I suggest setting a smaller goal for yourself. I know that personally this year the only time I actually will have time to write will be on weekends, so I am setting myself a goal of only about 15,000 because it will still get me in the writing spirit and give me more words than I had before. Or, spend your free time developing a story you could write when you know you will have a good chunk of time to start writing. Also, there is Camp NaNoWriMo in both April and July which may prove to be less busy months. :) I hope this helped, and I hope you get to participate somehow.
Same here; it sucks! Although, I'm thinking it might be a good outlet when I'm drowning in assignments. Probably a better habit to develop than getting absorbed by Netflix and procrastinating all of my assignments lmao
NaNoWriMo is how I found you and Booktube! I'm so excited for you to be revising something. I've read excerpts of things you have put out and I'm super excited to one day be able to read a whole book from you.
***** Yes! Take advantage! The reason I love your channel is so much is because of the way you talk about books. The words you use and the way you express yourself. It's so clear you have a way with words. You will crush this!
Woohoo!!! It makes me happy that you're getting super back into writing: extreme mode! Good luck!! Your prep schedule is so on point... I need to get started!
I'm going to try to participate this year! I need to start planning but I have no idea where to start! I'm hoping I will have finished building my desk by then or else I won't really have a nice work space 😱😂
Hey, Kat, I was wondering... do you regret not doing NoNaWriMo last year? I've done NaNoWriMo for the past 5 years (I'm the reason you got to eat a couple extra pieces of candy in your 2012 vlogs.) The past NaNo was really hard to get through because of my mental health and changing interests, and it was really just not healthy for me. I was considering not doing NaNoWriMo this year, but then I got an idea that I kind of like and would like to outline for a novel. I've not actually planned out anything I wrote for NaNoWriMo before, so I think maybe doing some hefty planning could make my NaNoWriMo more enjoyable. Hnnnng. I just can't decide if I want to do NaNo this year or not.
Hmm interesting question! I do regret a little bit, but only because I messed up my streak and it felt like I was breaking tradition, if that makes sense. At the same time, I'm actually glad I didn't participate though. My heart wasn't in it, I was stressed, and if I'd pushed myself to do it anyways I probably would've had a bad time and it might've turned me off of future NaNoWriMos. I'd say if you're feeling it, if you're having fun outlining, if you're excited about your idea--DO IT. But don't feel obligated to push yourself if you're only really doing it to not break a streak. Do it for a reason, not just because it's what you've always done before. Hope this helps! And GOOD LUCK with your writing, regardless if that means NaNo this year or not :)
Thanks so much for the advice. I hate how NaNo makes me really competitive and care about really trivial things like my steak, but yeah, those aren't the most important things. Hmmmm.
You're alive!!! And you watch booktube! I feel like I'm having a youtube existential crisis! What even...?! You hadn't posted videos in a while and I'd thought you had disappeared!
@JulianIsAlive... So because you have differing opinions with someone on social issues or political issues, you feel that they're not allowed to like the same media that you like? Get out of your bubble world and grow up.
I'm thinking of vlogging during nanowrimo, but I'm not really in the booktube community, so I'm hoping to jump into RU-vid with nano-vlogs. I'm super nervous, but I can't wait haha. Good luck with revising your novel, i hope it goes well!
That's how I started on RU-vid--daily nanowrimo vlogs to document my journey! It was so fun and rewarding and really helped me stay on track. I'd definitely recommend it! Even if it's just a record for yourself to look back on, it can be super valuable :)
I need a extra room in my house for that so maybe I can actually be productive and finish what I start. I am so bad about starting multiple projects but only finishing a few of them.
Haha! I swear I self-sabotage. I'll be so into something and excited to finish it and then I'll start thinking of something new or something else I've started. Maybe I should finish that one first or maybe I should start this new idea before I forget it. Next thing I know I've started 4 new projects and abandoned the one I was doing well on. I'm trying verrryyyy hard to not let it happen this time around.
I feel you I do the same. Speaking of writing and NaNoWriMo I'm participating this year and right now I am outlining and i am so excited to be outlining this particular part of my book. I'm outlining my society and their views on different things like sexuality, etc. and I love it because its mostly opposite of our society.
I totally relate to this! I suffer from ADD and while it doesn't keep me from accomplishing things I still have such a hard time to focus and finish projects. I start a million things and get overwhelmed and just never finish anything. Some of your tips are so helpful, thank you much for sharing them!
I'm so excited for NaNoWriMo this year! This will be my second year participating, and hopefully my second win. I'm not sure if I'll be doing daily vlogs or update videos yet, but who knows lol. I'm planning on writing a retelling of the Greek Myth Euridice so I've got a lot of leg work already done for me too hahaha.
I didn't even realize you could prep in October! I'm such a newbie - so excited to finally be participating this year. I must admit I haven't written much at all since joining booktube, but booktube has done so much for me that I don't regret it at all! I'm still deciding if I want to completely rewrite one of the novels I have already written OR start something completely new! I like that there's no super strict rules about it. It would be nice to write something brand new though. Gahh such a difficult choice and I don't have long to figure out what I want to do! it is coming!!!!
I also decided to participate again this year! And I am also planning to continue with a draft that I already started! I have the plan so in place, I feel I'll have a much easier time getting through it. Good luck on getting yours done! I'm ready to see your books on my bookshelf!
I definitely know what you mean about the author dream being on the back burner for a while, but like you I feel "ready" to get on with it now! :) Good luck with NaNoWriMo - I'm being a rebel and finishing a first draft instead of starting a new one. Woo rebels!
I've been torn on starting the rewrites of the five rough drafts I have, but decided to use nanowrimo with an unrelated story so I go return to my original series with fresh eyes. But good for you, a rewrite is the smart way to go!
I'm constantly having new ideas for novels and various other projects, being the writer that I am. I've heard about Nanowrimo for years. It sounds like so much fun! I've never actually been a nanowrimo participant before. The night of writing dangerously also sounds like a bunch of fun!
I just recently began participating in NaNoWriMo. I haven't actually achieved the goal set for NaNoWriMo yet, but I'm determined this year. Good luck if you decide to give it a go! (:
I found NaNoWriMo last year, and it was so much fun! Then I did Camp in April as well and wrote almost double of 50K. But then came July... Never again. Never July NaNoWriMo again! I was traveling at the time, and quickly figured out that writing a novel while touristing in Iceland with family isn't the best idea, and I ended up giving up after 11K words. I'm back on the track now though, and I'm super excited to jump into my story in November. Good luck, Kat!!
Good luck with your NaNoWriMo goals!! My November is too crazy to set myself a schedule, but everyone else's writing updates will almost definitely inspire me to do a little extra myself :D
I'm doing the exact same thing! I feel like I'm cheating, but I don't want to start something new when I have something I really want to finish first. Glad to hear I'm not alone!!!
I really loved hearing all your strategies!! I did nanowrimo for the first time last year, and I won, but I discovered that I don't love writing. XD So naturally I wasn't going to do it again, but now I have an idea for a completely different type of book and I'm probably going to end up doing it. I am the kind of person who sits down at midnight on halloween and just hopes that the good ideas will show up out of nowhere, so some sort of preparedness strategy this time is going to be very helpful. :) Thanks for sharing!
Steel Inquisitor I know right? Chill step is amazing to listen to when your trying to concentrate on things. Do you have specific channels you like listening too? My favorites are Koala Kontrol and Mr. Suicide Sheep. ^^
HelloAnya right?! Chill step is magical! Haha I really enjoy pulse8 and Arctic Empire's chill step mixes, especially the 1+ hour ones, they're fantastic!! I've never heard of koala kontrol, definitely checking it out! :)
I'm suuuuper pumped about NaNoWriMo this year! This is the first year that I am a) not in school, and b) not working my butt off. In the past, I've wound up falling short of the goal, so I'm hoping that this will be the first year I hit the finish line :D Good luck to you as well!
Good luck! It is a lot of fun! I really recommend getting involved with word sprints/word wars with other writers on the forum or the twitter account! It makes it so exciting in my opinion :D
I love that you will have a special coffee, scented candle, and set of songs to enjoy just for writing. That is literally scientifically proven to work! Psych major here.
I'm planning on participating in NaNoWriMo for this first time! I'm very excited but also incredibly nervous because I have no idea what I'm getting myself into.
Fingers crossed for Storyteller! :D This is exciting, I subscribed to you because of your NaNoWriMo vlogs so I'm glad you're getting back to it. I'm obviously going to be participating this year, but I'm kind of expecting to fail because I have a LOT of uni work this term. There will be words written though, so really it is a win. :) (And even if you're not rewriting Storyteller, s'all cool, all of your nano stories sound great :) )
Im being a nano-rebel this year too! I'm doing an almost complete rewrite of my nano piece from 2014...I agree with your idea of "wanting new words"... I honestly can't wait to dive back into my book! Can't wait to check out your progress because I'm doing something similar :)
I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo last July and somehow I've found the courage to try it again this year in November. I actually have no idea how it's going to work along with school and a busy marching band schedule, but I'm hoping that a big Thanksgiving break and videos from Kat will help me 😂 good luck to everyone participating!
Question! Do you have any tips for someone (me) who doesn't have any close friends who are also doing nano, and since I'm in college, my one friends thinks it might not be best to participate since it'll be leading up to the end of my semester? Basically, how can I be motivated when I don't have any writer friends to write with? I'm a rebel as well! I'm continuing a manuscript that I started in high school, wrote 30,000 during camp, and now hopefully I'll get another 50,000 words in my first attempt at NaNoWriMo!
This year will be my 3rd NaNo... I'm in the midst of doing a full time Masters course (which is why my own channel has suffered a bit) but I want to have a go and see if I make that 3rd 'win' as I have a really good story planned for it. If I don't make the 50k it's ok though. :D Good luck everyone who is taking part this year.
I love your NaNoWriMo videos a lot. Its so nice to have a RU-vidr being as excited about NaNo as I am. :) On Sunday I'll go on vacation with my best friend and we will do NaNo preparation together on our way to England. That's going to be fun!
This makes me so happy! You are the reason I even started participating in NaNoWriMo and I've successfully done it for two years now. Good luck with all of your writing prep!
I managed to write a little over 50k words last year on nanowrimo, and I already planned this year's novel, but I'm kinda worried bc last year I struggled A LOT + this year I would miss about 4 days of writing bc of a 3-day school field trip and bc of my birthday + this year I'm going to attempt writing in English which isn't my native language. Oooh, and is the novel you're rewriting the one with the girl who falls in love with the guy with the multiple personalities? that's my guess anyway lol
Don't feel two bad, I broke a 3 year streak attending College. I could not handle the pressure of writing and doing homework. I really wish I had written more. :-/
I'm pretty much doing the same thing as you. I wrote a manuscript last year, and although it is over 60k words, I just couldn't bring the end together. I'm so scared of this behemoth of a mess I've created, but I just can't let my characters go. The book may be bad, but the characters are worth it! Good luck!
I'm glad, you are not starting a new book this year. Not, that I wouldn't like to hear about something new, your ideas are always great, but I really want you to publish something, so I can actually read it :D (it's coming from somebody, who is bullied for years by her friends, because they want her to finally publish something :D)
I love that you are being rebellious and doing what you feel is best for you! It sounds like you have a goal and revising is vital for an author, so you do what you know you need to brush up on and screw starting a new project!! It also sounds like you have some awesome triggers to help you work! YOU GO GIRL!!! I hope you reach your goal of being a published author.
I was talking to another booktube pal of mine and noticing that a lot of people end up abandoning the drafts they wrote during NaNo. I think that one year should be for writing the first draft. Then the next year you should use NaNo to revise that draft (if you want to). That way there would be a whole lot fewer aimless first drafts sitting around not doing anybody any good.
On average how long does it take you to plot? I have the worst time figuring out where I want my book to go when I have only a handful of ideas for a story. Any advice? Good luck with your rewrite!
This is giving me flashbacks to the early days when you did NaNoWriMo videos every day in November and I first followed you. Awwww... those were good days. But anyways. I'm in the middle of revisions and... it's painful. Like, it's really painful. I have to cut at least 1/3 of my novel. Apparently, there is such a thing is too many words. BUT I'm still going to be crazy and start a new novel in November. Even though I probably should focus on my revisions. Oh well! Your revisions are going to be amazing!
Everyone on BookTube is stressing out about Nanowrimo for November but I'm stressing out about college applications and being the lead in a play, life is stressful for everyone in November! XD Hope the novels work out Kat!
Woohoo! I was wondering if you were going to be doing NaNo this year, and I'm glad to know you will. :) I'm thinking of vlogging my NaNoWriMo process this year, but I'm not entirely sure. The main thing right now though is to outline my story, which I'm actually writing using your Three Act Structure which is really helpful by the way! -HelloAnya
I was so excited when I saw this video in my subscriptions, and was not disappointed! I'm excited for NaNo this year, and I'm glad to see that you're participating this year again :) Good luck!
Your nanowrimo videos bring joy to my life Kat! I was wondering what your Myers Briggs results are? I feel like we are really similar and personality tests interest me. I'm a super hardcore introvert too - I'm an INFP. :)
I'm doing NaNo for the seventh time, but I've only won once. Totally believe in writing triggers. Mine are playlists I create and a pen I only use for drafting.
I want to participate but writer's block is a dark cloud that is constantly hanging over my head. I don't want to get all excited and prepare to participate only to sit down, ready to write and have my mind go blank. I'm scared *whimpers*
That's basically what I'm doing this year, too! I've got some bones of a story and I'm going to rewrite everything-- either way it'll be 50,000 words. I would have waited to start in November but sometimes when inspiration hits you mid-October, it's too good to pass up.
And I do the writing trigger thing, too. I only had one the year I won NaNoWriMo and it was a North Pole candle from Yankee Candle that I could only burn while writing. Worked like a charm!
SOS I'm trying to figure out the best software/app I can use to write my book with and I am having no luck! I've tried scrivener and the learning curve seems huge and daunting when all I really want to do is write and format as easily as possible. I have a windows, but I really like the format and simpleness of Ulysses writing application for Mac. Basically there's a crap ton of programs out there and I am at a loss for which one to look into :/ please help!
I use Scrivener because I like having 'files' in one document. ( I used to write each new chapters in different word documents, that was getting confusing since I don't write in order) There's a lot of things you can do with the program - a lot to learn also - but I just don't use every options offered and I don't stress about what I'm missing out because what I want it to do, it does it well. Once in a while i discover a cool new thing. (like splitting the screen between 2 chapters, useful for rewrites). You can slide a web link in the side bar for future reference. You can plan your chapters with the equivalent of sticky notes, or use them to summarize your chapters for reference. I don't know how easy formatting is with scrivener since I didn't print anything with it yet. :/ Had never heard of Ulysse before, it really looks like a mac app :P I might download the free demo just for fun. Scrivener doesn't look so bad either.
I'm participating because I have too much on my mind. I want to do some writing that I chose myself and use my time in a way that would make me proud. I think I'm over working myself a little bit but I want to get to know my limits better and learn what's good for me.
It's really hard, but the secret to writing is to just keep going every day. I know it can be really amazing to write when you're inspired and the words and characters and plot just flows, but if you're always waiting until you're inspired you'll find yourself with lots of bits of stories and nothing fully finished. You have ideas, that's great! Some people find it hard to come up with ideas, so you're already ahead. Choose the one which excites you most, the one which you look at and go "hey, maybe this could happen later on" or "I want to find out more about this character" and then stick to it. Whenever you come up with another idea because you're bored of this one, write it down, consider whether you can use it in your current project, and if not then put it to the side. It will still be there in December. Writing is hard, and there will be points when you don't want to keep writing because you've started to hate the story, but that's not the end of it! Trust me, you still get those magic moments when inspiration strikes, and it's more likely to happen if you have a real story going rather than just an idea - and don't worry about getting from point a to point b, I know people who have written "and then they go to the hospital" to link their two scenes. The important thing is that you're writing, the details can come during revision ;) Sorry this was so long, but I hope it helped. Writing is a lot of fun, but you have to be willing to put up with the boring moments too. I wish you the best of luck in the future! :D
