I have taken part in NaNo every year since 2004, but only ever met the challenge that first year. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. Founded by Chris Baty in 1999 in San Francisco, the challenge has grown from regional to national to international. People around the world engage in mini-contests along the way, to see who’s pumping out more words per day. Some of the friendly challenges are between regions – for example, Toronto usually teams up against another city to see which side will crank out more prose.

Coffee, as mentioned, is a staple. However, my personal NaNo choice is hot chocolate with cayenne pepper and cinnamon. Mmmm.

Some participants have detailed plans and character sketches all set up before the starter gun goes off at 12:01 on November 1. I never do – which might explain why I almost never finish the contest. At least this year I’m going into it with a vague idea – better than most years!

To get an idea of how to survive and thrive in the NaNo challenge, pick up a copy of Chris Baty’s book, No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days. National Novel Writing Month is not impossible – it just takes some planning, caffeine and dedication. And a touch of insanity helps, too.

Anyhow, you can keep an eye on my progress that way, in case I’m out of the posting loop for a day or two.

Good luck to all the NaNo-ers out there!

Unfortunately though it means I haven’t put a single word down for NaNo. Sigh. Don’t despair! I know I shall catch up soon!

There is one problem though – I haven’t the slightest clue how to write chick lit. One of the gals on the NaNo forums recommended a book called Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel, which I am absolutely going to pick up this week.

From the Table of Contents:

Part II: Where Do I Sign Up? – How to Write a Chick Lit Novel
Chapter 5: What’s it All About? – Premise
Chapter 6: From Ducklings to Divas – Characters
Chapter 7: There’s a Story in Here Somewhere – Story
Chapter 8: Driving With a Map – Outlining
Chapter 9: Joyriding – Free-form Writing
Chapter 10: Underwire for Your Novel – Story Structure
Chapter 11: Whose Story Is This, Anyway? – Point of View
Chapter 12: Being You and Loving It – Voice
Chapter 13: Warning: Period of Time When Your Life Will Necessarily Suck – Revisions

It even goes into the whole query letter process, which I doubt I will need for a NaNo book, but you never know! And besides, for these shoes I would consider doing all the necessary revisions!

PoeWar has a bit of a how-to (mostly it’s a how-to not panic!).

Don’t Expect Perfection

Accept that what you write on the first try only needs to be good enough for a first draft. Try to avoid going backwards and rewriting what you have already created. Instead, if you know something needs to be changed, go back to that point and make a note in the text, then move on.

Stay in Motion

If you get stuck, find a way to get unstuck quickly. If you know that a scene needs to happen, but you aren’t ready to write it yet, make a note in the story describing the basic events, then jump to the part that you are ready to write and get going. If you need to choose between two different directions for the plot, choose one of them and don’t look back. Your focus should always be on forward momentum.

Read the whole thing – it will make you feel better. Say, did you invest in that coffee machine yet?