents that most dreaded of syndromes: Writer's Seat (inevitable expansion of rear end from doing nothing but write all day).
This was the perfect blog at the perfect time, as I've been failing horribly with my NaNoWriMo goals so far. Friends have been distracting me, and it doesn't help that I run a video game blog because this time of year is when all the big games come out.
I'm hoping tomorrow I'll get back on track though since its back to work, and I hate my job. The hate I feel for my job fuels my passion to write.
Gary - I don't think there is a 'fail' in NaNo. Back in 2009, I managed 20,000 words in the month, instead of the 50,000 to "win", but that 20k words became the seed of my first novel - which totally morphed from the original ideas ... but I think it's the creative effort that's important.
Having said that, get your butt in that chair and write some damn words! Use that hate :) (you know I did!)
I'm using Scrivener for the first time for my NaNo book and I'm loving it. Though I get a bit confused at times. I need to learn more of the quirks of the program. I'm using the session target and I'm loving how it's keeping track for me. A real incentive to keep writing. I'm up to 6900 words in four days. This is my second time doing NaNo. I love writing a white hot draft and then spending the time to revise and make it a book.
Barb
Great Barb! I only use about 10% of Scrivener - but I shuffle scenes around and use the Compose and the targets are great. I have a podcast coming soon on Scrivener so that will be cool.
Gwen Hernandez teaches an online class in Scrivener through her website. That's how I learned the program. She also wrote Scrivener for Dummies.
Barb
This is my first time doing nano with an outline; today was non productive but I've got about 4500 words since Thursday. I agree--the productivity features on Scrivener are awesome.
Morning writing works best for me, exactly for the reasons you noted--all that stuff that crowds it later hasn't happened yet, and I think I live by the process of emergence. I'm just not that good a planner.
Good luck all!
Thanks for these great tips Joanna! Very timely too.
I'm starting to put ideas down for my next book and I want to work quicker on this one (my first book seemed to take forever), so these tips are valuable. I can't wait to get started. Maybe I should try Scrivener. :)