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Last month I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short). It was not my first time participating, and it was certainly not my first time "losing", aka not reaching 50,000 words. A whole lot of factors played into that, mainly taking a vacation in the middle of the month. When you're on vacation and you have your child with you, there really is no down time to sit and write. Other things that played against me were eye problems and biting off more than I could chew in terms of novel topic.
I know that I'm writing fiction, so technically, the story can be about whatever I want. I don't have to use facts. It's all made up. But some part of me really wants at least part of what I'm writing to have a basis in facts, so that someone reading it could go, "Huh, that could really happen" or at least I could feel like I know what I'm talking about.
Is that an inner critic problem? Maybe. But why oh why did I choose to write a science-fiction novel?
Anyway, I used Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! to guide me through all four weeks of the writing process. You can use this book to guide you through the month of November along with all the other WriMos, or you can start your own month-long writing journey in whatever month works best for you. The book is not specific to November.
It took me longer than a month to finish the book because the last section is what to do after you've written a book. And, well, I didn't write a book. But I eventually did read the last chapter just to see what it said and bookmark any pages with helpful information.
And there is a lot of helpful information in this book! Just tips and tricks from Chris and other NaNoWriMo winners to make the most of each week, help you set goals, and help you boost your word count if you find you're lagging.
I will definitely use this book again for next year's challenge, and if you are interested in participating in NaNoWriMo, then you might want to read this book, too! Even with the book, you might not win, but at least you'll have weekly pep talks from people who have been there, done that.
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