COBG'S Guide To Surviving NaNoWriMo!

COBG'S Guide to Surviving NaNoWriMo!

Guides, Resources, and Writing Tips Oh My!

Guide to Murphy’s Law. (What can go wrong, will go wrong)

1. Back it up! Dropbox, Google Drive, Icloud. A few years ago I would have said USB or Data CD, but in this day and age I would say keep it in the cloud. All my writing files are saved on Dropbox which means every time I save, it’s already updated on dropbox and on my other computer. So, if my computer crashes I don’t have to worry. Remember back it up! 2. Get By With A Little Help from Your Friends. Know where you can go for support. Do you have a writing buddy? Are you on a forum? Do you have a friend who is going to commit to the challenge? Have their info ready, because at some point we all crack. Just have someone or someones who will listen to you complain about how you are the most awful writer and why the hell did you start this process in the first place. That person will hopefully remind you why you’re doing this and all the things you can get out of it. 3.Tools Assemble Sure you’re using your computer, but have your other tools ready. A notebook, your iphone with your notes, your index cards. Also, remember your outlines, your character sheets, your research and have wiki and google on standby.

Guide to keeping our sanity.

1.Give up your Harry Potter, Pulitzer prize winning notions. NaNoWriMo is an exercise. It’s a test in endurance, in will power and focus. It is also a rough draft which means it is going to suck. Secondly, most full manuscripts are from 80k-100k…so it’s not a full novel. Do not spend your time freaking out about how good it is. Good comes later. Just get 50k words down. 2. Avoid the distracting parts of the internet. Facebook, twitter and even Tumblr. Unless, you are going to get writing tips, do some quick research or check in with your writing partner you should NOT be on the internet. It’s as simple as that. 3.Don’t compare yourself to others. Just, because you can write 5k words in one day does not mean you are Shakespeare. Just, because you have barely scraped past your daily goal doesn’t mean you suck. Everyone writes at their own pace. 4. You are not ready for Beta Readers. No one needs to be reading what you are writing! No one. This first month is not for getting feedback and figuring out if your book makes sense. It’s to get it all down. It’s to bring the beginning, middle and end of your story into existence. This is not the time to bring in opinions that will only discourage you or give you a false sense of your skill. Again, your first draft is gonna suck! 5. Stop editing! I do not care if you noticed a an extra comma, if you’re not sure you spelled that big word correctly or if something seems not right. Leave it. When you’re doing you’re rewrite, that’s the time to edit.

Guide to Keeping Healthy.

1. Water. When I am writing, I can literally go days without drinking a glass of water. Stay hydrated. Keep your mouth moist as your fingers do the talking. 2. Take breaks. I don’t mean go sit and watch all your primetime shows during your allotted writing time, but…. yup go to the bathroom, walk around your living room, eat your meals and have a stretch. Staring at a computer or word processor for hours can get to your back, your hands, your wrists, your shoulders and your eyes. 3.Comfort and Support. I have wrist pain (I think it’s carpal tunnel, but my doc disagrees) so I wear a brace especially when on my computer. I also have padding below my keyboard. Think about what will keep you comfortable. Fingerless gloves, cushions, feet warmers. I don’t know, but be comfortable.

Guide to Your Happiness.

1. Caffeine. You’re just sitting at a table, but writing is busy work. It will make you feel tired, your brain feel foggy and suddenly bed seems like the perfect place even if it’s just 5pm. You need something to keep you lucid. For me it’s a cup of Lipton tea. But for others it can be soda and the ever important coffee. 2. Snacks. I am going to buy myself a party size pack of Reese’s Buttercup and probably my favorite ice cream candy bar, because they give me a rush of pleasure with every bite. But, I am also going to buy red grapes, because I love them. Gather your snacks before hand. Your guilty pleasures and your healthy ones. Have something close by that you can munch on while the creative juices are flowing.

Guide to your personal Motivation.

1. Computer Wallpaper. For the last few weeks my wallpaper is this beautiful black on white number that I found on tumblr by Brewed Rebels that reads “You musn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger darling.” It’s a quote from the film Inception and every time I turn my computer off, close a window, etc I see it. It’s my inspiration. My dream is to be a writer and every time I see it it reminds me not to be afraid of my big dreams. Get something like that for yourself. 2. Goals and Rewards. We know the ultimate goal is 50k words in 30 days, but set some smaller goals and give yourself a reward. The most common practice is probably giving yourself a small gift every 5k words you complete. This can be a book, a bag of candy…anything that can motivate you.

My daily goal is to watch an episode or 2 of Supernatural, which I am currently binge watching. You may want to put another reward at the end of the 30 days as well. The ultimate reward is of course 50k, BUT you can talk yourself out of that. You can always say things like ‘well, I don’t have to get 50k now, I can just keep writing in December.” No, give yourself more incentive if you think you may talk yourself out of it. Perhaps you should say “if I finish this book I can buy that expensive purse I’ve had my eyes on and walked past three times last week.” You know what I mean. Treat yourself to something. Give yourself the ultimate reward that you can afford. 3.Bragging Rights Remember! You can’t tell all your friends that you’re a legit novelist and that you have written a book, if you don’t WRITE THE BOOK. Bragging rights is probably one of the best things in the world. It will take someone 10 years to do something you are going to do in 30 days. Remember that.

Below are resources such as writing tips, dictionary sites, story generators, places to look up names and other tips from all over the web.

Guide to Working Through Writer’s Block

Six Simple and Difficult Tips for Beating Writer’s Block. Symptoms and Cures for Writer’s Block 13 Famous Writers on Overcoming Writer’s Block 10 Types of Writers Block and How to Overcome Them Overcoming Writer’s Block

NaNoWriMo Tips from the Web

Writingbox’s 10 NaNoWriMo Tips Fuck You Writing Habits’ NaNoWriMo Resources Kris Noel’s NaNoWriMo Goals Writing Sources and Tips’ Writing Your First Novel Post NaNoWriMo for the News and Insane

Helpful Tools Guide

Scrivener NaNoWriMo Trial Offer -BEST writing software (IMO) YWriter - Free Writing Software. A list of Progress trackers and word counters Cliche Finder Write or Die- productivity app that forces you to write by providing consequences for distraction and procrastination World Lingo- Translations The Best of British- American’s guide to speaking British

Writing Tips

The Snowflake Method The 8 Point Plot Arc 34 Writing Tips that Will Make You A Better Writer Invaluable Writing Tips

Writing Indexes

NaNoWriMo Tips from 2011 & 2012

COBG Writing Tips Index -everything from characterization tips, genre tips & Technique tips Guide to Writing Science Fiction Fantasy Worldbuilding Creating Fantasy & Sci-fI Worlds Realistic Travel Chart

Name Help

Behind the Name -Name Meanings. Seven Sanctum-A collection of ‘generators’ that make random characters, plots, ideas and more Serenity- generates places, character names, title generator and descriptions

Resources

Grammar GirlCommnet Grammar Owl English Online Grammar

http://www.merriam-webster.com/ http://dictionary.reference.com/ http://thesaurus.com http://words.grammarly.com/ http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Take A Short Break

http://www.dailypuppy.com/ http://cuteoverload.com/ http://geek-and-poke.com/ http://www.funnyordie.com/ http://www.collegehumor.com/ http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/ http://www.theonion.com/ http://www.latenightmistakes.com/

97 character motivations

Need a masterlist of character motivation ideas?

Here’s 97 different character motivations you can use for anything from your hero, side-characters, villain, or even to craft smaller subplots. Save this post for later!

Saving a family member from capture

Saving a sibling from disease

Saving a pet from danger

Saving the world from ruin

Saving a friend from heartbreak

Saving the town from financial ruin

Saving friends from dangerous deadly situations

Saving a love interest from dying

Saving themselves in a dangerous world

Saving a community from falling apart

Saving a child from a potentially dangerous circumstance

Saving a place or location from evil forces

Saving a ghost from limbo

Overcoming a phobia

Overcoming an addiction

Overcoming marital struggles

Moving on from loss

Finding a significant other

Finding a new family (not blood-related)

Finding true biological family

Finding out an old secret

Finding a way home

Reconnecting with long-lost friends

Getting out of a dark state of mind

Finding peace in life

Beating a disease

Beating an arch nemesis

Forming a peaceful community

Transforming a location

Bringing someone back to life

Winning a competition

Going on an adventure

Getting a dream job

Keeping a secret

Escaping a location of capture

Proving a moral point

Proving a political point

Winning a political campaign

Betray someone

Ruin someone’s life

Find a suspect or killer

Find the answer to a mystery

Discover ancient sites & secret histories

Perform a successful ritual

Summon the dead

Save a country from dictatorship

Become the most powerful in a community

Outshine a family member in business success

Prove someone wrong

Win prize money to help someone in need

Get revenge on someone who wronged them

Find the person who wronged them

Develop significant scientific progress

Gain respect from family

Get over an ex-lover

Move on from a painful death

Keep their community alive

Lead their community

Heal people in need

Preserve a species (animal, alien, plant…)

Discover new world

Get recognition for hard work

Become famous

Get rich to prove themselves to people who doubted them

Break a long tradition

Challenge the status quo of a community

Defeat a magical nemesis

Take over a location to rule

Find out truth behind old legends

Help someone get over their struggles

Prove their moral values

Prove their worth to an external party

Become a supernatural creature

Keep something from falling into the wrong hands

Protect the only person they care about

Start a revolution

Invent new technology

Invent a new weapon

Win a war

Fit in with a community

Atone for past sins

Give top-secret information to an enemy as revenge

Kill an ex-lovers current partner

Reinvent themselves

Raise a strong child

Make it to a location in a strict time period

Find faith

Find enlightenment

Find out more about the afterlife

Confess love to a friend

Solve a moral dilemma

Have a child of their own

Avoid being alone

Run away from past struggles

Reinvent themselves as a new person

Impress a colleague or boss

Avoid a fight or war breaking out

Oh my gosh. I just found this website that walks you though creating a believable society. It breaks each facet down into individual questions and makes it so simple! It seems really helpful for worldbuilding!

Found another map maker…

The last one was very good for continents and wider world building, but for the little bits and pieces like settlements, not so much.

Inkarnate have a free tier map making service, so I decided to give that one a go. This is what I came up with:

You would not believe the number of note pins I’ve got for this… Or perhaps you would?

It’s difficult to keep track of everyone you understand, but now I know precisely where everyone lives!

5 things your character can't do while speaking

Choke. Just think about it, seriously. Think about what choking is and imagine speaking while it’s happening. That would fuckin’ hurt, man.

Hiss. Look, it’s just not possible, okay? No matter how “evil” you want your character to seem.

Snarl. Animals snarls. The Beast from Beauty and the Beast snarls. The Hulk snarls. You know who doesn’t snarl? PEOPLE WHEN THEY’RE SPEAKING.

Shriek. Come on, 99% of the time, “shriek” is not the word you want.Let’s face it: if you put an exclamation point at the end of the sentence, your reader gets the picture. Don’t bring to mind banshees and screaming toddlers.

Sneer. I’m not even going to bother explaining this one. “SNEER” ISN’T EVEN A SOUND.

Game-Changing Sites for Writers

A recent search for a specific type of site to help me build new characters led me down a rabbit hole. Normally, that would make me much less productive, but I have found a treasure trove of websites for writers.

Bring Characters/Places to Life

There are a few different places you can use to create a picture of something entirely new. I love this site for making character pictures as references, instead of stock photos or whatever pops up on Google Images.

thispersondoesnotexist: every time you reload the page, this site generates a headshot of someone who doesn't exist. This is great if you're thinking about a character's personality or age and don't have specifics for their facial features yet.

Night Cafe: this is an AI art generator that takes your text prompt and generates an image for it. I tried it for various scenery, like "forest" or "cottage." It takes a minute for your requested photo to load, but no more than maybe five for the program to finish the picture.

Art Breeder: this website has endless images of people, places, and general things. Users can blend photos to create something new and curious visitors can browse/download those images without creating an account. (But if you do want to make an account to create your own, it's free!)

Find Random Places on Earth

You might prefer to set a story in a real-life environment so you can reference that place's weather, seasons, small-town vibe, or whatever you like. If that's the case, try:

MapCrunch: the homepage generates a new location each day and gives the location/GPS info in the top left of the screen. To see more images from previous days, hit "Gallery" in the top left.

Atlas Obscura: hover over or tap the "Places" tab, then hit "Random Place." A new page will load with a randomly generated location on the planet, provide a Google Maps link, and tell you a little bit about the place.

Random World Cities: this site makes randomly selected lists of global cities. Six appear for each search, although you'll have to look them up to find more information about each place. You can also use the site to have it select countries, US cities or US states too.

Vary Your Wording

Thesauruses are great, but these websites have some pretty cool perspectives on finding just the right words for stories.

Describing Words: tell this website which word you want to stop repeating and it will give you tons of alternative words that mean the same thing. It typically has way more options than other sites I use.

Reverse Dictionary: type what you need a word for in Reverse Dictionary's search box and it will give you tons of words that closely match what you want. It also lists the words in order of relevancy, starting with a word that most accurately describes what you typed. (There's also an option to get definitions for search results!)

Tip of My Tongue: this website is phenomenal. It lets you search for that word you can't quite place by a letter in it, the definition, what it sounds like, or even its scrambled letters. A long list of potential options will appear on the right side of the screen for every search.

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Hope this helps when you need a hand during your next writing session 💛