Robins AFB Library: NaNoWriMo

1. Find a story you absolutely love
2. Understand what people like to read
3. Come up with characters readers will care about
4. Write a single-sentence story concept before you start
5. Consider writing a chapter-by-chapter outline
6. Or plot only your most important scenes
7. Research and “build the world” of your novel
8. Let your characters determine the story
9. Treat your writing time as a job
10. Set ground rules in advance of November
11. Try writing in several shorter “sprints” per day
12. Give yourself permission to be imperfect
13. Don’t be afraid of mistakes — they often result in inspiration
14. Trust your characters, even when they wander
15. Use this opportunity to experiment a little
16. Think of the NaNo as "putting sand in the sandbox"
17. But don't ditch quality just so you can hit 50,000 words
18. Motivate yourself with social validation
19. Find new ways to inspire yourself
20. Try not to think about what you've already written
21. Remember: you're not writing a novel, you're drafting one
22. Use dialogue to relate exposition
23. Help your reader "see" the world you've created
24. Don't write pages of lush prose when plain English will do
25. Follow the next logical step in your story
26. If you're blocked, skip that scene and come back to it later
27. Be kind to yourself when you can't write
28. Use dialogue to unblock yourself
29. Put your draft away for a month
30. Make use of beta readers and/or critique circles
31. Don't get an editor for your very first draft
32. Reread your first and last chapters side-by-side
33. Read your manuscript out loud
34. Reduce repetition and excessive description
35. Don't let the cat out of the bag too soon!

National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with a first draft. They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.

NaNoWriMo is internet-famous. We're community-powered (hello, Wrimos!). We've hosted authors drafting novels like Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, Elizabeth Acevedo's With the Fire on High, Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Marissa Meyer's Cinder, and more. Our website tracks words for writers like Fitbit tracks steps, and our volunteers host real-world writing events in cities from Seoul to Milwaukee like, well... like nothing else. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.

NaNoWri officially became a nonprofit organization in 2006, and our programs now include community writing challenges like National Novel Writing Month in November and Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July; resource-driven initiatives like NaNo Prep in September and October and the "Now What?" Months in January and February; the Young Writers Program for kids, teens, teachers, and families; plus local initiatives like the Come Write In program for libraries, bookstores, and community spaces, and the Municipal Liaison program for local volunteers.

NaNoWriMo believes stories matter, and we're here to help you write yours. (Source)