I remember (reading in "A Moveable Feast"), when Hemmingway finished w/ a writing session, it wasn't at the end of a scene or chapter he would stop, but after writing the first sentence of the following scene or chapter that he would address the next day. This way, was able to get into his groove a little bit quicker the next day...
I use that trick a lot. I finish a writing section with the first sentence of the next paragraph, or even leave a sentence unfinished. Sometimes I write out a few bullet points on what I'll be writing next. So, when I sit down to write again, I at least know what the next few words will be. Very often, the beginning is the hardest part.
My Nano goal for this year is not _necessarily_ to hit 50k, although that is still what I will be aiming for, but to instead make this project one I *don't* abandon. I want to give this story life and keep watering it and loving it until it is a proud and tall tree ready to have people taste it's apples. That was weird. I just really want to stick with this book😂💕📖🌳
This perfectly summarises my NaNo goal this year. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and often give up because I feel like it's not going to be an amazing novel. This year I'm trying to embrace that! I'm writing something that I'll love - even if it has cliches and isn't great. If you need a NaNo buddy let me know :)
“If you're going to outline, you've probably already done it.” Me sitting here on the 29th still trying to decide between two projects while trying to throw together a very very basic outline for them both: That probably would've been a good idea. (And knowing myself, I'll probably end up changing mind on Nov. 1st and going with a totally different idea that I hadn't considered or hadn't had before.)
I appreciate that you talked about brainstorming here, and even brainstormed (lol) some ways to fit brainstorming into the routine. It's interesting, because I think sometimes in our rush to discuss word counts, we sometimes leave out the part of writing that is more mental, but I think that part matters too. In doing NaNoWriMo this year, I've been getting all my daily words done in like 1-1.5 hours, but I think the main reason I'm able to vomit words like that is because I've been spending approximately 2 hours a day just listening to music and thinking about my story while doing chores on autopilot. If I didn't have that 2-ish hours of daily brainstorming, it would definitely get reallocated to my writing time and it would be a lot more of a chore to sit butt in seat and write. I feel like this is such a crucial part of the writing process, but it doesn't seem to always get a lot of attention. Is it unusual to be a daydreamy writer, like me, who spends a lot of their spare time thinking through their story before they even try to put it into words?
I'm doing 100k this year. It's terrifying it seems so huge, but I did 75k last year and I want to surpass it. I also am trying to outline for the first time ever, and my outline isn't finished yet, even thought I have only 3 days left. Maybe this outlining thing will work, but if not I'm prepared to ether toss my outline and pants the story or pick up a completely new story. I really hope this works :D
We're a few days in now but if it would help motivate you, 4thewords is planting real trees this year for completing certain NaNoWriMo quests. Knowing that hitting that 100k mark will get a REAL tree planted is really helping motivate me this year. If you're interested, you could just use a free trial to get through NaNo and plant the tree that way.
This is gonna be my first Nano, haven't written anything in months so I figured this will help get me out of that rut. My goal is to write every day and to write something for this novel idea I've had for a few months every day. Oh, and for Halloween, I'm dressing up and a blind mouse with my girlfriend. Thanks for reminding me NaNoWriMo was a thing.
This is my first year “participating” in NaNoWriMo. I’ve always wanted to write something, but I have always told myself, your too busy, your still young, etc. This year I’m motivated to write and complete a story. I don’t care if it isn’t any good as long as I try my best and reach my specific goals. I’m not planning on publishing, and if anything, send the finished project to family and friends. Thank you for your incredible videos and helpful tips!
I think I've watched a hundred of your videos and this is definitely the most funny. I'm participating to NaNo for the first time. Good luck to all of you out there!
I already have a pretty long WIP, so my NaNoWriMo Goals are to finished EDITING the thing, and to at least add 10K. And I'm vlogging my experience this year! I'm so excited
My goal for NaNoWriMo this year is to write 5k words and 4 poems in total. It's very little, but considering my current situations with college and other stuff, this is what seems manageable. Good luck to everyone doing NaNo!
My goal for nanowrimo goal for this year is to finish my rough draft! I'm less than ten thousand words from that goal! Btw you're the only writing TH-camr I watch because you encourage realistic expectations for writing and don't put people down for not having outlines. All of your videos are so awesome!
My Nano goal is to finish this story I have till the end, to get the momentum. I keep abandoning and switching stories without ever completing any of them..That's one bad habit I want to break...
I feeling this right now, I keep dropping strories and jump to another, so until now I haven't finish any book I started 😥 I am new to NanoWrimo I hope it helps me
@@jingleberries4567 this nano she's talking about is writers block, if you haven't structure then you'll keep writing and writing thousands of words. What is meant by structure is who is the main character, who is the opposing character.
I'm one of the newbies to the fiction genre and didn't even know the "word" NaNoWriMo", but it's perfectly, perfectly timed for me here. I took a break from a virgin novel a few months ago to complete a couple projects non-novel related, but now the timing is perfect to return and try to recapture the great momentum I had. So thanks for the video.
I’m fully committed to being a Nano rebel. My nanowrimo goal is to just finish my 40K novella, for which I already have 10K of, so I’ll need to write 1,000 words a day. I just want to FINISH something. I start and stop so many writing projects. Last year I tried for the 50K goal and petered out at 20K words, but the habit of writing regularly it made me cultivate and the community (LOVE writing sprints!) THAT was invaluable.
My Halloween costume was a hideous diy porpoise carrying a skull, so I could make my family and friends very tired by saying "I'm life's porpoise, the porpoise of life"
I like how you gave snippets of how you didn't put pressure on yourself last year and took that aspect out of it because it really helped me not feel afraid of doing NaNoWriMo and failing it but really seeing it as an opportunity to just write more.
My nanowrimo goal is gonna have nothing to do with the word count, I just want to learn to start writing and accept imperfection! I've always wanted to write, but in school I could never fit creative writing classes into my schedule. My experience with writing was made up of unfinished fanfics, essays I turned in without editing, and lots and lots of "when I'm out of school I'll have time to write this--". I'm actually not going to be writing a novel, but a complete written plan for a comic! (From 20-50 pages, not sure where I'll end up.) Also, some separate 1000-word short stories. Maybe I'll alternate by day. I really want making comics to become my career, and I don't want to work for a writer, solely illustrating. It's just hard because the visual art side of me has been kept in pretty good balance against my perfectionism, but with writing I am completely paralyzed. Every story I think of I'm worried it's either too big for me or too insignificant to waste time on that could be devoted to other projects. Ah!!! Halloween costume: Just a cool unnamed vampire, though people thought I was sexy Zorro. The party I went to wasn't popping enough to take off my pants and reveal my fishnets but the option was certainly prepared.
This would be my first time trying NaNoWriMo, but I'm still struggling creating an outline and figuring out the plot. I hope I have something ready for 1st day.
hey shaelin! rachel (rachel writes) has a video on how she organizes her writing documents and i’d love something similar from you so we can see what your setup looks like and how u organize ideas on ur phone and laptop (even if it’s messy hahah)
I actually have a video on this topic from years ago!! It's sooo old haha I was so young when I made it, but I haven't really changed my system at all: th-cam.com/video/MwTK7P8Ap78/w-d-xo.html
I've never done NaNo and I don't think it's for me ... But I think this year I'll use this event as a motivation point to actually start one of my projects and create a routine to write every day (even if it's just writing down a few random ideas about my project) or do some research for it, start outlining etc. I have many story ideas and I really really want to finally start giving them form!
I've gone mad lately, so my NaNoWriMo goal is fittingly wacky. I'm running 10 serials each week (13 total chapters published every 7 days) and so that must continue. But I also plan to write 2 short novels (50-60k each). This is not a boast, as fiction is my day job now. Pulp speed feels great when you can keep it rolling! Best of luck everyone!
Aiming for about 13k words. Life is busy and unpredictable, and i’m till finding my voice and shaping the world I am currently drawn to write in. What I’m looking forward to is as. Flesh out my ideas and fill the gaps as I write my world, having a better idea of what to draw for my world building. I don’t know if December will end with a complete project, or the beginning of something bigger, but I’m confident that it will end with something I will love for simply achieving something.
I started rewriting a project from scratch a couple of weeks before NanoWriMo. I'm not competing, but I hope to do at least 1,000 words a day and then I may well have 50k to show by the end of it. Events like these are really just about helping you focus your intentions, imo :)
I also haven't done Nano in a while due to university, and I haven't really been writing in general (4k max per month), so for nano this year I'm just trying to write more than I have in the last few months. If that's 5k or 50k, I'll be happy! I just want to give myself the opportunity to write more. Great video! Ps. Love that shirt!
“If you’re an outliner you’ve probably outlined before the 27th” Me, an outliner, with basically nothing outlines: yes...that is definitely accurate, there is no lie here.
5:40 This one, number four, isn't _bad_ advice, but it certainly isn't for everyone. I write a lot about times past, times from my youth. I'm inspired by shows such as _The Wonder Years,_ and by music from the '80s. Since my writing (particularly my voice) is strongly affected by my mood, I usually watch an episode or play a song or two and allow nostalgia and invoked memories & feelings to inspire me when I sit down to write.
Like I said at the start, none of these tips are for everyone so just take the ones that work for you! I can totally see why watching an episode of an inspiring show would really get you into the mood to write, I do the same with music/reading!
@@ShaelinWrites I commented too soon, Shaelin, before finishing the video. At just after 11:00, you covered what I jumped the gun to say. We're on the same page. Thanks for an especially inspiring video.
This is gonna be my first nanowrimo! Aiming for the 50k, but this is my first time ever actually attempting to write one of my novel ideas, so we’ll see. If I write 5000 words it’ll be the farthest I ever got in a draft. Also, dressing as a witch for Halloween. Im basic and proud.
I'm planning to try NaNoWriMo this year (I've never done it before), but I don't want to do a wordcount goal, because I'm really busy lately. I'll just try to write on my project every day and see how far I can get. I actually just came up with a new novel idea the last week of October completely coincidentally, then realised that it's perfect timing! My last novel took two years, so I'm sure I won't finish this one in a month, but that's okay. I just want to try it out. :)
I have had a novel idea for like 2-3 years, and last year I was going to participate but that fell through. This year, though, I will participate because my University course is pretty easy at the moment.
Thank you for this video. Your tips are so helpful. I've been in a quandary since the beginning of the pandemic after virtual learning with elementary aged kids I've lost all my creative mojo. I was querying my book but had to stop because the VL was a full time job. Now the kids are back in school I really need to start working on that book again. By listening to all the vlogs on writing I know there are some things i need to change, rehash - so instead of taking on a new project I'm going to use this momentum to go back and rewrite. I think it will be more productive for me and a step I need to take. Love your videos and content.
"this isn't squid game" :D I'm more or less in the same boat as you, just want to write everyday this month. Originally I didn't have a dedicated project but inspiration hit me over the last days of October so now I'm writing a choose your own adventure story & it's a lot of fun!
This is my first nanowrimo and the first thing I’ve ever written. I’ve foolishly decided to start with my magnum opus, a historical romance set in the Mongol empire, something I’ve wanted to read for a long time but doesn’t seem to exist. My only goal is to get the ball rolling. Pllleeeeaaase start rolling 🙏🏻
This nanowrimo my goal is to literally write _something_ this month after an october so filled with midterms and assignments i couldnt make time to write at all. i'm nervous , but also excited to get back into it :O
This is the first year in about a decade that I'm aiming for 50k. But I won't be writing every day. I'm taking Saturday's off, and I'm taking off Thanksgiving and Black Friday, so I can be fully present while I'm visiting my family. So, the goal is 2,000 on weekdays, 2,500 on Sundays. Writing 7 days a week doesn't work for me -- doesn't matter how determined I am, if I attempt that, I *will* get stressed out and end up skipping the entire weekend. But if I give myself permission to do nothing on Saturdays, I'm usually pumped up to get back to writing on Sunday. I don't actually know if the 50k will be sustainable but here's to hoping!
Would LOVE to hear your answer to this: I hear writers often say, "I love to put characters in a room together and see what happens" - I come from a playwrighting background, so telling story through dialogue comes naturally to me and so that quote makes sense to me on a dialogue level - letting them talk. But in fiction, I don't imagine that's what they mean - are you able to help illuminate this idea for me!?!? Probably too thick a question to handle in the comments section...
I spent my vacation week secluded in my sister's barn. I wrote 49,000 words in 7 1/2 days. First Draft done! Now, the 6 rounds of edits. (Yes, SPECIFICITY is Round #3)
I semi recently started a new job (my first time full time work) and haven't written in months. I decided to be a rebel and just write every day, by hand this time, in order to give myself more time to think while writing. There's no way I'll manage 50k, but if NaNo gets me back to writing again, I'm happy with that
I have 6000 words to write for a creative writing assignment and will then be starting a second Unit, and I have my dissertation ontop of that. But I will be writing on the side, not necessarily for Nanowrimo
I'm planning to do NaNoWriMo this year. I've got my friend very excited to participate (more excited than me). Although she already think that 50k is unachivable, so her goal is going to be smaller. I don't know yet how big my goal is going to be. I have 2 old story ideas that I've written very little about, but I'm not sure yet if I'm going to go with one of them or develop more a new story idea that I have. I'm going to try to outline roughly the new story idea in the next two days so I'll see from there.
November is always such a busy month for me, it's so hard to get anything extra done for nanowrimo though I really want to participate and give it my all. This nano my goal is to try and write every day. I have a new idea I want to work on so I'm excited. Hopefully school and work don't make things too overwhelming 😅. Love your Halloween costumes! This year I let my partner choose what we would dress up as and she decided on Rick and Daryl from the Walking Dead, so we will be gay on all levels.
i've got a list of 10,000+ (you read that right, i checked, i didn't typo) verbs & adjectives, and i'm gonna find something to either associate that verb/adj with, OR contrast it in some clever and interesting way (your "knowing baby" example has really stuck with me, so i'm gonna try to stay on that energy)
I did NaNo last year and hit the 50k mark, but burned myself out so much that I didn't even resume writing until mid-January. I don't think I'll be doing it this year, though, mainly because the story I started writing at last year's NaNoWriMo is almost finished, and I'm gonna take a break once it's done.
I'm still going on the momentum from last year, and my lead-up to November was writing 86k words in October... which makes starting a new thing a bit harder, but what can do you? Meanwhile NaNo 2020 I wrote maybe 25k, and since then I've had at least one 130k month (which is like 2 and a half NaNos... although it worked out to one and a half full novels). As for minimizing effort, I keep things permanently open on one laptop, although I still stick more to routines.
I had no idea about Nano prior to this video, but I will just take all this advice for my general writing. I've been having a hard time with writing daily. And it isn't because I shouldn't. I have to do it or I don't do it for a long time, it is the best for me, but one day of not writing and I have anxiety and there are days which just don't work. Normal right? But when I write just one line I feel like I haven't done anything. Not having a job probably adds to the guilt...probably...certainly... As for Halloween, nothing. There are no parties here, friends don't do anything...my country is not big on Halloween, my birthday is on 30 so, today. For me, it's just my birthday, the second day of it, I was born at midnight, in which I can lie to myself and say I have one more day of being one year younger. Yay
Good luck everyone, if you are looking for a level up that can help the expansion of your StoryCraft toolbox, There is the 24 Hour Comic from Scott McCloud. (Look up his 1st self challenge to see how little & effective it is as a challenge to move forward.) Please be mindful of the Author’s advisory.
My goal for NaNoWriMo 2021 will be 30.000 words because, since the beginning, the idea was write a short novel. I write in spanish (my mother tongue) but still i want to use the webside. Its the firts time im gonna participate and im really excited. 😊 Thanks for the advice.
my nano goal is 20k rewriting, but that word count goal is just for myself, and if I feel satisfied with the amount of progress I made I’ll still call myself a winner also my Halloween costumes are a chad (like the stereotypical white dude) and belle from beauty and the beast
This time I'm trying to write 50k, but as a NaNoRebel. Going with multiple projects, I need to write a short-story this month AND I'm working a lot on my novel XD Going really well until now, made 11k yesterday!
>"the everyman" ok but this describes me so well, and to be termed an "everyman" is actually really great to hear. cuz like, i've a physical disability, and i don't really f e e l like anyone else? which can be nice, sure, but sometimes i wish i wasn't SO ~ u N i Q u E ~ yanno?
my nano goal is just to get so caught up in writing one my two projects (undecided) that i will not have any room in my brain left to worry about my driver's exam (and i'm going as dazai for halloween)
i writing a story base on the cartoon W.i.t.c.h and i will try to write 50000 words this month. This is a project i have had for some years now. And i want to at least a good start to this fantasy story.
HOW did you write 50.000 words a month while in HIGH SCHOOL!? I am impressed 0.0 ♥ I'm in last year of high school and I have a hard time starting my novel :(
I try to hit 50k if I can, but I would be satisfied if I can manage to investigate a good deal of my thriller (logically) without changing the roles of my cast yet again lmao
It's funny, I tried doing this challenge when I was like 15, and I guess I thought you were supposed to write a full book? So I wrote 85k words in 30 days 😂
First time attempt. Wrote a novel in two months and the last two weeks has been editing. Now I have what for me will be a challenge but it's set in the same world as the first novel. Let's go, 50K words!
So your saying this, nano, is writing thousands of words, you can not write a book if you tell your subscribers to write thousands of words. You need structure, what is the hero going for, star wars is about a guy who wants to save a princess, in the mean time he has to overcome his fears like can he fight, darth vader is the opposition . End result of the story is he overcomes his fears and saves the princess and saves the empire.
Structure is of course very important, but this video wasn't about structure, it was about nanowrimo, which is why I didn't talk about structure in this video.
"Be the fandom you wish you had"
DAMN. Wow wow wow!!
Yeah I freakin love that tip
I remember (reading in "A Moveable Feast"), when Hemmingway finished w/ a writing session, it wasn't at the end of a scene or chapter he would stop, but after writing the first sentence of the following scene or chapter that he would address the next day. This way, was able to get into his groove a little bit quicker the next day...
I use that trick a lot. I finish a writing section with the first sentence of the next paragraph, or even leave a sentence unfinished. Sometimes I write out a few bullet points on what I'll be writing next. So, when I sit down to write again, I at least know what the next few words will be.
Very often, the beginning is the hardest part.
My Nano goal for this year is not _necessarily_ to hit 50k, although that is still what I will be aiming for, but to instead make this project one I *don't* abandon. I want to give this story life and keep watering it and loving it until it is a proud and tall tree ready to have people taste it's apples. That was weird. I just really want to stick with this book😂💕📖🌳
you got this!!!!
@@agc.h Thank you so much!!
slayyy
This perfectly summarises my NaNo goal this year. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and often give up because I feel like it's not going to be an amazing novel. This year I'm trying to embrace that! I'm writing something that I'll love - even if it has cliches and isn't great.
If you need a NaNo buddy let me know :)
@@canboysdanceinheels I could always use a nano buddy!
“If you're going to outline, you've probably already done it.”
Me sitting here on the 29th still trying to decide between two projects while trying to throw together a very very basic outline for them both: That probably would've been a good idea.
(And knowing myself, I'll probably end up changing mind on Nov. 1st and going with a totally different idea that I hadn't considered or hadn't had before.)
I love this energy for you
i'm in this picture and I don't like it
@@anniekr184 Could be worse. Could be on the 10th of the month and still struggling between the two and doing both of them poorly, like me >.>
I appreciate that you talked about brainstorming here, and even brainstormed (lol) some ways to fit brainstorming into the routine. It's interesting, because I think sometimes in our rush to discuss word counts, we sometimes leave out the part of writing that is more mental, but I think that part matters too. In doing NaNoWriMo this year, I've been getting all my daily words done in like 1-1.5 hours, but I think the main reason I'm able to vomit words like that is because I've been spending approximately 2 hours a day just listening to music and thinking about my story while doing chores on autopilot. If I didn't have that 2-ish hours of daily brainstorming, it would definitely get reallocated to my writing time and it would be a lot more of a chore to sit butt in seat and write.
I feel like this is such a crucial part of the writing process, but it doesn't seem to always get a lot of attention. Is it unusual to be a daydreamy writer, like me, who spends a lot of their spare time thinking through their story before they even try to put it into words?
I'm doing 100k this year. It's terrifying it seems so huge, but I did 75k last year and I want to surpass it. I also am trying to outline for the first time ever, and my outline isn't finished yet, even thought I have only 3 days left. Maybe this outlining thing will work, but if not I'm prepared to ether toss my outline and pants the story or pick up a completely new story. I really hope this works :D
Wow, that's amazing!! Good luck, you've got this!!
We're a few days in now but if it would help motivate you, 4thewords is planting real trees this year for completing certain NaNoWriMo quests. Knowing that hitting that 100k mark will get a REAL tree planted is really helping motivate me this year. If you're interested, you could just use a free trial to get through NaNo and plant the tree that way.
My plans for NaNoWriMo: jump between multiple projects, write out of order, and not worry too much about word count.
Tip 21. Eat yogurt. It balances the fatty acids and makes concentrating easier.
It's wonderful to see another video from you, Shaelin.
This is gonna be my first Nano, haven't written anything in months so I figured this will help get me out of that rut. My goal is to write every day and to write something for this novel idea I've had for a few months every day.
Oh, and for Halloween, I'm dressing up and a blind mouse with my girlfriend.
Thanks for reminding me NaNoWriMo was a thing.
This is my first year “participating” in NaNoWriMo. I’ve always wanted to write something, but I have always told myself, your too busy, your still young, etc. This year I’m motivated to write and complete a story. I don’t care if it isn’t any good as long as I try my best and reach my specific goals. I’m not planning on publishing, and if anything, send the finished project to family and friends. Thank you for your incredible videos and helpful tips!
Good luck with grad school! I'm applying to college as a creative writing major this year!
Ahh good luck to you too!!
I think I've watched a hundred of your videos and this is definitely the most funny.
I'm participating to NaNo for the first time. Good luck to all of you out there!
I already have a pretty long WIP, so my NaNoWriMo Goals are to finished EDITING the thing, and to at least add 10K.
And I'm vlogging my experience this year! I'm so excited
I just want to start 😌 any writing I get done will be a win. Thanks for the great tips!!
My goal for NaNoWriMo this year is to write 5k words and 4 poems in total. It's very little, but considering my current situations with college and other stuff, this is what seems manageable. Good luck to everyone doing NaNo!
My goal for nanowrimo goal for this year is to finish my rough draft! I'm less than ten thousand words from that goal!
Btw you're the only writing TH-camr I watch because you encourage realistic expectations for writing and don't put people down for not having outlines. All of your videos are so awesome!
My Nano goal is to finish this story I have till the end, to get the momentum. I keep abandoning and switching stories without ever completing any of them..That's one bad habit I want to break...
Do you also struggle with writers block? Or go on long hiatuses?
@@jingleberries4567 Long hiatus...definitely
I do get writer's block sometimes, but I mostly get over it by giving myself a break for a day or two.
I feeling this right now, I keep dropping strories and jump to another, so until now I haven't finish any book I started 😥 I am new to NanoWrimo I hope it helps me
@@admiringthemoon4579 It will!! Just stick to it and keep writing.
@@jingleberries4567 this nano she's talking about is writers block, if you haven't structure then you'll keep writing and writing thousands of words. What is meant by structure is who is the main character, who is the opposing character.
This is my first time taking part in NaNoWriMo, and those were some pretty useful tips. Thanks.
I'm one of the newbies to the fiction genre and didn't even know the "word" NaNoWriMo", but it's perfectly, perfectly timed for me here. I took a break from a virgin novel a few months ago to complete a couple projects non-novel related, but now the timing is perfect to return and try to recapture the great momentum I had. So thanks for the video.
I’m fully committed to being a Nano rebel. My nanowrimo goal is to just finish my 40K novella, for which I already have 10K of, so I’ll need to write 1,000 words a day. I just want to FINISH something. I start and stop so many writing projects. Last year I tried for the 50K goal and petered out at 20K words, but the habit of writing regularly it made me cultivate and the community (LOVE writing sprints!) THAT was invaluable.
My Halloween costume was a hideous diy porpoise carrying a skull, so I could make my family and friends very tired by saying "I'm life's porpoise, the porpoise of life"
I like how you gave snippets of how you didn't put pressure on yourself last year and took that aspect out of it because it really helped me not feel afraid of doing NaNoWriMo and failing it but really seeing it as an opportunity to just write more.
My nanowrimo goal is gonna have nothing to do with the word count, I just want to learn to start writing and accept imperfection! I've always wanted to write, but in school I could never fit creative writing classes into my schedule. My experience with writing was made up of unfinished fanfics, essays I turned in without editing, and lots and lots of "when I'm out of school I'll have time to write this--".
I'm actually not going to be writing a novel, but a complete written plan for a comic! (From 20-50 pages, not sure where I'll end up.) Also, some separate 1000-word short stories. Maybe I'll alternate by day.
I really want making comics to become my career, and I don't want to work for a writer, solely illustrating. It's just hard because the visual art side of me has been kept in pretty good balance against my perfectionism, but with writing I am completely paralyzed. Every story I think of I'm worried it's either too big for me or too insignificant to waste time on that could be devoted to other projects. Ah!!!
Halloween costume: Just a cool unnamed vampire, though people thought I was sexy Zorro. The party I went to wasn't popping enough to take off my pants and reveal my fishnets but the option was certainly prepared.
This would be my first time trying NaNoWriMo, but I'm still struggling creating an outline and figuring out the plot. I hope I have something ready for 1st day.
hey shaelin! rachel (rachel writes) has a video on how she organizes her writing documents and i’d love something similar from you so we can see what your setup looks like and how u organize ideas on ur phone and laptop (even if it’s messy hahah)
I actually have a video on this topic from years ago!! It's sooo old haha I was so young when I made it, but I haven't really changed my system at all: th-cam.com/video/MwTK7P8Ap78/w-d-xo.html
I've never done NaNo and I don't think it's for me ... But I think this year I'll use this event as a motivation point to actually start one of my projects and create a routine to write every day (even if it's just writing down a few random ideas about my project) or do some research for it, start outlining etc.
I have many story ideas and I really really want to finally start giving them form!
I've gone mad lately, so my NaNoWriMo goal is fittingly wacky. I'm running 10 serials each week (13 total chapters published every 7 days) and so that must continue. But I also plan to write 2 short novels (50-60k each). This is not a boast, as fiction is my day job now. Pulp speed feels great when you can keep it rolling! Best of luck everyone!
@@origamigjuice8630 About 5-6. Plus 2-3 editing.
Aiming for about 13k words. Life is busy and unpredictable, and i’m till finding my voice and shaping the world I am currently drawn to write in. What I’m looking forward to is as. Flesh out my ideas and fill the gaps as I write my world, having a better idea of what to draw for my world building. I don’t know if December will end with a complete project, or the beginning of something bigger, but I’m confident that it will end with something I will love for simply achieving something.
I've never considered doing NaNoWriMo before but, having learnt 20 excellent tips on how to do it, I think I'll try it this year :D
I started rewriting a project from scratch a couple of weeks before NanoWriMo. I'm not competing, but I hope to do at least 1,000 words a day and then I may well have 50k to show by the end of it. Events like these are really just about helping you focus your intentions, imo :)
I also haven't done Nano in a while due to university, and I haven't really been writing in general (4k max per month), so for nano this year I'm just trying to write more than I have in the last few months. If that's 5k or 50k, I'll be happy! I just want to give myself the opportunity to write more. Great video!
Ps. Love that shirt!
“If you’re an outliner you’ve probably outlined before the 27th”
Me, an outliner, with basically nothing outlines: yes...that is definitely accurate, there is no lie here.
5:40 This one, number four, isn't _bad_ advice, but it certainly isn't for everyone. I write a lot about times past, times from my youth. I'm inspired by shows such as _The Wonder Years,_ and by music from the '80s. Since my writing (particularly my voice) is strongly affected by my mood, I usually watch an episode or play a song or two and allow nostalgia and invoked memories & feelings to inspire me when I sit down to write.
Like I said at the start, none of these tips are for everyone so just take the ones that work for you! I can totally see why watching an episode of an inspiring show would really get you into the mood to write, I do the same with music/reading!
@@ShaelinWrites I commented too soon, Shaelin, before finishing the video. At just after 11:00, you covered what I jumped the gun to say. We're on the same page. Thanks for an especially inspiring video.
This is gonna be my first nanowrimo! Aiming for the 50k, but this is my first time ever actually attempting to write one of my novel ideas, so we’ll see. If I write 5000 words it’ll be the farthest I ever got in a draft. Also, dressing as a witch for Halloween. Im basic and proud.
I'm planning to try NaNoWriMo this year (I've never done it before), but I don't want to do a wordcount goal, because I'm really busy lately. I'll just try to write on my project every day and see how far I can get. I actually just came up with a new novel idea the last week of October completely coincidentally, then realised that it's perfect timing! My last novel took two years, so I'm sure I won't finish this one in a month, but that's okay. I just want to try it out. :)
I have had a novel idea for like 2-3 years, and last year I was going to participate but that fell through. This year, though, I will participate because my University course is pretty easy at the moment.
Thank you for this video. Your tips are so helpful. I've been in a quandary since the beginning of the pandemic after virtual learning with elementary aged kids I've lost all my creative mojo. I was querying my book but had to stop because the VL was a full time job. Now the kids are back in school I really need to start working on that book again. By listening to all the vlogs on writing I know there are some things i need to change, rehash - so instead of taking on a new project I'm going to use this momentum to go back and rewrite. I think it will be more productive for me and a step I need to take. Love your videos and content.
"this isn't squid game" :D
I'm more or less in the same boat as you, just want to write everyday this month. Originally I didn't have a dedicated project but inspiration hit me over the last days of October so now I'm writing a choose your own adventure story & it's a lot of fun!
This is my first nanowrimo and the first thing I’ve ever written. I’ve foolishly decided to start with my magnum opus, a historical romance set in the Mongol empire, something I’ve wanted to read for a long time but doesn’t seem to exist. My only goal is to get the ball rolling. Pllleeeeaaase start rolling 🙏🏻
This nanowrimo my goal is to literally write _something_ this month after an october so filled with midterms and assignments i couldnt make time to write at all. i'm nervous , but also excited to get back into it :O
School is giving me hell right now, so my goal is to write every day. Just a 10 minute writing sprint. It should be doable.
This is the first year in about a decade that I'm aiming for 50k. But I won't be writing every day. I'm taking Saturday's off, and I'm taking off Thanksgiving and Black Friday, so I can be fully present while I'm visiting my family. So, the goal is 2,000 on weekdays, 2,500 on Sundays. Writing 7 days a week doesn't work for me -- doesn't matter how determined I am, if I attempt that, I *will* get stressed out and end up skipping the entire weekend. But if I give myself permission to do nothing on Saturdays, I'm usually pumped up to get back to writing on Sunday. I don't actually know if the 50k will be sustainable but here's to hoping!
Would LOVE to hear your answer to this: I hear writers often say, "I love to put characters in a room together and see what happens" - I come from a playwrighting background, so telling story through dialogue comes naturally to me and so that quote makes sense to me on a dialogue level - letting them talk. But in fiction, I don't imagine that's what they mean - are you able to help illuminate this idea for me!?!? Probably too thick a question to handle in the comments section...
I spent my vacation week secluded in my sister's barn. I wrote 49,000 words in 7 1/2 days. First Draft done! Now, the 6 rounds of edits. (Yes, SPECIFICITY is Round #3)
IMMEDIATELY CLICKED! I need this!!
Love this video 💙
3:00 Lmao. Love this girl so much
Thank you! So many good tips here!
OMG! I BADLY NEED THIS!
I hope i dont get sick this year while doing nanowrimo, it happened a couple of times in the past.
I semi recently started a new job (my first time full time work) and haven't written in months. I decided to be a rebel and just write every day, by hand this time, in order to give myself more time to think while writing. There's no way I'll manage 50k, but if NaNo gets me back to writing again, I'm happy with that
I have 6000 words to write for a creative writing assignment and will then be starting a second Unit, and I have my dissertation ontop of that. But I will be writing on the side, not necessarily for Nanowrimo
These are all amazing tips. Thank you! :)
Let's get writing BAYBEEEE
YES
I'm planning to do NaNoWriMo this year. I've got my friend very excited to participate (more excited than me). Although she already think that 50k is unachivable, so her goal is going to be smaller. I don't know yet how big my goal is going to be. I have 2 old story ideas that I've written very little about, but I'm not sure yet if I'm going to go with one of them or develop more a new story idea that I have. I'm going to try to outline roughly the new story idea in the next two days so I'll see from there.
November is always such a busy month for me, it's so hard to get anything extra done for nanowrimo though I really want to participate and give it my all. This nano my goal is to try and write every day. I have a new idea I want to work on so I'm excited. Hopefully school and work don't make things too overwhelming 😅.
Love your Halloween costumes! This year I let my partner choose what we would dress up as and she decided on Rick and Daryl from the Walking Dead, so we will be gay on all levels.
i've got a list of 10,000+ (you read that right, i checked, i didn't typo) verbs & adjectives, and i'm gonna find something to either associate that verb/adj with, OR contrast it in some clever and interesting way (your "knowing baby" example has really stuck with me, so i'm gonna try to stay on that energy)
I have school and tests throughout this month. I'll just postpone mine till december
I did NaNo last year and hit the 50k mark, but burned myself out so much that I didn't even resume writing until mid-January. I don't think I'll be doing it this year, though, mainly because the story I started writing at last year's NaNoWriMo is almost finished, and I'm gonna take a break once it's done.
I'm still going on the momentum from last year, and my lead-up to November was writing 86k words in October... which makes starting a new thing a bit harder, but what can do you? Meanwhile NaNo 2020 I wrote maybe 25k, and since then I've had at least one 130k month (which is like 2 and a half NaNos... although it worked out to one and a half full novels).
As for minimizing effort, I keep things permanently open on one laptop, although I still stick more to routines.
I want to try this year but also school is ramping up and i have zero time, so i think i'll aim for daily writing, even if it's just a sentence.
NaNo + school is HARD, this is a great compromise!!
I had no idea about Nano prior to this video, but I will just take all this advice for my general writing. I've been having a hard time with writing daily. And it isn't because I shouldn't. I have to do it or I don't do it for a long time, it is the best for me, but one day of not writing and I have anxiety and there are days which just don't work. Normal right? But when I write just one line I feel like I haven't done anything. Not having a job probably adds to the guilt...probably...certainly...
As for Halloween, nothing. There are no parties here, friends don't do anything...my country is not big on Halloween, my birthday is on 30 so, today. For me, it's just my birthday, the second day of it, I was born at midnight, in which I can lie to myself and say I have one more day of being one year younger. Yay
Good luck on your grad school application!
Thank you!!
Good luck everyone, if you are looking for a level up that can help the expansion of your StoryCraft toolbox, There is the 24 Hour Comic from Scott McCloud. (Look up his 1st self challenge to see how little & effective it is as a challenge to move forward.) Please be mindful of the Author’s advisory.
"my to do list has many To's that I haven't Done" omg I lol
For NaNo, I’m just trying to write every day (my secondary goal is two finish two short stories). For Halloween, I’m doing the corpse bride!
I'm starting now!
My goal for NaNoWriMo 2021 will be 30.000 words because, since the beginning, the idea was write a short novel. I write in spanish (my mother tongue) but still i want to use the webside. Its the firts time im gonna participate and im really excited. 😊
Thanks for the advice.
me: maybe i should write more-
shaelin: hold my beer
Just got a kitten who I’m hoping will be my buddy during NaNoWriMo :’)
Will you vlog?! I loved last years’!
Alright I've gotta ask, where do you get those shirts, they're always 10/10
the land of cool shirts: thrift stores
YES TO ALL OF THIS
1 day until november, im scared cuz its my first time doing nanowrimo and i have literally no ideas what to write
my nano goal is 20k rewriting, but that word count goal is just for myself, and if I feel satisfied with the amount of progress I made I’ll still call myself a winner
also my Halloween costumes are a chad (like the stereotypical white dude) and belle from beauty and the beast
where is your shirt from?? its so pretty. thank u for the tips :)
I wish I could tell you but it's thrifted!
This time I'm trying to write 50k, but as a NaNoRebel. Going with multiple projects, I need to write a short-story this month AND I'm working a lot on my novel XD Going really well until now, made 11k yesterday!
>"the everyman"
ok but this describes me so well, and to be termed an "everyman" is actually really great to hear. cuz like, i've a physical disability, and i don't really f e e l like anyone else? which can be nice, sure, but sometimes i wish i wasn't SO ~ u N i Q u E ~ yanno?
Omg I also went as season 2 cult leader Klaus for Halloween yasssss
I love that for us !!
my nano goal is just to get so caught up in writing one my two projects (undecided) that i will not have any room in my brain left to worry about my driver's exam
(and i'm going as dazai for halloween)
i writing a story base on the cartoon W.i.t.c.h and i will try to write 50000 words this month. This is a project i have had for some years now. And i want to at least a good start to this fantasy story.
Okay, I am only two minutes in, but can you tell me where you got that shirt?
Wish I could but like most cool shirts I thrifted it!
@@ShaelinWrites I was afraid that may be the case! You have fantastic style and writing advice. Thanks for the response!
HOW did you write 50.000 words a month while in HIGH SCHOOL!? I am impressed 0.0 ♥ I'm in last year of high school and I have a hard time starting my novel :(
I wrote a lot at school when I was supposed to be doing work tbh 😂
it’s already November 12th and I’m only 10k words in 😅
10k is great!! Honestly way more than I have lol
Who else wants to see her in her Halloween costume?
There are photos on my Instagram! it's @shaelinbishop
I try to hit 50k if I can, but I would be satisfied if I can manage to investigate a good deal of my thriller (logically) without changing the roles of my cast yet again lmao
LOL my best friend is also being Klaus from umbrella academy
I see your best friend is also a person of fine taste
It's funny, I tried doing this challenge when I was like 15, and I guess I thought you were supposed to write a full book? So I wrote 85k words in 30 days 😂
Well the point of nano is to write 50k which is the length of an Average novel
I'm gonna do my best to write 50K, but I'm doing it on a project that I'm already about 12K into. Who cares about rules, right?
First 😀
First time attempt. Wrote a novel in two months and the last two weeks has been editing. Now I have what for me will be a challenge but it's set in the same world as the first novel. Let's go, 50K words!
So your saying this, nano, is writing thousands of words, you can not write a book if you tell your subscribers to write thousands of words. You need structure, what is the hero going for, star wars is about a guy who wants to save a princess, in the mean time he has to overcome his fears like can he fight, darth vader is the opposition . End result of the story is he overcomes his fears and saves the princess and saves the empire.
I don't think I said anywhere that a novel shouldn't have structure.
@@ShaelinWrites OK ill be fair about your statement above , I'll look through your videos about structure and give you my thoughts later on.
Structure is of course very important, but this video wasn't about structure, it was about nanowrimo, which is why I didn't talk about structure in this video.
😎
Ah, you're applying to grad school? Omg! Are you going to pursue an MFA?
Yes!!
@@ShaelinWrites Oh wow! I'm applying this year too! Where are you applying?
Whatever you do, don't be the person with 100K+ in debt from college
You have maladaptive daydreaming don't you?..😉
What are your pronouns?
They/them or she/her, thank you for asking!!
This was so incredibly helpful. Thank you so so so much 😭🫶