Discouragement isn’t a topic I tackle lightly. Nor do I think the causes and cures are only for creative people, or people going through tough times, or for those who live in one society versus another. Discouragement happens when we take things very seriously and they don’t turn out as we expected or hoped. Once we’ve established our goals or hopes, we can be like a salmon swimming upstream in our fight to keep discouragement at bay.

But I’ve found two tricks to help me keep swimming! The first and most important one is to focus on gratitude. Someone tried to explain this to me in the context of church - the power of praise - but it has taken years of practice for me to “get it.” I’ve only now understood how it works to the point where I can use it like a weapon against discouragement. Focusing on what you’re grateful for - word count, your health, being able to say goodbye to a dying friend - helps alleviate some of the pain you feel from not getting what you want - a higher word count, a better job with health insurance, longer life for everyone you love.

More than that, focusing on the things you’re thankful for keeps your brain operating in a positive manner. When the messages coming in are positive, the brain continues in that vein and will work on positive answers to the problems before it. When the messages coming in are negative because of discouragement, frustration, anger, etc., the brain will work in that manner, focusing on what’s not working. This explains part of why some days seem to go smoothly and some days feel like everything has gone wrong. The phrase “It’s all in your head” refers to how you perceive the world, not how the world may be in actuality.

The second trick I’ve learned is, when a problem arises, to immediately flip the switch in my brain and tell myself that this isn’t a problem so much as it’s a challenge, a puzzle I have to figure out. Every time I try something and it doesn’t work, I’m one step closer to figuring out what does work. This works with everything, big and small, but the bigger the problem, the more creative you have to be in figuring out how to look at it in order to avoid discouragement.

So today, I can look at my tiny word count and see failure because I am not much closer to making the world a better place through my stories. Or I can see success that, even as I was busy making the world a better place by delivering food and water to a Red Cross station to help those who lost their homes in the Southern California wildfires, I still managed to get a few words pounded out on my novel. It’s a constant re-evaluation, much like the scientific method.

Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and the phonograph, was a pro at this! I’ll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from him. And please, let us know what you do to avoid or defeat discouragement.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.

Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

Whether or not you completed an outline before beginning the NaNoWriMo challenge, you may discover that the book you’re writing like mad isn’t working. Don’t get disappointed about that. There are things you can do. If one option doesn’t work, try another.

1) Brainstorm. In First Draft in 30 Days, I give you a huge list of ways to spark your imagination. Try every single of them if you need to, to get your ideas for the story rolling.

2) Are you revising as you go? DON’T! By doing so, you’re not allowing yourself the distance you’ll need when you complete this stage (we’ll talk more about this next week). All stages need completely different mind-sets, and, when you’re writing, you’re not in revision mind-set. You can’t be in both at the same time. Concentrate on one stage at a time. This month, you’re writing, not outlining, not revising.

3) Try isolating your plot threads (visit my website here for very detailed examples of how to do this; how to do this is also talked about in First Draft in 30 Days). First, figure out what your plot threads are (the First Draft in 30 Days website has tips on this, along with the book). Each thread should unfold logically and steadily, while still maintaining tension within the story. Now, remove any plot thread completely out of your formatted outline, and re-read the outline. Without the thread, does the story still work? If it does, it’s not necessary. If it doesn’t, then it needs to be there. Maybe it just needs to be somewhere else. Try putting that thread into a different spot within the outline. Decide where it fits best. When you isolate a particular plot thread in your outline, you should be able to see any holes. Holes tell you exactly where the problems are so you can correct them.

4) Ask yourself if you have enough conflict and if your characters well developed enough to be coming alive? Are your characters cohesive with your plot and setting? Lack of cohesion between these three elements may produce a roadblock in your writing, not allowing you to go forward with a book. If your characters don’t fit the plot and setting you’re putting them in, it will feel like you’re trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. Design characters based on your plot—their strengths, weaknesses, and goals and motivations must match the situations you’re putting them in just as they need to fit into their settings. Both First Draft in 30 Days and From First Draft to Finished Novel have chapters devoted to evaluating all of these things. Review these books for tips. Also, I highly recommend that you complete the Story Plan Checklist in From First Draft to Finished Novel (you can find one here.), which can really put the cohesion of your story in black and white perspective. Completing this checklist can be done in just a couple hours, which will keep you on your NaNoWriMo writing schedule.

5) Are you dealing with middle-of-the-book slump? You may need another story spark. A story spark is something intriguing that ignites a story scenario and carries it along toward fruition. A story has to have more than one of these sparks to sustain it. A story spark must infuse and re-infuse the story, and a new one must be injected at certain points in order to support the length and complexity of your story. Most novels up to 75,000 words have three story sparks: one for the beginning, one for the middle, and one for the ending. The beginning story spark sets up the conflict. The middle story spark (or possibly more than one middle story spark) complicates the situation. Finally, the ending story spark resolves the conflict and the situation.

Any “slump” or “sag” is a wake-up call that your deflated story is crying out for another spark to enliven it. Take what you’ve already developed with your initial spark and throw in some shocking, intriguing scenario that’ll have your characters running at full-speed again and will progress the story. Near the end of the book, you need another spark to enlighten the situation for the final course. The final spark doesn’t exist solely to enliven the plot, though it probably will inadvertently. Soon after the third spark, you’ll reach a point where all of your character and plot conflicts need to tie up logically.

6) There will be times that you’ll outline a book and even write one that doesn’t quite come together. The question at that point becomes, is/was this story ready to be written? You’ll know it’s not if you keep hitting roadblock after roadblock in trying to move forward. Set it aside. This will be much harder if you’re trying to complete the NaNoWriMo challenge, so save it as a last option. At times, a project will require years of shelf-time, but remember that you truly do have to revise your idea of the story. You’ll be surprised at how your mind will continue to work on a story when it’s on a low flame for a long period of time. If the story isn’t working, try to figure out what’s wrong. If you can’t come to firm conclusion as to why it’s not working, see if you can figure out what’s right about the story. Then tear away everything else and start from scratch with it.

http://www.karenwiesner.com

To start, I apologize for posting this blog late. I have excuses (my elderly dad and his issues, moved in with me this week, as well as a few other one-time events, all conspiring to keep me away from the computer), but I’m a professional. That means I make my deadlines. So, no excuses, just an apology.

The words aren’t coming! How am I ever going to write 50000 words!”

You might be screaming those words (mentally or audibly) right about now. I know I am. But I’m determined to not give up. I had a similar experience last year, but made it to the finish time with 50000 words. You can too.

How? How do you keep from getting discouraged? Here are a few of my thoughts and suggestions. I hope at least one of them gives you the push you need to, “Go, go, go!”

Get plenty of rest and food. A little extra caffeine, a few hours less of sleep, slightly less time spent at sit-down meals can carve out some extra minutes for writing, but don’t go overboard! Don’t give up the energy rest and food provide, thinking you can push through the fog of sleeplessnenss or sustain yourself on coffee and bagels for a month. It can’t be done! You need real food and real sleep, not counterfeits.

Usually, though, it’s not the physical that keeps me from finishing a NaNo novel. There just comes a time when the ideas start to dry up. There are lists on the NaNo forums of things you can do to your characters and ways to get the plot moving, but I’m not sure going there for help is a good idea. Maybe after November, for ideas for next NaNo, but not now. If you are so far behind that you are getting discouraged, surfing the forums will probably just add to the discouragement. Instead, find ideas from other sources.

I keep a small container of wooden and plastic figures near my desk. When I get stuck, I pull out 2 or 3 without looking. Then I write something that incorporates those. An elephant, a car and a spotted alien looking bug can sure make for an interesting scene. Sometimes one or the other of the items don’t make it into the scene or the scene goes off in a totally different direction from the objects I selected. That doesn’t matter. The goal of the exercise is to stimulate an idea. Any idea.

During the day, when not writing, add to a list of random events (car wreck, heart surgery, getting the mail, falling off a horse). When you are stuck and don’t know what to write, pick something from the list. A variation is to pick newspaper headlines and write on of them into your story. There are numerous books of idea-starters. A few I have used in the past are, “Story Starters,” by Lou Willett Stanek, “Writing Without the Muse,” by Beth Baruch Joselow and “Everyday Creative Writing,” by Michael C. Smith and Suzanne Greenberg.

You could even write about your discouragement, giving it to one of the characters. Before you know it, you might have a new thread, and 5,000 more words, for you magnum opus. Or Have a character do whatever it is that you want to do next month, when this project is finished.

Attend a write-in or get together with another writer. Depending on your personality, this may or may not motivate you. Even if you are one of those people who can’t write with others around, and you end up only talk about writing the entire time, it could get you excited about you story again. If you feel brave, you could trade stories and spend 10 or 20 minutes writing on your friend’s while s/he writes on yours. That is sure to change something. It might be just what you need to reignite your own passion for the story.

I found an interesting site, Dr. Wicked.com’s writing lab http://lab.drwicked.com . He has a couple of useful widgets and applications that might help you toward your goal. (Much more useful than wandering the NaNoWriMo forums for an hour).

There are a lot of different things you can do, but they all have a common thread. You must write! There is just no getting around it. Whether you are in NaNoWriMo doldrums, having a routine day, or even, like me, in the midst of major life changes, it’s all the same. If you don’t write the story, the story won’t get told.

So . . . “Get to writing!”

Have you noticed we added a calendar page above?  Stephanie, Kitty, and I want to be an encouragement to the writing community by providing informative and encouraging blogs. We thought it would help if we showed you all where we are headed.

November. This month is all about NaNoWriMo, but even if you are not trying to write an entire novel in a month we hope you find these blogs helpful in reaching whatever goal you have.

December. What? No goals? Well then stay tuned because in December we are going to be running a series on goal setting, leading up to the inevitable New Years Resolutions. This will be the month to dream about the writing career you want. We’ll work together to figure out the steps to help you get there.

January. Now, if you are participating in NaNoWriMo, take a break from your novel in December. Plan to work on something else to clear your mind, because in January we’ll be running a blog series on Revising and Editing. You’ll want to have fresh eyes for that to see what you really wrote instead of what you think you wrote! To help us whip our NaNo novel (or other work) into shape, Jordan E. Rosenfeld, author of “Make A Scene” will be our weekly guest blogger.

February. We are working on a super fun and special month. Don’t want to give anything away until we have it all settled, but boy, are we excited about it.

Lastly, I leave you with some Week 2 NaNo encouragement from p.29 of “Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life” edited by Barnaby Conrad and Monte Schulz. On our NaNo journey, we can apply this quote from Danielle Steele:

“The only part of the process I am absolutely sure of is the discipline involved. For me writing is a job, a career….I don’t wait for inspiration to come at three in the morning. I sit down with my notebook and my pen at nine in the morning and force myself to sit there, working on an idea for hours.”

See? It’s not just us Wrimos that have to force ourselves to write! Keep at it and let us know if you have any other topics or guests that you would like to see on our calendar.

Introductory note: Last month I (Stephanie) took a workshop (No Plotters Allowed) led by bestselling authors Patti Berg and Allison Brennan that offered strategies for writers who develop and discover the story they want to tell by writing it. I felt like I’d met long-lost soul-mates! Today you get to meet Patti. I hope her insights encourage you as much as they do me.

         A long, long time ago, when I was much younger and much more naïve about the ins-and-outs of the writing world, my first book, ENCHANTED, was published. Ten years and thirteen books later, Chris Baty’s “No Plot? No Problem!” hit bookstores. Not surprisingly, we share some similar philosophies about writing, in particular: “You don’t need a plot before you write a novel…” That sentiment is shared by a lot of novelists.

         There are, however, a lot of writers who disagree with Chris’s statement. Many writers think that people who write by the seat of their pants, people who “Just Do It” are out of their ever-lovin’ minds. They will tell you again and again that the only way to write is to have a detailed outline and a rock solid plot before you sit down to write word one.

Personally, I don’t believe in rules and you’ll rarely hear me tell another writer how to do anything, but I do want to tell you this: The only right way to write is your way, whatever way that works best for you–as long as you write.

         Once upon a time, Ernest Hemingway, one of the most respected writers of all time, said, “There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.” The way I see it, if Ernest Hemingway says there is no rule on how to write–then there are no rules on how to write! His word is the gospel.

         Of course, it’s quite easy to let other writers influence you in all the wrong ways, and believe you me, I’ve listened to them far too often.

         I’ve tried to write every way imaginable. I’ve agonized over detailed outlines that have taken me weeks to write. I’ve created extremely detailed character sketches, mapped out the “journey” for my hero and heroine, come up with goals, motivations and conflicts, and studied every book on writing that I could possibly get my hands on, only to have all of the so-called rules cramp my style. They’ve tied my stomach and my brain and my muse up in knots and made it physically impossible for me to write. After following all these exercises in futility, I’ve ended up grasping my aching head and asking how on earth I ever managed to sell a book because according to all the people dishing out rules on how to write, I’m a hack.

         But you know what? I sold my first book–ENCHANTED–on my own, without an agent, not too long after joining RWA in 1992–before getting stifled by all the rules. I wrote ENCHANTED because it came from my heart. I was told it would never sell–but I sold it to the second editor that read it (after it was recommended to her by the first editor to read it!). I wrote that book while caught up in my passion for writing.

         I’ve had thirteen other books published since then and six of those books have each spent numerous weeks on the USA Today bestseller list. So maybe the fact that I write by the seat of my pants isn’t such a bad way to write after all.

         Every writer (and that includes you!) must write your own way. Plot. Don’t Plot. It’s really nobody’s business but your own. The only thing that truly matters is that you write!

         Although I’ve never taken part in NaNoWriMo, and haven’t read all of “No Plot? No Problem!”, I love Baty’s philosophy of writing toward a deadline, having a goal of writing 50,000 words in one month. Baty doesn’t expect you to write the Great American Novel in that one month. He knows that you’re probably going to write crap. NaNoWriMo is about quantity, not quality. The NaNoWriMo website says that this “kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.”

         Taking risks is so important if you want to sell. Lowering your expectations–especially in the draft stage–is vitally important, too. If you’re too critical as you write, you’ll never get anything written. You could spend an hour searching the thesaurus for just the right word, tweaking and editing every sentence, every paragraph. In the end, you’re not making progress. In fact, you could be writing grand and glorious prose that you may end up axing when you get to the end of your book, because those words no longer work in your story. Think of all the time you’ll have wasted.

         I admit that I agonize over words and sentences and paragraphs, but when I get close to deadline, my fingers fly. I let my brain loose, let it do its own thing. It’s amazing what I can create when I stop worrying too much and just let go.

         That’s what you’re aiming for in NaNoWriMo! Let yourself go and see where you end up.

         Louis L’Amour, one of the most prolific writers of all time, was one of those writers who (like Chris Baty and me) believed you didn’t have to have a plot before writing a novel. L’Amour said, “If you’re going to be a writer, the first essential is just to write. Do not wait for an idea. Start writing something and the ideas will come. You have to turn the faucet on before the water starts to flow.”

         Amen!

         Now go forth and write–the NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words in one month is a fabulous goal to shoot for. Just make sure you don’t stop there. Once you’ve completed that first draft, go back to the beginning and polish it, expand it, and put emotion and passion on each page, because one of the true joys of writing is sharing your stories with others, making them laugh, cry, and sigh as they read your words. And you’ll have to polish that draft before you can sell it.

         Good luck!

A romantic at heart, USA Today Bestselling Author Patti Berg began penning passion-filled stories while in high school, when she fell in love with Paul McCartney. Thirty years later she sold her first novel to Berkley, a light paranormal titled ENCHANTED. Since then she’s had twelve other novels published, seven of which have been USA Today bestsellers. Patti is the immediate past president of PASIC, the Published Authors’ Special Interest Chapter of Romance Writers of America. She lives in the farthest reaches of northern California with her husband of thirty-two years and Barkley, their huggable Bernese Mountain Dog.

You can read more about Patti on her website at www.pattiberg.com

See this smiley face? Doesn’t it look like it’s trying too hard to look happy, almost like it’s gritting its teeth to keep the happy face going?

Yeah. That’s me during week two of NaNo. I’m feeling positive. Really. Excited even. Honest. Despite the fact that I’m supposed to have written 20,000 words by the end of today and I’m at… uh… just under 4,000.

But here’s the thing. Life itself kind of talks to you if you’re listening. More than ever, this has been a month of needing to try not to focus on the negatives – in many areas of my life. On Saturday, some of my writing friends from my local RWA chapter encouraged me out of the blue to keep going with the type of story I want to write, despite what I think I hear about what is selling.

Sunday, the worship leader at church reminded us that while we never feel we have everything we want or even what we think we need, there is so much to be grateful for. And the act of gratitude itself helps quiet those feelings that you need what you don’t have.

Then yesterday my gorgeous, fabulous husband sent me an Instant Message asking if I was okay, that my email sounded sad. I was sad – I hadn’t gotten any writing done yet, and had just found out our car needs $500 in repairs. But what a romance novel hero thing to do – to both notice and to act!

So I started thinking… First of all, that husband…sigh. He’s a keeper. His good heart made me want to keep my tired self at the computer a little longer and get some work done on my novel despite all else. After all, all my heroes are built around him! 

Second, the encouragement God sends my way is undeserved, unasked for, and totally uplifting! LOL! I am grateful. For a lot. Right now, during the second week of NaNo, I’m grateful that with everything else going on in my life, I am nearly 4,000 words ahead of where I would otherwise be if I weren’t trying to hit a goal. And I’m even more grateful for those friends – people I don’t even know very well yet – who told me Saturday to just do it. Write the book of my heart regardless, and watch what happens! Thanks so much for that Nancy, Heather and Michelle!

Lastly, we’re only 40% of the way into our goal. We still have more than half the month left to kick some storytelling butt! We may look like this smiley face while we’re doing it – teeth clenched and eyes wide to keep the smile in place – but we can do it! Look around and find the things in life that are encouraging you, and focus on those things. And if you have time in between getting your word count up, share with us the things that have been an encouragement to you!

Never compare yourself or your output to another writer. You’re moving forward every single day and accomplishing something. That is productive.

Whether or not you completed an outline before you started the NaNoWriMo challenge, or you only have only a partial outline or guideline to work with, the act of writing can produce magical results. I consider my outline the bare bones of my stories. There’s little flesh on them until I start writing, and suddenly it’s like the flesh is being knitted over those bones right before my eyes, becoming solid…becoming alive. I remember outlining Renegade’s Rose and Undercover Angel, Books 6 and 7 of my Incognito Series. With both of these projects, I couldn’t finish the outlines, and both outlines were very sparse on details. I knew basically what I wanted to do with the stories and I gave myself scene-by-scene guidelines, but I couldn’t outline any part of the last several chapters for either project. I set these aside for as long as I could after the outlines were mostly complete. When I came back to them, I was able to fill in a few more of the holes I’d left gaping. But I still wasn’t able to complete the final scenes in either outline before I started writing. In both cases, that magical element that almost always takes place when writing a story happened. The characters became breathtakingly alive, the tension from the plot and relationships rose, and the situation began to unfurl clearly. In both cases, the holes closed up as I wrote (due, in part, because I knew the full course of the external plot conflict, internal conflict and goals and motivations, and they were cohesive) and I knew exactly how each book needed to end because I’d gotten to know the characters and story so well through the act of writing.

The act of having outlined a book should give you a very clear idea of your story, but this doesn’t always happen fully. Writing it will add another level of clarity, just as revising it will. Sometimes you have take a leap of faith by going ahead with outlining and writing a book even if you’re not 100% sure it’s all lined up for you to connect the dots. Remember, abandoning a book is the absolute worse case scenario. Most authors won’t do it unless they have absolutely no other choice. If a project takes several revisions or even overhauls, it just means you’ve thought it all through that much longer. There is no failure in setting a story on a backburner while your subconscious mind goes to work trying to figure out how to make it stronger.

http://www.karenwiesner.com

All the NaNo WriMos are off and writing! Even those who started late, who had busy weekends or weekdays and have struggled and scraped for every writing minute have written something on their NaNo novel. I’m sure of it. You have, too, haven’t you? Haven’t you?

What? You aren’t sure you can do this? Sure you can! Just keep writing. Write. Write. Write! Write anything. Delete nothing! That’s right. Do not delete. Do not edit. Leave it all in your document. Every word you write, even if you know it is trash. Even if you know you don’t want to use it. The goal this month is to write 50,000 words on your story. The goal is NOT to write a polished story. The goal is not to finish, edit or revise scenes. That will all come later. Now is the time to rack up those words. So . . . Write. Write! WRITE!!!

         In the NaNo publicity, that part of you that wants to edit and change and polish is called the Inner Editor. You are encouraged to shove that editor into a box. This is good advice. I know that doesn’t seem so to many of you. It bothers you too much to totally get rid of that editor. I understand. And I agree. It isn’t good to not have any sane input, is it? It isn’t good to write long, run-on sentences and excess verbiage. We need to pay attention to grammar, syntax, plot and other issues. If we don’t the story won’t . . .

         Stop! Think about it! Remember the goal for this month. Now is not the time to edit. Now is the time to rush through your story landscape, dropping scenes, pitching dialogue and strewing description willy-nilly through your manuscript. Now is the time to accumulate those words. 50000 of them!

         I have a suggestion about that part of you that wants to edit and polish. That part of you that gets stressed just thinking of the rough pages of words accumulating on your computer or in your notebook. That part of you that is important, necessary, even crucial to creating a good story. Instead of calling it Editor, let’s rename it. Let’s call it Watcher. And let’s make a deal with Watcher. Watcher can watch all s/he wants this month, make mental notes and even cringe at your overuse of adverbs. Watcher cannot disturb you with those notes, thoughts or, most especially, not with those cringes. Watcher must be quiet and watch. That is Watcher’s job this month. Watcher does not have access to your computer, your pen or your notebook. (Unless s/he can be satisfied with you writing a quick note to yourself about his/her observations to add to the wordcount.) All Watcher can do is watch. Then when December (or January or May) arrives, Watcher can re-enter the office, put on that Editor hat and help you turn your diamond-in-the-rough into a beautiful, multi-faceted jewel that both of you will be thrilled to see published.

         This could be the start of a grand, symbiotic relationship. Watcher, Writer and Editor. November is the month for Writer/Watcher. So give Editor the month off and don’t invite him back until after December 1.

Week One of NaNo may have the mavericks, rebels, pantsers, and those that throw caution to the wind suddenly wishing they had a plan for the next four weeks. Fear not, because it is not too late to take a moment to ask yourself, “What is my goal for this month of writing?”

You should have goals for the dreams you want to achieve. Having clear goals will help you find balance, not over commit yourself, and recognize that your dreams are attainable. Goals are a gift, not a burden to weigh down your creative freedoms. You are an amazing, creative person and you have all these amazing dreams. Without the focus of goals you won’t have a clear picture of what actions are best suited to making those dreams come true.

I am a big fan of Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People). I was raised with the simple wisdom that Carnegie used to turn himself and others into successes. Just remember “Goals Are SMART” and here’s why:

S- Specific. You should identify exactly what you want to achieve and set accurate goals. “I want to write” is not as specific as “I want to write an urban fantasy novel.”

M- Measurable. If you can’t measure it, how will you know when you have reached it? For the sake of NaNoWriMo this is clear. “I will write 50,000 words.”

A- Achievable. This is not a judgment or measurement of your talent. It is a realistic look at your resources and the demands on your time and talent. I have a four year old, and a big family that I make a priority in my life. I am a slow typist, and only write for a few hours four nights a week. It is not realistic of me to think that I can write a book a month. I refuse to set myself up for failure. I deserve to achieve and succeed.

R- Realistic. Ask only what is in your power to make happen. Be honest with yourself about your talent and personality. It is unlikely that your first novel will reach the NY Times Bestseller list and out perform JK Rowling. This is dependent on so many factors that are beyond your control that you aren’t being fair to yourself. You should focus on goals that are within your power to control.

T- Time bound. I was a sprinter in high school. I didn’t just run till I got tired of running. I ran toward the finish line, toward the euphoric giddiness that I knew I would feel when I got there before everyone else. To avoid procrastination and maintain motivation you should have a time frame factored into your goal.

(I cannot find an original source for this system. I first learned of it through Dale Carnegie books and workshops, my dad, and my husband. I recommend all things by Carnegie.)

Use the SMART system to clearly identify your goal. Write it on a 3×5 card. Post it by your computer. Use it for motivation and to create focus. “When the going gets tough, the tough get SMART.”

Happy writing to all during this challenging month. If you found this post helpful, you will find this info and more in my November online class: “Get It Together - Write Now!” Managing the Time to Write with Kimberly Napoli    http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassNov08.html

Routines for writers is a website dedicated to helping writers write more. We believe that if we set up routines for all aspects of our writing we will get more done, automatically.

In terms of my writing year, NaNoWriMo is the beginning. Writing this novel sets the pace for the rest of the year.  I know that if I routinely participate in NaNo, I’ll have at least one new novel a year.

Last year looked like this:

November—write like mad.

December through September—complete and polish the NaNo novel.

October—market the NaNo novel and start planning the next one.

November—repeat.

Going into NaNo this year, my original goals were to be more organized (thanks to Karen Wiesner and her blogs) and to “win” by getting those 50,000 words down.

BUT, I can tell already that this year my NaNo novel will not take the whole year to wrap up. It’s starting off more organized and better written. I could only be talking big, but I think there is something to my routines. My writing muscles are stronger this time around.

So, as we reach the end of NaNoWriMo ’08 Week 1, I suggest we add another goal of noticing our writing routines.

Pay attention to how long it takes you to write a scene, a chapter, or get a certain word count. Are some days better than others? Can you kick out 3000 words on a Saturday, but only 800 on Monday?

You can make NaNoWriMo so much more than getting a novel written. If you are serious about writing you need to think beyond November 30^th. Make it your goal to set up routines that you can carry into the rest of the year. Start by noticing your writing patterns and turn these into routines.

I wanted to do 2000 words a day so I could take Sundays off. I started off well, then fell behind and decided that the 1667 a day would be a more reasonable goal (who am I to argue with Chris Baty, Mr. NaNoWriMo himself?)

Then WEDNESDAY hit. I forgot about my Wednesdays. Busiest day of my week. When it came time to write I was too drained….but I had that goal!!! So I made myself sit and stare at the computer and type something like five sentences an hour. Ugh.

Then I remembered SATURDAY. That’s my day to blast through the word count. I have to protect and make Saturday a must-have-solitude-no-excuses writing day. I didn’t have to make myself stay up Wednesday until the wee hours after all. I decided to get some sleep and catch up later.

How about you? Do you see a pattern to your writing this week? Do you need to make some adjustments going into Week 2? Think about it and write down what your routines are: times, places, coffee flavor, music, etc. Then when your writing seems to be off, look at your routines and see what needs to change.