Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: How to Meet Your NaNoWriMo Goal

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, our NaNo Coaches are here to help guide you through November! Today, author Alexandra Villasante is here to share some specific tips for meeting your goal this month:

National Novel Writing Month is here again and I’m excited and scared and slightly nauseous. PERFECT conditions for starting to write a novel!

Because writing is a freaking adventure. The kind with unknown obstacles, pitfalls (possibly of quicksand, more likely research rabbit holes) where you’d better bring the write weapon (both pen and sword), pack the Takis, don’t forget to hydrate and wear comfortable shoes. This endeavor should be taken on with equal parts trepidation and glee.

But how do we start?

1. Math Your Goal. 

Figure out how much time this will take. Divide that by how much time you have. Put some x’s & y’s in there to make your equation look cool, and you have your writing goal (if you are looking for real math, see below, but I warn you, I went to art school so I didn’t have to math.)

• 1666 words a day breaks down into:
• 6.5 pages per day 250 words per page (12pt font, double spaced approximately) so you can:
• Write 2 pages before your breakfast; 2 pages during your lunch break; 2 pages while you eat; half a page while you brush your teeth.
• OR-if your work week is hell and you cry into your ramen every night –ONCE A WEEK you can crank out a marathon 50 pages.

2. Prepare your space.

When you sit down to write, write. Don’t get up and put the clothes in the dryer, or go change your cardigan or search for your perfect playlist on Spotify. Those are the things you do BEFORE you sit and write. Time is words, so preparing your space before you sit to write is key. And also, all kidding aside, take this seriously. Your words don’t have to be perfect; YOU don’t have to be perfect, but words change people’s lives every day. So let’s prepare:

1. Clean off a part of a desk or table – move distractions (bills, notes from your Mom, YOUR PHONE) off your space.
2. Pick your music, if that works for you, or use noise cancelling headphones if you need silence.
3. Water, tea, coffee, snacks should be nearby (but you don’t need to replenish your wasabi peas every 15 minutes.)
4. Light a candle, ring a bell, utter a spell. Whatever you need to do to let your unconscious mind know that you are creating now, shut up with the raking leaves thing, do that now.

3. Write.

It’s only word after word after word; as hard and as simple as that. Whatever your reason for starting this chaotic journey (with SO MANY of the world’s writing fools) it means a lot to you. For me, it’s been a terrible year and I have given my writing mind zero attention. I’ve been scared to start something new because the world is so dark and it sometimes feels like there’s no point. National Novel Writing Month reminds me that the point is the community and the words on the page. That’s it. It’s a chance to make something (and you WILL make something, whether you get to the finish line or not) that didn’t exist before. That’s beautiful. 

Buena suerte. I’ll be shoving Takis in my mouth and crying into my ramen right along with you. And when November ends, we’ll have made new words and new worlds. I can’t wait.

Alexandra Villasante has always loved telling stories—though not always with words. She has a BFA in Painting and an MA in Combined Media (that’s art school speak for making work out of anything). Born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, Alex has the privilegio of dreaming in both English and Spanish.

When she’s not writing or painting, Alexandra plans conferences and fundraisers for non-profits. She lives with her family in the semi-wilds of Pennsylvania. Her debut Young Adult novel, The Grief Keeper, was an Indies Next, Indies Introduce and Fall 2019 Junior Library Guild Selection. The Grief Keeper is on ALA’s Rainbow Book List 2020 and is the winner of the 2020 Lambda Literary Award  for LGBTQ Children’s Literature/Young Adult Fiction.