Author: elizabethannebritton

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Your Roadblocks

elizabethannebritton

Writing consistently every day for 30 days in a row can be hard. And it’s especially hard when you’re in the thick of it and have a bunch of different road blocks ahead of you. That’s why today’s post is a little different. Today’s post has a bit of tough love in it.

More often than not, during NanoWrimo we find ourselves surrounded by different excuses of why we’re not getting our writing done. Time, writer’s block, lack of inspiration, and fear are usually the main culprits that get in our way. I am familiar with all of them because I used to use them as an excuse as to why my writing wasn’t getting done.

Time

For the longest time, I used the fact that I work a full-time job as my reason why I wasn’t writing consistently. “My nine to five job was getting in the way of my dreams,” is what I told myself. That’s why I wasn’t writing as much as I would have liked.

Then throw time in for family and friends. “I can’t not have a social life,” I’d tell myself. “My friends and family need me.” There goes more time.

By the end of the day, I was too tired from all of my time being spent elsewhere that I simply couldn’t write. And so I’d say, “I’ll get to it tomorrow.” Well, tomorrow would come. And then I wouldn’t write. Again, I’d fall asleep with the promise of tomorrow in my head. “Tomorrow, I will write.”

I lived my life in an endless loop, holding out for a vision of tomorrow that never came true because I thought I didn’t have enough time. Here’s the thing, though: I had time. I was just spending it on the wrong things.

Instead of waking up early to get my writing in, I chose to sleep in until I absolutely had to get ready for work. Instead of spending my lunch breaks at work writing, I chose to scroll through social media. Instead of committing my evening to writing, I was watching television to unwind from the day. All of these things are completely reasonable to do, by the way. But they aren’t reasonable when you have a goal of writing and the spare time you do have is wasted away by other less important things.

I used time as my excuse for a while. It isn’t until I started looking at my day and actually saw what I was doing during my waking hours that I realized I had all the time I needed to accomplish my writing goals. Time was just an excuse––my lack of planning and creating time was the real problem.

Writer’s Block

If I did sit down to finally crank out some words, I’d often find myself dealing with writer’s block. “Oh, inspiration isn’t coming,” or “I’m not motivated” are phrases I used often. It was always my writer’s block that was the problem––not me.

If you’re waiting for inspiration to strike or for motivation to come, I’ve got news for you: it’s not striking and it’s not coming. The key to overcoming writer’s block is planning ahead and writing consistently every single day.

By transforming your writing into a daily habit as opposed to a spur of the moment kind of thing where you only write when you feel like it, you can easily beat out writer’s block.

Don’t get me wrong. There will be days where you maybe get a hundred words out on the page and have to step away. But that’s a hundred words that you worked hard for and pushed through for. Do not let writer’s block become an excuse to not get your writing done.

Fear of Failure

This one hits me hard. Have you ever tried something and failed? I have.

When I was in college, I thought I wanted to be a music teacher. I went to my classes and found myself very unenthusiastic about the whole thing. My heart just wasn’t in it, but I kept trying. I didn’t give it my all and I think in the back of my mind I knew I didn’t want to do it for a living. My grades consisted of C’s and D’s and sometimes F’s.

It wasn’t until a few years into the degree where one of my professors took me aside and told me that I wasn’t going to graduate on time at the rate I was going. I left that meeting devastated––I mean, honestly. I went to college and it seemed like I wasn’t going to graduate.

I remember going into one of the piano practice rooms where you could just lock yourself in. It was pretty much soundproof so I knew I wouldn’t bother anyone if I just sank to the floor and cried. And that’s what I did. I stayed in there for a few hours, sinking down into that failure.

Here’s the thing: I failed because my heart wasn’t in it. I did, eventually, graduate college. But I graduated college with an English degree, not a music education degree.

I firmly believe that a fear of failure stems from the fact that your heart might not be wholly committed to something. If you give writing your all––and I mean, really, give it your all––there is no way you can possibly fail.

You won’t fail because you won’t allow yourself to fail. So what if you publish your first book and it’s not a hit? So what if your first series isn’t a success? The beautiful thing about writing is this: in order to not fail at writing, you just have to keep on writing.

So keep on writing.

Fear of Success

The fear of failure hits me hard. But the fear of success hits me harder. There’s a poem by Erin Hanson that goes like this:

There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?

Erin Hanson

This is a real fear. Let’s say you accomplish your writing goal for NanoWrimo. Let’s say you finish the 50,000 words. You’re now faced with the question of: “Now what?”

Once you hit your 50,000 words, I recommend you take a moment to pat yourself on the back before you get after your next great goal. Because you will have a next great goal and it is going to be bigger than your last.

What excuses are you holding onto? What road blocks are in your way that you need to take a detour on? Think about it and let me know in the comment section below.

Regardless of the excuses you come up with, your writing will always be there for you no matter what. It is simply waiting for you to begin.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Ten NanoWrimo Goals

elizabethannebritton

Over the past few days, we’ve talked a lot about the five categories you should base your NanoWrimo goals on. Those five categories are health, support system, writing, accountability, and fun. For categories and goals that don’t necessarily have to do with writing, I strongly recommend checking out Angie Bellemare’s YouTube channel.

Now that we’ve thoroughly discussed the five categories, it’s time to start putting your top ten monthly goals together. One or two of your goals should be dedicated to each of the five categories and add up to a total of ten goals for NanoWrimo.

Becoming a Goal Digger

I’ve mentioned before that I used to go into NanoWrimo with the goal of writing 50,000 words. But that goal isn’t personal enough for me. That’s part of the reason why I like to break down that larger goal into ten individual goals. Those ten goals need to speak to me on a very deep and intimate level.

For each category, I think about what is nagging at me in the back of my mind. What’s an absolute embarrassment to me that I want to change? I used to not be able to walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing. No one ever said anything about it, but I felt embarrassed about it. As a grown woman, I shouldn’t have been out of breath by the time I reached the top of the stairs. Now I exercise almost every day because I made that one of my health goals. I made a decision that I never wanted to feel that humiliation of being out of breath after walking again.

Think about what’s really bugging you and turn it into a goal for the month of November. Use those strong emotions to help you accomplish them.

Be Selective

Pick your goals not based on what you think others want for you, but what you actually want for yourself. If you want to finish NanoWrimo strong, then plan your goals around that. How can each of your top ten goals drive your ultimate goal of having written 50,000 words over the course of a month?

Be picky when you’re deciding on your top ten goals for NanoWrimo. Remember: your driver for the month is to write a novel in 30 days. All of your goals for the month need to be driving you towards that.

Make sure you think each goal through. How will your health goals fuel your writing throughout NanoWrimo? How will you use your support system to get you through the month? What are your actual writing goals aside from the 50,000 word count? What is holding you accountable and keeping you on track to finish? What will you do to reenergize yourself and blow off steam throughout the month?

Be Specific

50,000 words is a lot. Especially in a month. Don’t just look at the month ahead and say, “I’m going to write 50,000 words.” Get specific on how you’re going to use your goals to actually finish NanoWrimo.

Remember to tie your goals to a number and make sure that they are measurable. If you have a generic goal to just workout, that won’t do. Write down how many workouts you’ll complete throughout the month of November. Are you aiming to workout every single day? Then your goal for November should be to hit 30 workouts. Will you write every single day? Then your writing goal should be to write 30 days straight.

These goals need to speak to you on a whole other level. Really give these goals some thought and figure out where you want to be, how you want to feel, and what you want to have accomplished by the end of November.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk through roadblocks that you might hit during NanoWrimo and how you can start planning to overcome those.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Finding Your Happiness

elizabethannebritton

Okay. So. You’ve got your daily health, support system, writing, and accountability goals. Now it’s time for some fun. I’ve seen other writers break down their reward system on a week by week basis, or when they reach a certain word count––which is great for those big milestones throughout NanoWrimo. But if you need something to tide you over in between those bigger celebrations, then just keep reading.

I used to think that NanoWrimo was a month long drag where I couldn’t have any fun until December 1st. My weekly celebrations weren’t as fun as I had hoped and I found myself burning out quickly over the course of the month. NanoWrimo is a marathon, not a sprint––which meant my burn out needed to be remedied.

That’s when I decided that every day I would do something for myself that I considered fun. It needed to have nothing to do with NanoWrimo and had to bring me complete joy. I started off with carving out time in my evening routine for reading and watching some Asian dramas. I just wanted something to get my mind off of the fact that I was pushing towards this huge goal of writing a novel in a month.

Think about what makes you smile. Do you enjoy watching standup comedy? Is there a favorite show you are in love with right now? Write down everything that makes you happy. Pick two items from that list and then figure out how you’re going to incorporate it in your top ten goals.

We won’t actually plan out your NanoWrimo day (a later post will address that), but start thinking about how you can incorporate a bit of happiness every day of the month of November. Don’t wait for those big milestones to treat yourself. It’s important to find a bit of happiness every day. This will help prevent you from burning out and will make the whole process a lot more fun.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Accountability

elizabethannebritton

So far in Preptober, we’ve tackled your health, support system, and writing goals. By now, you should have six goals in mind for NanoWrimo (two for health, two for your support system, and two for your writing goals). But now it’s time to tie all of those together with your accountability goals. Your accountability goals should be the glue that keeps everything together.

We have the best intentions with goals. We strive to follow through. We make plans to exercise, schedule time with our family in our week, and are determined to reach our daily word count. But at the end of the day, what is holding you to those goals?

Having something or someone holding you accountable can help strengthen your resolve when it comes to your NanoWrimo goals.

Find a Writing Buddy

Writing buddies give me the warm fuzzies. They check in on your writing, see how you’re doing and volunteer to meet up at a cute little coffee shop for a warm cup of tea and a writing sprint. But finding someone like that can be a bit of a challenge.

Ask around your friend group if anyone of them is participating in NanoWrimo. Chances are you might find a kindred spirit looking to finish NanoWrimo.

If you’ve asked around and haven’t found anyone to partner up with, don’t fret. Search in your area or online for a writing buddy. You can always look me up on NanoWrimo.org as well. I’m more than happy to connect.

Your Writers Group

In addition to being a part of your support system, your writers group can also be a part of your accountability goals. Set a date to meet once a week so you can actually get your writing done. The very act of setting up a specific date, time, and location with others means that you know you need to show up. Knowing that you have a group waiting for you can help motivate you to complete your daily word count.

Social Media

If you’ve ever tried waking up early to write before, you might find that it’s difficult to drag yourself away from the comfort of your warm bed and over to your cold desk where a blank page is staring at you. Or maybe you’re working on your novel into the wee hours of the evening where not a single person is awake.

It’s moments like these that I tend to rely on social media as my accountability check. I usually snap a photo of my lit candle and the time or a quick video of my desk set up so others can see that I’m doing what I said I was going to do. Doing a daily post of yourself writing or sitting down to write can help you stay on course.

For my social media accountability, I’ll be using YouTube for daily write with me sessions. I’m debating whether or not I want to live stream them or just record them and put some theme music to each of them, so I’ll need to give that some thought. Regardless, having a channel solely focused on keeping me accountable throughout November is going to help me in my NanoWrimo goals.

Write down two accountability goals of your own and add it to your list of goals for the month. Join me tomorrow for a post on how you’re going to reward yourself regularly for all of your hard work throughout NanoWrimo.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Your Writing Goals

elizabethannebritton

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.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Who’s in Your Corner?

elizabethannebritton

The act of writing can be very lonely at times. As writers, we are the creators of worlds that we will never live in. We can visit there for a time, but we are only visitors in the worlds that we build. The characters that we write may feel like our friends and our family at times, but at the end of the night when it’s time to go to bed, we are left wanting for more than the fictional creatures we have conjured up in our minds.

This is why it is so important that we have a support system in place––especially during NanoWrimo. The month of November will already be hard enough with attempting to write 50,000 words in a single month, but the thought of facing that alone is daunting. A support system will help carry you through this journey and cheer you on while you do it.

Everyone should know who’s in their corner when they step up to take on NanoWrimo. Do you?

Friends

Letting your friends know about NanoWrimo can be intimidating. For the longest time, I would avoid talking about my writing with my friends because I thought it was just a silly dream that I had. I would listen to everyone else’s dreams with amazement and wonder. I’d cheer them on saying, “You got this! You can do it!” And, at the same time I was telling them they could do anything they put their minds to, I was hiding my own dreams and letting them stay in the dark. I watched in jealousy and envy while other people in my life shined brightly, embracing their true calling while I tucked my dreams away in a drawer never to see the light of day.

I was so afraid that if I shared my dreams with my friends that they’d tell me I would never make it. That I wouldn’t be able to do it. And, honestly, any real friend would never say those things. True friends don’t laugh at my dreams. And neither will yours.

Your friends should be lifting you up. And you, in turn, should be lifting them up. There is no room for jealousy or pettiness when you’re friends. Their victories are your victories; their defeats are your defeats. And vice versa.

They are your chosen family––the ones who grew to love you simply because of you being your most authentic and real self. Do not tarnish the bonds of friendship by keeping your NanoWrimo goals a secret. Let your friends know what you’re trying to accomplish and how they can support you.

Do you need a friend to drop by with some delicious home cooked food once a week? Ask for it.

Worried that your sanity might break if you don’t get out and breathe in some fresh air? Designate a walking buddy from your friend group.

Whatever you need from your friends during this time, ask for. But in December, when NanoWrimo is over, make sure that you have a way to thank them for their support. Bake their favorite cookies, host a party at your place to celebrate the end of NanoWrimo, or even give them actual thank you cards––make sure that you give back to them and show them that you appreciate what they have done for you.

Family

Love ’em or hate ’em, your family can be a part of your support system as well. When I was a kid and just getting into writing, I used to hide my writing from my family. My parents would come into the study where we had one computer for the whole household and I would quickly shut all of my tabs. My parents, of course, would give me weird looks and ask, “So…what are you doing?”

I’d give them some vague answer and hope they didn’t realize that I was writing. I was caught a couple of times and I may as well have been caught for looking at something inappropriate with the way that I acted. My parents? Didn’t. Care. One. Bit.

As I got older, I grew more comfortable with writing around my family. I still wouldn’t let them see my writing, but I wasn’t hiding it so fiercely anymore. I would spend hours writing in different notebooks and dreaming up different worlds to explore. My family, although confused about my absolute passion for writing, encouraged my interest.

They didn’t realize at the time that it was more than a hobby for me. It wasn’t until I became an adult, got out into the world and knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted to be a writer that they understood the full scope of what I was aiming for.

While they still don’t understand where my path is headed quite yet, I know that they have my back. And wherever you might be with your family in your writing journey, you might have someone in your family that has your back. And while they might not understand your fierce passion for writing or why you’d take on NanoWrimo, you know they’ve got your back.

Open up to family members that you feel comfortable with sharing your goals with. Have a dinner with them once a week just to blow off some steam. Talk through your ideas over dessert. If you aren’t sure you’re comfortable with talking to your family about your NanoWrimo goals, then pick a really close friend and talk things through with them.

Point is: reach out.

Writing Community

The writing community is huge. In nearly every big city there are writers meetings and writers critique groups available. Full week conferences and writers retreats are available at our fingertips thanks to the power of the Internet.

I recently moved to the Charlotte area and immediately started researching for my local writers group. I managed to find one that meets once a week and just writes. Which is great because sometimes I just need to sit and write amongst my peers.

Writers meetings are also great because it means you’re tapping into a network of people who are most likely going through NanoWrimo with you. Meeting others who have the same goal is a fantastic way for you to talk through strategies and support one another.

Don’t be afraid to look online for local writers groups in your area. If you’re having difficulty finding one, try to find one through MeetUp.com.

Your Support System

Writing might be a solitary activity, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. Tapping into your support system throughout NanoWrimo to keep your head in the game is important. Know who’s in your corner, and set aside two of your top ten goals this month for your support system whether it be your friends, family, or your writers group.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Prioritizing Your Well-Being

elizabethannebritton

In a previous post, I mentioned your health as one of the five categories that will help you conquer your NanoWrimo goals. As a refresher, those five categories are: health, support system, writing, accountability, and fun.

Health should be at the top of your goal list for November because you can’t complete NanoWrimo without it. Oh, sure, you may be able to power through a cold or exhaustion, but what about your mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing during all of that?

Anytime I’ve ever tried to ignore my health just to get my other goals done, I’ve failed in some form or fashion. Learn from my mistakes. Do not go into NanoWrimo thinking that you need to power through and ignore your health. Taking care of your health during November will help improve your chances of finishing NanoWrimo strong.

Get Your Body Moving

If you have writing as your career or your side hustle, then you’re most likely sitting for the majority of the day. I know that when I find myself sitting for an entire day with no real movement, my body starts to feel restless and I can’t focus on my writing. Studies have shown that moving your body can actually get your creative juices flowing.

Every day in the morning, I have carved out time to workout. It varies by intensity from walking the dog to attending a HIIT workout class at my local gym. I do this because I know that if I do not do my workout first thing in the morning, it is not going to get done. It’s not a lazy thing or a lack of willpower––I just know myself. Come five o’clock after a workday and my NanoWrimo writing still needs to get done, the last thing on my priorities list is going for a workout.

I recommend writing down what works for you. Your exercise goal may be setting a timer every hour to get up and go for a two minute walk to stretch your legs. It could also be to go for a lunchtime jog just to break up your day.

Point is: get your body moving so your creative juices can flow.

Fuel Your Body

Something else you may want to consider is fueling your body. I know a lot of people resort to ordering takeout during the month of November just to get through it, but takeout is not usually what’s best for your health or your wallet.

I recommend planning out your meals for the month in advance and meal prepping. Both of these combined will help combat what is known as decision fatigue. Your decision making and focus should be on your writing during the month of November, not what you’re putting in your mouth or how you’re going to make sure your fridge is fully stocked.

If you already do most of the cooking in your household, then you’re already ahead of the game. You’re in the position where you already know your grocery budget, what to make that is quick and easy, and you may already have a meal plan in place that is ready to go.

For those of you who are not used to planning out your meals, take it step by step. When I first started getting my meals together, I used to make only enough for one or two servings. Now that I’m a seasoned cook in the kitchen, I try to make enough servings to feed myself for days on one meal alone. That doesn’t mean I’m eating the same thing every day, but when I make my meals, I am looking at them not only as my dinner but also my lunch for the next week.

Put your planned meals in a calendar. I use my iCalendar on my MacBook so I know when exactly I’m going to be eating. I plan out what I’m eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to any snacks I’ll be munching on during the day. Again, the goal here is to take ourselves away from opening the fridge door and wondering, “Hmm. What am I going to eat today?” and moving that thinking power towards our writing.

I want to make it clear: there is nothing wrong with ordering takeout. If you do plan on ordering takeout during the month, make sure you map that out in your plan and make the decision of what you’re ordering ahead of time to take away yet another decision.

If you’ve never meal prepped before, don’t worry. You can take your regularly cooked meals you do throughout the week and instead cook them during the weekend. If you’re worried about freshness, I recommend at least chopping up your potatoes and vegetables and then putting them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Since my weekends are usually packed with writing, I tend to do my cooking during my lunch break every day. I use a lot of meal recipes from places like Green Chef and HelloFresh so I know I’m getting a starch, vegetable and protein at every meal.

Once you’ve planned out all of your meals, you can take things a step further by getting your weekly grocery lists together for the entire month of November now. Then, designate someone in your household to go pick up the ingredients on a weekly basis for you while you write. Those two hours you usually spend at the grocery store could go to writing your novel if you plan it out right.

The key thing when fueling your body is this: keep it simple, eat foods that will make you feel good during NanoWrimo, and plan everything out in advance. Your future self will thank you.

Sleep is Your Friend

When I first started doing NanoWrimo, I didn’t have a plan. Every night, I was up until two in the morning trying to get my daily word count in. I burnt out. Fast. I was groggy, my ideas weren’t organized, and I found myself running into writer’s block all the time because I just couldn’t think. It’s because I didn’t make sleep a priority during the month of November.

Our creative minds cannot function if we’re only getting four or five hours of sleep every night. Oh, there are the few people that can do that. But they are very rare. If you’re one of those rare birds, skip this section and jump to the next.

But if you’re like me and need at least seven hours of sleep on a regular basis to keep functioning, then keep on reading. Sleep is where dreams are made. No. Literally. It’s where our minds our free to rest and can gently process what happened during the day.

Our brains need sleep in order to operate properly. Have you ever gotten less sleep than you need and then have to rely on coffee all day to get you through the day? Then by the time three o’clock in the afternoon roles around, you find yourself in a slump. You drag yourself to the end of the day, look down at your to-do list, and realize you’ve only checked off maybe one item that didn’t even matter that much to you.

Before November hits and we’re in the throes of NanoWrimo, I recommend you write down your ideal sleep schedule. Maybe you want to go to bed by midnight every night after writing for hours because you’re a night owl and are most productive late at night. Or, if you’re like me and you’re a morning person, then you might need to shift your sleep schedule a bit so you can wake up before the sun rises to get your writing done.

Write down the time that you want to go to sleep at night and the time you want to wake up in the morning. Then look at how your sleep schedule is right now.

Recently I’ve been staying up later than I’d like to during NanoWrimo. Instead of going to bed around midnight, I need to get back to a sleep schedule where I’m in bed by eight o’clock at night and falling asleep by nine. Around now, when it’s the middle of October, is when you should start adjusting your sleep schedule to meet your needs during NanoWrimo.

If you’ve ever had to adjust your sleep schedule because of time changes when traveling, then you know the first time you are forced to make that adjustment can be the hardest. Suddenly forcing yourself to go to bed earlier when you’re not tired after getting used to staying up until all hours of the night can seriously mess up your energy levels.

Which is why now, when it’s the middle of October, is the perfect time for you to adjust your sleep schedule. If you’re a couple of hours off like me, then adjust your sleep schedule week over week by thirty minutes to an hour. So if you want to go to bed at nine o’clock like me but you’re usually up at midnight, set a goal for yourself this week to go to bed by eleven every night. Then, the next week, go to bed by ten every night. By October 30th, you should be able to go to bed by nine and you’ll be aligned with your goal.

It’s also important to start setting your alarm for when you want to wake up. Then, actually wake up when you say you’re going to wake up. Just like how you’re adjusting your evening sleep routine by half an hour to an hour, you should adjust your morning sleep routine accordingly.

Mental and Spiritual Well-Being

Let’s say you have your physical needs met through your daily form of movement, your meals, and your sleep schedule. How are your mental and spiritual goals looking?

Maybe you need to meditate to get in tune with your spiritual well-being. Or maybe you have a therapist you see once a week for a mental health check-in. Is journaling more your thing? Do that.

Just like your body needs some love, your mental and spiritual well-being need some love too. Make a plan for how you’re going to take care of yourself during NanoWrimo based on your needs. Be honest with yourself and make sure you have exactly what you need.

Remember to take care of yourself throughout NanoWrimo. With your physical, mental, and spiritual needs met, you’ll find that your creativity will skyrocket.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Your Goals

elizabethannebritton

I used to tackle NanoWrimo with one goal: reach 50,000 words by the end of November. In previous years, I didn’t actually accomplish my goal and would wind up feeling defeated and frustrated by the time November 30th came around. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but each year I would look at my word count that was maybe 10,000 words short of where I wanted to be and feel so disappointed in myself.

The Low Point

The great thing about hitting a low point is that it can be where change happens. So if you’re in this place where you’re looking at November feeling sick and tired of not making it to 50,000 words every year, I want you to know that you are not alone and that this is the point of transformation for you.

What used to happen to me was by the end of the day, the week, the month––I could not tell you where the time went in November. There were full days that I would look back on and wonder, “What did I even do that day? Did I even write?”

And not knowing that is crazy to me now. Like, how can you not know if you wrote or not during a month where you’re supposed to be attempting to write a novel? What I was doing seemed so random and left me feeling like I was on a roller coaster. One day I would gain momentum and dedicate entire hours to writing. The next day I would lie on the couch watching television and saying, “Oh, I’ll get to writing tomorrow.”

I kept saying, “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.” Well, tomorrow never came. And I didn’t do the things I needed to in order to move the needle on my goal of finishing NanoWrimo.

Let’s talk about that: moving the needle on your NanoWrimo goals and actually figuring out what those goals are for you.

Setting Goals

Every day I write out my top ten goals for the month based off of a five category system––a method I discovered from Angie Bellemare. My goal setting isn’t just during NanoWrimo––it’s for every month of the year. I re-write them out every day so that I can keep those goals at the front of my mind on a daily basis.

When you write the same thing over and over again––what happens? That’s usually the thing that you’re going to think about the most. And the thing you think about the most should be what matters to you the most.

A lot of time what happens in life is that we don’t give ourselves time. We give time to everyone else: our jobs, our family, our friends––even the haters out there that try to bring us down. But the person who deserves our time the most is ourselves.

Take the time to list out what is most important to you and set your goals. I’m not talking about goals that you think would look good or society tells us we should strive for. I’m talking about your goals. Goals that are personal and actually mean something to you.

Don’t just say, “I’m going to write 50,000 words in the month of November.” Be specific, like: “I’m going to write 2,000 words every single day during the month of November” or “I’m going to wake up at 5 in the morning on weekdays and carve out two hours before work to get my writing done.” Your goals should be measurable––they should have numbers attached to them so you can look back after November is done and know exactly how you wrote those 50,000 words.

Don’t overthink these goals. Do think about them, but don’t overthink them. These goals should resonate with something inside of you and speak to where you are in life right now versus where you want to be.

For broader goals that don’t necessarily have to do with NanoWrimo, I recommend watching this video by Angie Bellemare.

Writing Goal Categories

Divide your goals up into different categories. When working on writing specifically, there are five categories you’ll need to focus on. These are: health, support system, writing, accountability, and fun. Feel free to comment down below with your notes and let me know what your brainstorming in terms of goals for each of these categories.

HEALTH

The first category is always going to be your health. This includes your physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Being a writer means you’re sitting down for most of the day creating worlds and characters for your readers to enjoy. It also means that you’re probably not moving as much as you should be during the day and not taking mental breaks every couple of hours to keep you going. I am very much so guilty of this myself.

Jot out a couple of things that you’re going to do for your physical, mental or spiritual well-being during the month of November. You cannot write properly if you do not take care of yourself first.

You also need to consider meals during NanoWrimo––this would also fall under the health category. How will you be eating throughout NanoWrimo? If you’re ordering Uber Eats every single day, write that down. If you’re meal prepping on Sundays so you don’t have to think about it throughout the week, write that down. Write down whatever works for you in terms of making sure you’re properly fueling your body throughout the month of November.

SUPPORT SYSTEM

The second category is meant for your support system. This includes your relationships like your family, friends, and writer’s group. How are you going to nurture those relationships during the month of November? And how will you let those relationships nurture you? Are you going to set aside one night a week to spend with your family doing something other than writing? Will you attend a weekly writer’s group so you can be surrounded by others participating in NanoWrimo?

Writing may be a solitary act, but it takes a village behind the scenes supporting you. In order to accomplish our big goals, we need to be willing to accept support from others. Do not neglect your support system during NanoWrimo and you’ll find that they help fuel you throughout the month.

WRITING

The third category is writing. A lot of you may be surprised at how low this is on the list, but taking care of your health and your support system will help clear any distractions for your writing. This category is where you’ll write down your actual writing goals. This could include your daily word count, what time you’ll be writing during your day, what section you’re going to write in your story––anything you need it to be in order for you to get your actual writing done.

Figure out what needs to happen in this category for you. What works for others might not work for you, so dig deep and be honest with yourself here.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The fourth category is accountability. This category is what is going to keep you honest during the month of November. For me, my accountability is posting regularly on social media so people know that I’m getting my goals done. It could be something as simple as you checking off that you wrote for the day and sharing that with your friends.

The important thing here is to hold yourself accountable in some way.

FUN

This is the category where you are going to blow off steam. List out your hobbies and what you enjoy doing in your spare time. I know that I like to read and watch movies, so I’ll need to carve out time to do a little bit of that every single day. Maybe you like to hang out with your friends or take a bubble bath. Whatever will let you wind down from being super productive during the day should go here.

Set Your Own Goals

Now it’s time to set your own goals. Go ahead and brainstorm using the five categories listed above and use them as a guide for your own NanoWrimo goals.

Preptober

PREPTOBER 2022 | Character Arcs

elizabethannebritton

You have your story and your characters. But now it’s time to start tying the two of them together with character arcs. Some of your characters might not change throughout the story, but at the very least your main characters need to have their own story arcs.

Character arcs are what help your readers understand and relate to your characters. Your writing may be full of action, romance and adventure, but nothing will kill a story faster than a lack of a character arc.

Types of Character Arcs

There are plenty of articles on the different character arcs out there, but the bottom line is you have a few different types of character arcs: moral ascending, moral descending, transformational, and flat.

Moral ascending character arcs give your readers the warm fuzzies. These character arcs are when your character starts out as hugely flawed but then by the end overcomes their own flaws through the power of love or friendship.

Moral descending character arcs tend to give your readers the chills. These characters start out okay and spiral downward into the pits of despair.

Transformational character arcs leave your readers feeling motivated. These character arcs are similar to moral ascending character arcs, but focus on turning a nobody into a somebody.

Flat character arcs are usually done when the world around the main character changes, but the main character remains true to who they are throughout the book. Characters wind up exactly where they started at the beginning of the book.

How to Write Character Arcs

When writing character arcs, you’ll want to focus on tackling your characters desires, motivation, and challenges.

Figure Out Your Character’s Goal

Your character’s goal usually appears in the first couple of chapters in your book and is typically drawn from a desire for change of some kind. For example: Ariel from the Little Mermaid wants to explore the human world.

Make sure that it’s not an easily attainable goal since you want to hook your readers and keep them wondering, “How is this person going to reach their goal?”. Obstacles in the shape of other characters, the nature of the world you’ve created, or even your own characters’ shortcomings can help draw the reader in.

Characters That Help and Hinder

Figuring out what characters are going to help your hero achieve their goals or hinder achieving their goals can be tricky. Of course you’ll have a villain of the story of some sort, but the side characters around your hero need to be thought of as well. Will they help or hinder your main character?

An Impossible Decision

There comes a point in your story where your hero will set their mind to achieving their goal no matter what. The desire was a dull roar in the beginning of your book, but now it becomes a core part of your hero’s journey.

Typically this is done in the case of an “impossible decision.” This decision puts your hero in a situation where they have no choice but to follow through on achieving their goal. If they don’t accomplish what they set out to do, what will the consequences be? Make sure your readers are fully aware of what those consequences are. For example: if Harry doesn’t defeat Voldemort, what will happen to the world?

Character Growth

Cause and reaction. This is the basis of character growth for any story. A situation happens and your character must react to it. How they react, however, will change throughout the story as things progress. Understand that who your character is at the beginning may be very different from who they are at the end.

A part of this character growth is focusing on what their lowest point is in the story. This point is where all hope is lost, there is no light to be found, and the world is about to end. Dramatic, but true. Usually this is a pit of despair for the readers to go through because they are so invested in seeing your character succeed.

Figure out how your character’s growth will help them overcome the lowest point. Have they been training the whole story for this moment? Do they have a secret power that they can wield against their enemy? Dig deep here.

Conclusion

No matter where you are in your Preptober journey, make sure that you have an idea of what your character arc will be. You may have multiple character arcs to juggle during NanoWrimo, so make sure to map them out properly to keep track of everything.

Uncategorized

PREPTOBER 2022 | Choose Your Characters

elizabethannebritton

So you have a story idea. That’s fantastic. But there might be one thing that you’re missing: your characters. The people who will take your story and carry it through to the end.

Characters are the glue that keeps your story together. They’re also what keeps the reader coming back chapter after chapter because they’re simply so like-able. You’ll have different characters, of course. You’ve got your protagonist, your antagonist, the supporting character, the character you don’t want to kill off but have to in order to move the protagonist to beat the antagonist––there are so many characters involved in story writing that it can be difficult to know where to start.

Personality Traits

If you’re writing romance like I am, I recommend starting with your two main characters first. They are the ones that the world you create will gravitate towards and they are the key driver of your story. Break down your characters according to their personality traits.

Ask yourself the question: what good traits do my characters have? Then list those out. What bad traits do my characters have? And then list those out. The key here is to have a healthy balance of both good and bad traits in each of your characters, otherwise you may end up with a Mary Sue type character that no one likes.

Check out this article for a notion called “The Minus 1 Rule.” In a nutshell: give your characters three “good” traits and one “bad” trait to make them more relatable.

For example: your heroine may be honorable, trustworthy, and loyal, but she tends to be taken advantage of because she’s so trusting. Or your hero may be brave, strong, and kind, but he’s a bit of a klutz when it comes to romance.

Context is Everything

Think about the world and the situations in which you are putting your characters. An honorable, trustworthy, loyal but gullible heroine may just have her heart broken in a chic lit novel, but may wind up getting killed in a fantasy romance novel. That brave, strong and kind but klutzy hero may be a lovable goofball in a romance novel, but might wind up messing up big time by falling in love with the wrong girl in a thriller novel.

So when you’re creating your characters, make sure you remember what genre you’re writing and plan accordingly.

Get to Know Your Characters

Now that you have their personality traits down, it’s time to start putting them in some hypothetical situations. Pick a writing prompt (like these ones) and write how each character would react to the situation. I bet each of your characters wouldn’t react the same exact way, just as people all over the world wouldn’t react the same.

As you do prompts, the character’s backgrounds will begin to unfold. Perhaps your protagonist walked to school every single day while another character got to ride the bus. Or maybe one of your characters grew up in a loving orphanage while another had a not-so-happy childhood with not-so-loving parents. Lean into these sessions and respect them for what they are: an opportunity to get to know your characters better.