Day 3 of NaNo. We're expected as writers (or crackheads) to have 5,000 words written by midnight tonight. This sounds like a pretty daunting number, but let's just break it down into small steps, and everything will be fine. I haven't quite finished with my own response to yesterday's challenge, so today will be a pretty light, contemplative day, focused on helping late-starters catch up to NaNo vets.
Tip #1: Don't sweat it. Seriously.
A lot of times, when I talk to people about NaNo, I hear this response almost immediately: "But how can I write a whole book in one month? That's ridiculous!" And my heart sinks just a little. See, the trick isn't to write a whole, perfect, brilliant shining novel. Just write anything at all. It doesn't need to make sense, that's the beauty of it. Let your fingers get away with you, and invest in dictation software for when your digits are about to drop off. It doesn't need to be coherent yet; that's what the rest of the year is for: editing.
Tip #2: Destroy your backspace key.
I wish more people had given me this advice back in the day. A NaNo manuscript should be a raw, powerful, and typo-riddled mess that shows the pure grit of those marathon typists who gave it their all, swimming through pot after pot of coffee, without giving any thought to that perfect word. The perfect word will come later. You've got all the time in the world for it. Right now, just fill some empty space with words. You never know, what started off as an awkward typo could turn into a brilliant turn of phrase.
Tip #3: Story (for now) is secondary.
You don't need to have a world-changing, far-reaching, emotionally gripping plot. For now. Again, you have the rest of the year to touch up the manuscript. Just let the words flow straight from your brain to the page. It's like a diary, but fictional, and quite potentially a lot less bizarre.
Tip #4: Go wild.
Trust me. Think of the craziest sketch or scene possible right now. Does it involve David Bowie? If not, throw him in. A time machine that runs on toenail clippings? Why not? This shouldn't be the next Great American Novel. If you try to do that, you're likely to get tripped up in the little details and around the 10,000 word mark you'll run out of steam trying to figure out what challenge your characters need to overcome next. One of the stories in Cigarettes and Suffragettes is going to involve a duck that gains the ability to read human minds, and goes on a quest to acquire all of the bread in the world. No, it doesn't make sense. Yes, the title of that particular story is The Great Tale of Nomms the Duck. I'm not kidding about letting your imagination run away with you. Not only will you be less critical of yourself, but other people will be willing to appreciate the sheer insanity that you've decided to blow up onto the page.
So, with all of that squared away, what are you waiting for? Get to typing, don't look back, and put an extra pot of coffee on the burner. You're probably going to need it.
I'm serious about that backspace key. Disable it or something.
This is Rosenbloom, signing off.
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