How I NaNoWriMo (plus me introducing myself)

Hi everyone! Considering this is my first post, I wanted to quickly introduce myself. My name is Kirsi (pronounced KEER-see), I'm 15, I'm a middle child, and I have the best brothers ever. Don't even try to fight me on that, you will not win.

Anyway, NaNoWriMo is coming up, as Angie mentioned in her most recent post, and I wanted to share how I am preparing for this upcoming challenge.

I. LOVE. POST-IT NOTES. So I use them. A lot. I have all sorts of colors and sizes and shapes, some of which aren't even pictured here. I'm gonna kinda walk you through each of my different post it notes really fast, then talk more about some NaNoWriMo tips.

Okay so the closeup picture of Laurence's sheet of paper down below is the one for my main character. I used the pink post-it for words describing him (I chose six words), yellow is physical description (based on the actor I picture him as), green is the role he plays (it says main character/protagonist on it), blue is the challenges he has faced, and purple is his greatest accomplishment (I like to color code, lol).Those five things seem so simple but they're so much harder than I expected! I learned way more about my characters than i thought i would. It helped me just dig a bit deeper, though I won't stop digging there.

One last thing about the picture above. The picture of Laurence (partially hidden under the pink post-it) is a picture of the actor I imagine him looking like printed on a white post-it note. I found out how to print on post-its from this website: http://tatertotsandjello.com/2013/07/diy-secret-how-to-use-post-it-notes-in-your-printer-free-printable.html (Also don't judge my messy, "in-the-zone" handwriting.)

Alright. Now to the other helpful, handy dandy, super duper tips.

1 - Tidy up your workspace! Even if your workspace is your bed, or the kitchen table, the clutter and mess just gives you more things to get distracted by. If you work in your bedroom, whether at a desk or on a bed or on the floor, tidy up your area. Make your bed (a little at least), organize your desk, tidy up the floor a bit. It makes your environment less stressful (because you don't need to add stress to NaNoWriMo), and makes you less irritable. I recently was able to get my own office, and it's clutter free, my own space, and MADE FOR ME AND ME ONLY. It's so much easier. Before, i had to write on my bed, and it did a number on my back. Which leads to my next tip:

2 - If possible, have your own workspace. I understand this is not an easy task for some people. Some of you share a room with someone else, or there's never a moment where someone isn't by the dining room table, or whatever the reason - it isn't easy. I get that. If you are able to have your own workspace, though, DO IT. I love having my own workspace now. Writing is just so much easier. No distractions. Nothin'.

3 - Have a chart. If you look at the picture way up at the top, you'll see a random, blue post-it. That's my chart. It has every thousand from 1,000 to 50,000 on it, each one having a check box next to it. I don't want a schedule, because I know if I get off schedule it'll freak me out and I'll quit. I know approximately how much I need to write each day, but if I do more or less, it's no biggie. 

4 - CANDY!!! Candy. Have some candy, or nuts, or crackers, or anything to munch on while you write. With Halloween coming up, that isn't a terribly difficult thing. I have some candy on my desk that takes a really long time to chew so I don't eat too much and get fat... But in the past I've had blueberries just sitting in a bowl on my desk, and, well... I ate the whole bowl in one sitting. Healthy, right?? It was great though. Snacks just make things more enjoyable. Right? Right.

5 - Don't strain yourself. If you've been sitting there, staring at a screen for awhile, you're starting to get sore, (you know the feeling. Your butt starts to get numb and your eyes are burning every time you blink.) you need a break. Even if you've only written 10 of your 1,670 words for the day, take a break. It doesn't have to be long, just get up, grab a drink, take a shower, something. Don't strain yourself too much. Also, if it's 12 am, or later, and you can't even keep your eyes open as you write, GO TO BED. Everything you write when you get to that point isn't gonna make sense and you know it's gonna suck to you the next day. So why waste the time and sleep?! Go to bed. 

6 - Start catching up on sleep now, before NaNoWriMo. You know you're behind. Everyone is. Try to get as much sleep as you can before NaNoWriMo, so your mind can work properly and you won't have to dread December as much, when you start editing.

7 - HAVE FUN! What is the point of wasting countless hours over the course of November if you aren't going to enjoy yourself??! That seems so ridiculous. So have fun with it! Try to find friends that are doing it too! You can help each other stay caught up, and encourage each other to keep going! If you and/or the other person/people you do it with are competitive, maybe you can see who writes the most by the end of November (if you finish your book early by doing this, just write other stories or start editing:), or see who gets to 50,000 first. Just do what you have to do to make it fun.

I really hope these tips helped. I'm so excited to be a part of this blog! 

~Kirsi <3