 Contests & Activities: November 15, 2023 Issue [#12271] |
This week: NaNo Tips Edited by: spidey  
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Welcome to the Contests & Activities Newsletter. I'm spidey , and I'm your Editor this week!
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NaNoWriMo
As many of you probably know, November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo (see last week's NL (nl:12241} for more detailed information), and I'm curious if you're participating or not.
I competed NaNo novels a few years back, but in the more recent years, I've been a bit too busy. I still cheer writers along from the sidelines, and I love hearing how people are able to get in their writing every day! For me, I didn't expect to get a polished novel out of it; it was more of an exercise and to prove to myself that I could do it. It was fun, and I loved connecting with other writers in my area and here on Writing.Com!
I'm assuming that if you're participating, you already know the serious tips, like planning ahead, outlining, setting aside time to write, etc. Here are a few sillier tips:
 Write for your mood. Skip around if you're struggling with a scene. It's much harder to write a scene when you're not feeling it. There's no rule that you have to write linear, you know? (Or even relevant scenes. Write a story from the character's past or childhood. Write about their hopes and dreams. What would your character write in a diary/journal? How would they react if they were suddenly visited by aliens? What if your character is also participating in NaNoWriMo? What would they write?)
Write in something unexpected. A dinner party? A conversation with a stranger? Get super descriptive for more words. Write a love scene just for the sake of more words. Write in confusion and miscommunication between characters so they have to have a super-detailed conversation to understand one another.
Dreams! I remember using descriptive dreams to pad my word count more than a few times. 
Get really descriptive about sights, smells, sounds. etc. Describe everything.
These are some silly ideas, but I like that they get me thinking about different aspects of a story that I might not consider. They help me really get into the mind of my characters and the setting.
I think these tips could work not just for NaNoWriMo, but also for writing in general. They could make fun contest prompts, too! 
Take care, and as always, keep on writing! 
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Feedback from my last newsletter "Contests & Activities Newsletter (October 18, 2023)" }, which discussed listening habits while writing:
I tend to prefer a single song on repeat, ideally a song I've already listened to. The song itself changes out regularly, although for some of my projects I may grab a song from that project's playlist. Yes, I have playlists for my projects, mostly to find the different tones and moods throughout the storyline. Whether it's a raucous after party in a luxury hotel or rumbling in a suburb-pampered pickup in the middle of urban warfare, I can usually find a song to fit a scene within the work. Playing that song while working on that scene (or a related snippet) does happen from time to time.. ~ Turkey DrumStik 
That sounds really cool! One trend I've noticed in some books is that author's will share playlists that match their story or book! I love knowing what songs inspire writers! 
Greetings Spidey,
I do hope you are doing well today. When I write I put my beats on then put on Pandora and listen to the Tina Turner Station. That channel will play Tina Turner the Queen of Rock as far as I am concerned love her, Madonna, Rod Stewart, folks like that. I am so bad at names and songs. I do know this much listening to music helps me a lot when I write. My fingers fly away unless I'm severely distracted with life or something else or just tired as I have been lately due to health reason. I will also say that I know mentioned in my last post I try to write out a schedule for the week. I break it down into segments of time as if it a work shift but I find it helps me get focused. First hour of my writing session will be the Writers Cramp entry, second half hour will be my short story in my Genre I am working on, then I try to devote a two and half hours to my novel I am working. The last hour is divided into 2 half hour segments first half is to do a review here and the last half hour is to do some form of writing studying as I call it. I am a member of a few websites and software programs that offers a lot of great stuff for me to learn like here at Writing.Com. I do tend to have a longer writing schedule over the weekend being I am off. That being said I don't always habitually follow that schedule and this month so far I haven't written much. Been not feeling so hot with my Diabetes so I am hopefully going to be able to take the reign and got back in the saddle. I know that was a mouthful. So sorry friend. Have a blessed day my friend. :)
Yours Truly,
Bill G. - W.P. Gerace 
It sounds like you found what works for you! That's awesome! It's also good to know when you need a break. We all need breaks from time to time. Best wishes!
good question. I start each day by writing my dreams, stories poetry ideas down, followed by my journal, etc then later editing the writing, and submit WC and Fan stories. I write until 10 am or so and often the rest of the day as well. I start off by watching the morning news (MSNBC Morning Joe, CNN, BBC, Arirang TV), and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Bill Mahler) then after 10 am I turn it off, and the rest of the day I listen to blues, classical or Buddha bar music.. ~ JCosmos 
Sounds nice! Thanks for sharing!
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