Lesson Two
Preparing for NaNoWriMo
Preparing for NaNoWriMo
Welcome back!
In this lesson, you will learn the next two tips to having a successful NaNoWriMo.
Please let me know if you have questions under this thread or email me directly at [email protected].
So, let’s get started.
Tip 3: Create a Success Plan
Success plans are important tools for writers to organize their yearly, monthly, and weekly writing goals. A success plan is simply a list of detailed actions that should be taken to achieve our writing goals. The first step, however, is to determine our three long-term primary goals for the year. From there, we can plan our short-term monthly goals for the first quarter of the year.
Creating a success plan may initially require some effort and organization. However, it is worth it in the long run. Here are five important benefits of creating a success plan for the year.
1. Clarification
Unless we first write our goals and plan which ones to complete over time, we won't have any clarity about our writing goals.
We'll just be busily working on writing tasks that have no overall organization and completion of them. We won’t have a plan in place to systematically complete our longer writing goals.
2. Consistency
If we don't write how we plan to complete our writing goals, they won't have an overall consistency, and we will wander from one task to the next. To be successful, we must work with some consistency in our writing projects. Thus, by carefully planning our goals ahead of time, we can accomplish our short-term and long-term goals by taking the inconsistency and unreliability out of our writing.
3. Commitment
We need to consistently track how we are doing so that we can commit to our most important writing goals. If we create a success plan for the first three months of the year, all we have to do is to glance at our success plan to determine whether we're effectively committing our efforts to our writing goals. If we aren't completing our three goals, we can recommit by examining our success plan and getting back on track.
4. Focus
Many times, we may have a difficult time prioritizing our writing projects. If our deadlines aren't clearly laid out, we will leave certain projects until the last minute, reducing our chances of success because the quality of our writing will be of inferior quality. We must take the time to produce our best work. This is the case whether we are amateur writers.
5. Self-Confidence
There is nothing more exhilarating than crossing off one of our goals for the quarter. It helps us to feel more confident about completing our writing projects. Further, nothing builds momentum quicker or gives us more of a sense of accomplishment than realizing that we've been successful.
Given these benefits of success plans, writers cannot afford not to take the time to create one for themselves every quarter. All of us should take the time to determine our three main writing goals for the year, and then place them on our success plan weekly and monthly. By doing this, we should have the most productive writing year we've ever had!
Tip 4: Schedule Breaks
Writers need to take time off from time to time to refresh and regroup. Even the most successful writers take some extended time off during the year. Some do during the summer, while others do in the winter. The time you take off on vacation doesn’t matter as much as that you indeed are serious about taking some time off and rest.
During such times, it is important for us not to take our laptops or work with us. If we want to read, that’s fine. But other than that, we should just rest and relax. These times are just as important as writing times during the year because these rest times allow you to gain new ideas and insights and just simply rest.
Writers may not realize it, but taking a vacation is productive. Not only may the writer get some fresh new perspectives and ideas, but when the mind and body relax, the writer is so much more productive when she returns. So, the payback is very great for writers who take an extended holiday of two weeks or more.
It is not enough to take a few days off. You cannot rest. And it is best when you take a vacation to get away from all your usual surroundings and get away from your computer, office, and laptop. It is important to just be surrounded by different things and people, and certainly unique experiences.
The benefits of going on a long-extended vacation then are:
- You will feel re-energized when you return to your work.
- You may get a few new ideas to work on.
- You will rest mind, body, and spirit.
- You will sit back and relax a bit—letting your mind wander.
- You will recommit to your writing when you return.
- You will be eager to return—therefore being more productive and successful.
- You will gain a new perspective on projects.
- You will feel less bored with your life.
- You will take care of your health—your greatest commodity as a writer.
By taking these steps, you will be preparing for NaNoWriMo in the most effective way possible.
Try it!
Irene Roth
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