It’s NaNoWriMo Time Again!
November is coming! And with it, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is back! That means while the leaves are falling outside and the temperatures drop, you should brew yourself a nice cup of coffee or make yourself a nice cup of tea and start writing. Are you using a laptop? A notebook? A collection of spiral-bound notepads? It doesn’t matter as long as you write!
For all participants of NaNoWriMo—and those that simply feel like autumn and winter are the best time to write—we have gathered some writing tips that will help you on your way!
NaNoWriMo?
First of all, for all of you who haven’t participated or even heard of NaNoWriMo yet, we have a little overview of the project. Even if you still don’t feel like participating after having read through this, you can still follow the ideas we have gathered in the post for your very own personal NaNoWriMo!
November is National Novel Writing Month!
Getting Started
Where to start? At the beginning, of course! And at every beginning, there has to be a great idea. Ideas for writing essays, short stories, and novels can be found everywhere, inside and outside your mind. If you don’t quite know where to start, check out the following article and find your idea and inspiration for your next piece of writing:
Where to Find Ideas to Write About
Do you have an idea now? Great! Then it’s time to decide what kind of writing you want to tackle. Should it be a fable or a drama? Or rather a journal or a self-help guide?
Or, if you still didn’t have an idea yet, you can check out these different types of literary work. Choosing the style and direction you want to venture into may already help you greatly with getting an idea what to write about as well since not all topics are fitting for all kinds of literature.
You are still struggling with starting to write? Then a writing prompt may be the right thing for you! Choosing an already given idea and interpreting it in your individual way is a great way to get started!
When You Struggle…
The first steps are always the hardest! When you already took them, there isn’t much that could stop you!
Unless the infamous writer’s block strikes. Staring at the blinking cursor or a blank page can be annoying, unnerving or infuriating. And the more you stare, the harder it is to formulate sentences to put down into your document or notebook.
Don’t worry though, we are here to help!
How to Write When You’re Struggling
How To Get Rid Of Writer’s Block
Writing Tips For Prospective Authors
Once you are in the middle of writing, your idea and goal clearly visualized, a plan laid out, and all struggles and blocks prevented or mastered, all we can provide you are some additional tips for different writing tasks.
A (fictional) story lives—next to descriptions—from the dialog of your characters. However, direct speech and dialogues aren’t the only way to communicate the feelings and thoughts of your protagonist, especially when he or she delves in a moment of reminiscence. Cue the internal monologue!
5 Tips For Writing an Internal Monologue
Especially when writing from the first person perspective, you will hit a point in your story, where your protagonist has not only to describe their environment, but their very own appearance as well. The well-known “standing in front of the mirror” tool may be convenient, but—honestly—it’s very uncreative and forced as well. Thus, check out these tips on how to write a subtle character description without forcing anything on your reader:
Write A Perfect Character Description
When’S the time you are most creative? After waking up? During mid-day? Or in the night? We have explored the latter a bit and found out why it may not be the worst idea to write after the sun had set and the street lights were switched on.
