(I know you were expecting this, muahaha. Keeper and her guides.)

Remember: There are many ways to reach 50k in 30 days. There isn’t a method or a strategy that would work for all. This is just a list of what worked for me and what I would do next year.

How I prepared for NaNoWriMo in October

October is preparation month but you can start earlier. It just so happened that I signed up on October. (NaNoWriMo page)

Since I had never done this before, I had no idea what would work for me. I would just have to try and find out for myself but I don’t want to dive into it unprepared. So I did what I do best: research. The best place to do that is in the forums. I read about other wrimos’ experiences to have an idea on what I should expect, what I need, some tips, strategies, etc. I think I overwhelmed myself because I thought of backing out. 

But then I realized I would always be busy, life would always get in the way and more importantly, I would never write that story if I keep stalling. I signed up so there’s no going back.

Here’s a list of tasks I accomplished:

1. I started with a basic question: What do I want to tell my readers? I didn’t have to think hard. I just had to look at my online name: dream_keeper88. I want my readers to be their own dream keepers. The story must have a point.
2. So how do I communicate that message? By choosing a dreamer as my main character. So, I opened a blank document, I wrote about my main character – what she has, what she wants (dream), and what she needs to reach that.
3. Based on what I’ve written, I came up with a plot and wrote an outline. (It can just be a list of scenes under a plot point.)
4. Having a basic idea of the scenes, I did my research. I read articles and watched YouTube videos.
5. Then, I organized my calendar because I decided to do Reverse NaNoWrimo. (Instead of writing 1667 words a day, the word count goal on the first day starts at 3346 and it decreases every day until you just have to write one word on the last day.) But I planned to finish on the 25^th. The algorithms of MS Word’s counter and that of NaNo’s official counter are different; there would be discrepancies. I don’t want to validate on the last day only to find out I am short of a thousand words. Also, I believe in Murphy’s Law. I don’t want to reach 50k on the last day only for the site to freeze on me because of the traffic.

What actually happened in November

After all the preparations I made and the tips I told myself I would follow, I still ended up with this graph:

Look at that curve. I skipped Day 6 and I paid for it dearly. It was a slow, tiring and frustrating climb. I only caught up on Day 15. If I hadn't made that declaration on Day 14, I don't think I would have reached my target. Based on NaNo statistics, Week 2 is the hardest, so you just have to keep going whatever happens. I know about it and I didn't expect I would fall in that statistic. LOL. NaNoWriMo is not a sprint for me, it's a marathon. I have to persevere.

by [email protected]

So don't be discouraged if you failed to meet your word count. Tell yourself you'll make up for it the next day, and the next day... until you get a touchdown. If you are curious about my journey or you just want some entertainment and see how I cheered myself, visit my tumblr page: Keeper's NaNoWriMo

What helped me in reaching 50k

1. Know your story and your characters. I always wondered how others can write 50k in a day or a week. How can one write so many words continuously – in one day? I found the answer on Day 24 when I wrote almost 4k words. One can only write that much without stopping if one knows what he or she needs to write.

This is where all that research comes in. You don’t just copy-paste, you read them and understand them. It’s like reviewing for an exam. Go ahead and fill that character sheet or word building sheet. But make sure that when you sit down and take that long test about your character, you know most of the answers.

I can’t write what I don’t know. When I write, I often rely on my memory. What I know is limited to what I read (from articles to YouTube comments) and experience. I’m an introvert and my experiences are limited since I only spend most of my time at home, the lab and at church. (I am thankful that our church has a band, I know a thing or two about setting up, haha). Even my imagination is only limited by what I see, feel and hear.

So from now on, I’ll engage in more conversations, experience more. Perhaps those who reached 50k so fast spent so much time inside their story or fictional world, that when November 1 came, all they had to do was write. Of course, there might be things they would only discover while writing, but they already know that much to put down 50k in one day.

2. Planners and Pantsers need outlines. Veronica Roth told us that we have to be the writer our novel needs. We don’t have to stubbornly stick to what kind of writer we think we are. Even if you’re a planner with an outline, you will still get writer’s block. What would you do? Try pantsing! If you’re a pantser and you’re stuck in the middle because you ran out of ideas, do you go back and write what you’ve written – at the risk of getting yourself more confused and frustrated? That’s where the outline comes in. It’s like a checklist of what you should write and what you still have to write. An outline doesn’t have to be fixed. It’s a work in progress. So you don’t have to restrict yourself to what your outline tells you. You don’t even need to call it an outline.

I have two (because I am OC like that). I have the original/pre-NaNo outline as guide and then, I made another one – the outline of what I have actually written, to keep track of where I am in the story. I am a hybrid- a half planner and a half pantser – I have an outline but I also constantly add new scenes. Giving myself that freedom to be flexible is one of the reasons I reached 50k.

3. Write as you normally would – at your own pace. 1667 words every day is the minimum. You could aim higher or do Reverse NaNoWrimo. You don't have to follow every advice out there. Know what works for you and do it. But remember, you have a deadline to meet, so try to be flexible to try out new things if what you are doing doesn’t work for you. Do everything within your power to meet your word count goal without stressing too much over it. 

If you edit as you write and you realize it’s slowing you down, don’t force your inner editor to keep silent. Appease it by giving it ten minutes to look back at what you've written when you're stuck, then move on. (I wasted Day 2 mentally telling myself not to edit, instead of writing. My word count took a dive. Haha.) Your inner editor will tire out eventually, knowing that you’ll edit it on December, anyway.

If you don’t want to skip, but you don't have the words to show or describe it, just write a summary or a dialogue spine. Tell rather than show (but the latter is best to increase word count; you expand the scenes by showing). Or write it in red font, to tell your inner editor that it will be fixed eventually. Both of you don’t have the words anyway but it will come later, eventually. And you marked it, so you could move on to the next scene.

If you are not used to typing in a phone, try it. It’s harder to go back to what you’ve written so you write continuously. You’d edit it eventually when you transfer it to your laptop/computer anyway. Besides, when you’re stuck in traffic or eating lunch, you can just bring it out and type. #ninjastyle

If you are not used to people looking over your shoulder, when you’re desperate, you wouldn’t care anymore. (I wasted my time switching between different tabs because people are nosy. Of all the times to get curious, it had to be this month. It’s unnerving. They would just peek at what you are writing, even if you’re doing it during your break. That day came that, I just didn’t care. I am behind word count and I don’t want to deactivate. Let them see, my goodness. If they are that curious about what I’m up to, let them see! /flips table)

If you’re a slow writer like me, try writing with a timer. It works wonders for others, it’s called a word sprint. Don’t feel bad if you freeze up like me. Haha. The key is perseverance.

If you want peace and quiet, you can't wait for peace and quiet. Something will always interrupt or distract you. Try writing with all that noise. I even listen to coffivity and rain sounds simultaneously (thanks, Serendipity!) or I pick a song from your playlists (thanks, guys!) and combine it with rain sounds haha. 

Just do everything you can so that by the end of November, you won't have regrets. You did your best, you persevered in spite of everything, you could have stopped and made a lot of excuses, but you didn't. And that builds character. You're a winner.

4. MS Word is enough. Use page breaks and the navigation pane. You don’t have to download all those writing software. Try Quiet Writer (available in Google Play). Writing in a black background after a day of staring in a white background might help.

5. Back up your work every day – save it in a usb, create a story in AFF and set it to draft, send it as an attachment to your back-up email, upload it in the cloud, etc. A fellow wrimo’s computer crashed on the second week. She had to start from the beginning because she didn’t save her work.

6. Accept this truth: Drafts are messy like a newborn babe. Published novels took more than one draft before they were published. So don't even stress about it not being perfect. You can make it readable though. It’s the reason why I never showed my NaNo novel to anyone. I don’t need people pointing out my mistakes. I know it’s not perfect. I will fix it eventually! Others did and posted their frustrations, saying how their friend said it was boring or confusing. November is for writing. December onwards is for revising/editing.

7. Motivate yourself. You know what would keep you going. Use it to meet your goals! I looked forward to posting in the Shoutout threads. I feel like I accomplised something every time I finished a thousand words. I would really look for the thread and post: "I made it! Yes!" I also reward myself. And oh, that declaration too. I didn't want to deactivate but you guys were already asking for my social media accounts as if I lost already xD There are pep talks (like that one from Veronica Roth) and ooohh! The prizes page or sponsor offers would just make you want to finish the race! 

8. Join your local facebook nanowrimo group. Believe me, it helps to see others doing this with you. 

Some Q&A

Why didn't you use an existing fanfic for your NaNoWriMo novel? NaNoWriMo gives us the gift of a blank page and I want to experience that. 

What genre would you write next? FANTASY.  I think I'll be more prepared to dive into world-building next year. I tend to write more in CC than any other fanfic - an average of 2.5k every chapter, even 5k sometimes. But this time, it won't take me a month to release a chapter. 

Why third-person limited and not first-person pov? Simply because I tend to write more with third-person limited though I honestly don't know why.  And oh, I can always switch to another character in another chapter or within the same chapter without confusing myself lol

What was your goal: reach 50k or finish your novel? The latter. But I have to reach 50k to win. So choose a plot that would guarantee you more than 50k words. I followed Grant's advice and just put down all the chapters even if some are seriously lacking in description or dialogue. It's easier to add in the middle. 

Did you use cheats or dirty tricks? Nope. Believe me, it would be a pain in editing later. Besides, my inner editor won't even let me. You are writing a novel, remember that.

Would you recommend NaNoWriMo to others? Yes. I am aware that NaNoWriMo is not for everyone. So it's okay if you don't win. You can always write a novel in 80 days or 100 days.  But just because others told you that it didn't work for them, it doesn't mean it won't work for you as well. Give it a try. See how much you can accomplish. And what you've written, even if it's below 50k, is not a waste. It's not trash. It's an ugly dugling that would turn into a swan. You can always continue writing and revising after November. The revision process would be bloodier, but hey, you can't edit a novel if you haven't written anything.

You can ask me more questions in the comments.

Keeper is still in hiatus; I will still write until the 30th ^-^ Thank you for all the greetings!