So far in October, we’ve covered your health goals and your support system goals––now we get to the heart of NanoWrimo: your writing. There are many writing goals you can achieve in the course of one month, including a 50,000 word count goal. But I want you to take things a step further and dig deeper with your writing goals.
My first couple of NanoWrimo years, I was completely disorganized and easily shaken by huge goals. Whenever a large goal would come my way, I would chill out in my pajamas all day and zone out, letting life pass me by. That lack of fearlessness and total inability to plan ahead spilled over into my writing and other areas of my life. Even though I knew I wanted to complete NanoWrimo, I didn’t have any bite-size goals to get me to the end.
50,000 words over the course of a month is a lot. It takes a lot of time, effort and preparation. All of which, when I first started NanoWrimo, I did not take into consideration. As I matured, I realized that in order to finish NanoWrimo, I would need to start with smaller, more attainable goals.
Your Daily Word Count
One way you can break down your NanoWrimo goals is through your daily word count. If you’re like me and you’re starting up a whole new book, then you’ll probably want to go the old fashioned route and track your daily word count.
Figure out your daily word count by looking at the month ahead and marking which days you’ll be taking off. Then, from there, determine how many days you’ll actually be writing. Take the 50,000 word count and divide it up by the number of days you’ll be sitting down to write and you’ve got your “daily” word count that you’re aiming for.
So, for example: There are 30 days in the month. I know I’ll be taking off two days for Thanksgiving and Black Friday to focus on spending time with my family. That means I have 28 days in total to get 50,000 words written. Divide 50,000 by 28 and I have to write 1786 on the days that I do write.
Take stock of what days you’ll be taking off in November and calculate your word count from there.
Some people do not doing daily word counts. It can feel stuffy and suffocating, causing your creativity to dwindle. For those who do not want to do a daily word count, consider doing a weekly word count instead. Same rules apply where you figure out what days you’ll be taking off and adjust your weekly total accordingly.
Logging Your Hours
You might consider hours written as one of your writing goals. If you need two or three hours every day to reach 50,000 words, you’ll want to start tracking those hours.
The time where you sit down and write is not going to magically appear in your schedule. You need to take the time to plan out your day so you can get your writing done. If you’re an early bird like I am, you might consider making it a part of your morning routine to write.
I know that in November, I’ll need to be up at five in the morning every day to accomplish my goals. That’s why I’m starting to get into the habit now of not only waking up earlier, but also writing first thing in the morning when I wake up. Is it hard? Yes. Am I getting it done? Also, yes.
Think about where you can carve out time for your writing. Do you need to give up television during NanoWrimo and only turn on the tube once you’ve completed your writing for the day? Instead of scrolling through social media on your lunch break, consider that time as a chance to get your writing done.
Whatever you need time-wise for your writing, make it happen.
Chapter Breakdown
If you’re a planner like me and are getting your chapter breakdowns ready in advance, you might want to think about using those chapter breakdowns as a part of your goal. For example: day one of NanoWrimo, you might want to write the entire opening scene of your first chapter. Day two: you focus on the second scene of your first chapter. Day three: you focus on the third scene of your first chapter. Day four, you focus on chapter two’s opening scene. So on, and so forth. Each part of your chapter should be written out in full with as much detail as possible in order to not only reach your goal but also allow you to explore your world a little bit more.
When choosing your writing goals for NanoWrimo, focus on what is attainable for you. Do not bite off more than you can chew. Think through these goals in further detail and tailor them to what you need for the month of November. Let me know in the comments below what your goals are for NanoWrimo.
Elizabeth Yuen 