NaNoWriMo is an online writing event where the goal is to draft a 50,000-word novel in November. In this article, I'll explain the main strategies for reaching the goal. Typing 50,000 words in 1 month may seem overwhelming, but it's not so difficult if you apply these strategies.
This article is the second one of a series about creative writing. The previous one was a general description of NaNoWriMo with the frequently asked questions. You can read it here:
Part 1 - NaNoWriMo Challenge: draft a 50,000-word novel in November
Now, let's start.
When participating in NaNoWriMo, we'll mainly find two types of writers: planners and pantsers. Let's see what this is about.
Planners
Planners like to have everything planned long before they start writing the draft. They know their characters like the back of their hand, they have their entire novel structured in parts and they have a summary of what happens in each part (also known as outline). Although you don't have to be as rigorous to be a planner, many begin preparing the material several months before the NaNoWriMo.
Pantsers
Pantsers, contrary to planners, either due to lack of time or simple curiosity, don't plan almost anything. They sit in front of the blank page, perhaps with 1 or 2 basic ideas, but nothing more. And they let the story flow on its own. Their fingers automatically move across the keyboard as they look at the phrases that appear on the screen.
Basically, being a pantser means starting to write with as little planning as possible. You don't need to have character sheets, complex outlines, and detailed world maps to start writing. Several best-selling authors are pantsers, for example, George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood.
Plantsers?
Yes, you got it! This is a mix between planner and pantser. It's about having at least an idea and a minimum of planning done; but plantsers, instead of rigorously following the outline, are open to the possibility of change. When you write, your characters take on a life on their own. If the outline states that character A has to kill character B in chapter 6, planners would write that rigorously. But perhaps plantsers will change their mind halfway through, and no longer like the idea of character A killing character B. What should they do? Should they resign themselves to writing the novel following the outline? Is there no chance to change things? Plantsers are capable of throwing the entire outline overboard as long as they write something that doesn't contradict their feelings.
So, which strategy should you choose?
Well, which you like the most! Although my personal recommendation is that you plan as much as possible. Being 100% pantser may seem interesting at first glance, but if you get stuck halfway through without knowing how to continue, you'll feel demotivated. On the other hand, if you have an outline, you just have to consult it to know what to write next.
Personally, this is the strategy I used both times I participated, and it worked quite well. Sometimes I lost sight of my protagonist's goals and wrote pure nonsense, but the outline helped me keep the story in order. However, on some occasions, the things I had planned weren't very good at the time of writing them, so I took the freedom of changing them on the fly. It's nice to have an outline, but it's also nice to know that the outline doesn't always have the last word.
That's all for now. Thank you very much for reading. I hope this helps you to not feel demotivated at the time of writing. And remember, once you start writing, don't stop! Keep writing as if your life depends on it. Keep writing even if the world ends.
In the next article, I'll give you some tips about character creation, plot, and worldbuilding.
Previous - Part 1 - NaNoWriMo Challenge: draft a 50,000-word novel in November
Next - Part 3 - NaNoWriMo: tips for character creation, plot, and worldbuilding
