I love NaNoWriMo. I’ve completed it twice (and got to my 50,000 words both times). In fact, the manuscript that landed my fabulous literary agent was drafted first in November 2019. It’s not easy, but it’s a great way to bring ideas to life and jump into the pure joy (and sometimes frustration) of writing. I have a full-time job and I’m a parent, so if I can do it, you can too. Here are my top tips to make your NaNo month productive (and fun!)

Have some idea of what you want to write, even if you’re a pantser: you don’t want to spend your precious writing time trying to decide your MC’s hair colour. I like spreadsheets based on Save the Cat but you could use any story structure. You’ll honestly be going so fast that you’re bound to deviate from the script but that’s OK. Just have an idea of what you’re going to do before you face that blank page on November 1st.

Remember that the real benefit of Nano is finding your flow state, not writing a perfect draft. Prioritise flow above everything else: Don’t rewrite yesterday’s work: in fact, try not to read too much of what you’ve already written. it’s a timesink, and your goal here is to move forward, not get mired in the past.

it’s a teeny bit intimidating to sit down and think “now I’ve got to churn out 1667 words.” So don’t do that. Multiple writing sessions during the day are your best way to hit that word count consistently. I did 3x20-minute sessions, each about enough time to churn out approximately 550-600 worlds. I did the first session on my commute, the second on my lunch break, and the last one before bed.

Don’t get hung up on tech right now, and make sure that the tools you choose actually serve your 1667 words per day. I like a focus app called Forest for writing sprints. And I also like to draft straight into the Hemingway editor so I’m not overwriting. But this is not the time to learn Scrivener. Get the words on the page.

IMHO the only reason you should be in an NaNo forum is to say “I hit my word count” and then get the hell out of there (unless you really need a boost). The online friends who will serve you now are accountability buddies, not your chatting squad. Minimise!

If you’re in the zone when you hit your daily 1667 try to push through and get up to 2000. Do this a few times and you’ve bought yourself a non-writing day.

Yes, you can have the occasional non-writing day if you absolutely need one. But try not to. Nano works best if you stick with your routine, and it’s easy to break this if you skip a day. Emergencies only.

Your goal is to find your flow state enough so you can write 50,000 words (more or less). But there’s no rule that you have to write your MS chronologically. If a scene is slowing you down, write a note to your future self and come back to it in December. Drop in those ‘TK’s when you can’t get a description right. There will be time to polish, but it’s not now.

Make sure your family, friends, and colleagues know what you are doing, so they don’t mind when you whip out your laptop on your lunchbreak or skip drinks in the evenings. Plus, when they know that you’re doing NaNo they’ll help you, by asking you constantly how it’s going. People tend to be intrigued when you tell them you’re going to write a 50,000 word draft in one month! By telling your friends and family, you’ll be accountable to them as well as to yourself.

Let your creativity flow. Give yourself permission to write imperfectly. You’ll be surprised by the results.

Good luck hitting your wordcount!