… or Camp NaNoWriMo, which I’m doing right now… which is why I haven’t updated this site in a week.
Here are some tips to achieve your word goal in the month (50, 000 for NaNo, variable for Camp – I’m writing a 20, 000-word project, for example):
1. Avoid distractions
Scrivener can do distraction-free writing via its full-screen mode. The text editor part is all that you see. You don’t see the Binder, or the menus, or anything else. All you have to focus on is writing.
There are more distractions that you should avoid. Avoid e-mail, Twitter, and (especially) Facebook; most of it is flashy graphics that draw your attention away.
I failed on most of this. My blog subject list is in Drive, so I was usually in Gmail. I had my Twitter feed open at all times and kept it open to check on. As to Facebook… there’s a good reason that it has the nickname ‘Wastebook’… I was on it constantly.
2. Word-Padding is Your Friend
Always write full character names. Don’t use contractions; spell each word. Your fingers accidentally space words out? Leave them in. You don’t need the word ‘that’ in a sentence? put it in anyway. Adverbs slow a sentence down? Doesn’t matter. Use them anyways.
For NaNo / Camp NaNo quantity is your goal, not quality. The next point will talk about that fact.
At first, I didn’t fully embrace this. I tried to correct my typos. I got out of it eventually.
3. This is the First Draft
Cleaning up what Ernest Hemmingway said about first drafts, they are not pretty.
Feel free to write scenes that you will cut in later drafts. They will add words now; you can cut them in later drafts.
I did this one. I wrote some scenes that I know I’ll cut later.
4. Ignore Your Inner Editor
As you write you’ll hear a voice in your head correcting your words and critiquing your scenes. Ignore it.
It’s the voice of your Inner Editor trying to slow you down. It will stall you if you let it.
I didn’t.
** update **
Here's a tip that some people use, but I don't: Some people count the words that they write for other projects in this one. I'd consider doing this cheating myself.
conclusion
Use these tricks and (unlike me) you might win.
