National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) launched earlier this month as writers around the globe try to write a 50,000-word novel draft in a single month.
To help the GalleyCat readers taking this challenge, we will be offering NaNoWriMo advice throughout the month. Last year, 341,375 participants wrote a novel in 30 days through the NaNoWriMo program. The writing marathon has generated more than 250 traditionally published novels, according to the organizers.
Our eleventh tip is: Assign Yourself a Word Count. While this can sound a bit cold, it is actually a great technique to help you meet your writing goals. Just think you are writing 50,000 words in 30 days, so you are going to have to make a serious commitment to getting words down on the page. Don’t let this big number overwhelm you. Break it down into daily assignments. Write 1,000 words on the protagonist finding the murder victim. Write the 500 word monologue for your heroine’s opening act. If you do this kind of focused assigning every day you’ll have a lot of content to work with which can be woven into a cohesive novel.