6 NaNoWriMo Tips + #ROW80 and a NEW Twitter Handle

Despite having shingles, it’s been a (sort of) moving and (sort of) shaking kind of week.

Below are six of my tips for improving your NaNo wordcount. I’m still setting things up for 2012, but you can find me on the NaNo site as jennyhansen.

I haven’t done a lot besides laying in bed with the stupid ongoing shingles headache (I’m on Day 16 now) but there’s been a lot of MENTAL preparation, which is something I don’t always take time for.

Big news flash: I changed my Twitter handle. I am now JennyHansenCA.

You don’t need to re-follow me (though I hope you will follow me if you aren’t). I heart Twitter and would love to meet up with you over there there.

Please note: if a tweet isn’t listed as coming from JennyHansenCA I won’t be alerted that you showered me with Twitter love. Ergo, I can’t say thanks (and get a quick head slap to return said Twitter love back to you).

The only ROW80 things I’ve done this week are prep for NaNoWriMo. Sadly, that’s about all the gumption I’ve got right now. However, I’m sharing my NaNo Prep Love with all of you!

6 Easy Tricks To Increase Your NaNoWriMo Word Count

The wonderful chaos that is NaNoWriMo starts in a few days. Most of the participants have been working like wild banshees to get book ideas prepped, scenes outlined and the writing engine revved.

Bonus Tip: No writer I know plans his writing time better than Gene Lempp, so be sure to go follow him. (He’s spooky productive.)

When the start flag gets raised at 12:01 on November 1st, we all want to be ready.

What does that mean exactly?

I’m sure you’ve all figured out the biggest detriment to the November word count, right?

LIFE.

Yep, that’s right. Good ol’ life doesn’t stop and move out the way, just because we have writing goals. Plus, everyone needs to re-charge to even be productive at word count.

Birthdays, Thanksgiving, work projects…will still happen in November. You just need to plan accordingly and set aside enough writing time to get your 1,667 words a day – or whatever your word goal is. 🙂

Keeping that in mind, here are the “behind the scenes” things I believe will pay off the biggest in terms of page count:

1. Blogging ahead

In the interest of spending more time on my WIP and less on my blog, I’m a few days ahead on scheduled blogs and a LOT ahead on ideas. I recommend you shoot for being at least 1 week ahead, possibly two. I do this by keeping a lot of Draft posts in my dashboard, ready to schedule whenever needed.

2. Donating To NaNoWriMo

Believe it or not, I expect this to help my word count in November and in the long run.

Donating even $10 to NaNoWriMo helps – it costs a lot of money to throw this event every year. Plus, our money goes to young writer’s programs, libraries, classrooms and camps. If you want to keep doing NaNo each year, it’s best to budget your $10 (or more) and pony up.

What you get back from donating (besides satisfaction and a halo on your profile) is a variety of nifty prizes. You might also subscribe to their Office of Letters and Light blog. In this blog, I can guarantee there will be Baty-isms (sayings from NaNo founder, Chris Baty) like: “Your Story Matters” and “Run Whooping Through The Valleys Of Your Imagination.”

3. Download the NaNoWriMo version of Scrivener

Just so you know, WriMo’s get a discount off the program every year. The trial is good until December 7th. All participants can use the code NANOWRIMO to get 20% off the program. NaNo winners receive a code to get 50% off the program. What a great prize!

All special NaNoWriMo offers can be found here.

And if you want to make sure you aren’t flailing in Scrivener, I highly recommend Gwen Hernandez’ latest book, Scrivener for Dummies. (Complete AwesomeSauce!!)

4. Stock up on meals

My husband and I swear by Dream Dinners whenever big life events are on the horizon. We did this before our daughter was born too. If you have a local Dream Dinners (they’re in 29 states), order your food online, go there and prep your meals. It usually takes less than two hours to prep for one person and half that if you do it as a couple and you have an entire month of ready-made meals. Plus, our Dream Dinners lets us drink wine when we go at night and coffee when we go in the morning.

If you’re a Do-It-Yourself kind of WriMo, I highly recommend this post from August McLaughlin – remember a healthy writer is a productive writer. (Said by the organic gardener who has freaking shingles.)

5. Plan November events in advance

My husband and I already planned my birthday celebration, my RWA meeting and Thanksgiving. By sending these invites and completing the reservations and meal planning early, it will be less time away from writing. I’ll enjoy my Thanksgiving meal-prep more knowing it’s just a few hours away from my manuscript, rather than a day and a half. Plus, hubby agreed to buy and make the turkey! I’m doing everything gluten-free this year too. WOOT!

6. Spend extra time with family NOW

I recommend romantic dates and big Halloween celebrations for everyone who has important people in their life that want to do these things. By taking time in advance and prepping your family and friends for a month where your head is firmly planted in your manuscript, your NaNoWriMo success becomes a group project.

If you need a NaNo giggle, I highly recommend InkyGirl’s NanoToons. That’s where I got the graphic for the top of this post.

Write on!! If you want to encourage your ROW80 pals, click here.

What are your NaNo planning tricks? What helps you stay motivated to write? Do you participate in the November Writing Frenzy each year? Enquiring minds love to know these things here at More Cowbell!

Jenny