“At midnight on November 1, armed only with their wits, the vague outline of a story, and a ridiculous deadline, more than 250,000 people around the world will set out to become novelists.”

These are the opening lines from the official press release for NaNoWrimo 2011. For those who don’t know what NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is, it should suffice to say that NaNowrimo is about writing a 50,000 words novella in the 30 days of November. Every year since 1999, an increasing number of people have attempted this task, and many have failed. Let’s have a look at the numbers:

From the above table, it is clear that though the number of participants and the number of winners (those who are able to successfully write 50,000 words) has  increased continuously over the years, the success rate has remained low, hovering only around 20 %.

Everyone who participates in the event does so with the hope that he, or she, will come out as a winner. Yet,  most fail.

Here are a few things that I have observed during my participation in NaNoWriMo over the years that I am sure would be useful for anyone doing NaNoWriMo this year:

1.  Have a plan. Like all things in life, it is always a good  idea to have a plan before you start NaNoWriMo. You are allowed to work up a storyline for your novella before the months tarts. Make sure you use this opportunity. If you have a rough outline of the novella in your mind, it will be mush easier to type it out later. If you decide to “just go with the flow“  you can get stuck at a point where you have no idea  where you are headed to. Once you get stuck, the likelihood of your dropping out increases dramatically.

2. Friends and  Competition. These are two things in life that you just can’t escape, and it is good that you can’t. If you set out on a journey alone, you are likely to get bored. NaNoWriMo is no different. It is, in fact, one of those things where doing the itself is the reward of doing it. Sometimes that is just not enough.

If, however, you have a few buddies that are writing along with you, the journey will not get boring and the competition among you will spur you to go on, and come out as a winner.

3.  Write Everyday. Just like a bird makes a nest by collecting one twig at a time, you should write everyday to write your novella. You may fall behind some day and you may race ahead on others, but as long as you are writing every day, there is a great chance that you will be there at  the finish line.

Writing every day has two advantages. First, you don’t lose touch with your story, and your characters. As long as you are interested in them, the words will come. Secondly, the task of writing 50,000 words boils down to writing 1,667 words if you write everyday. While writing 50,000 words may look like a daunting task, 1,667 words shouldn’t be that hard, don’t you think?

4. Track your progress. As I argued in an earlier post, you can’t improve what you can’t measure, I would recommend tracking your progress with NaNoWriMo meticulously. Knowing how much you have achieved, and how  far you have to go can be a great aid in finishing a task. There are various tools available online (including the word count meters on the NaNoWriMo site itself) that you can use to track your progress. I have also  made a simple spreadsheet that you could download and use to track your progress.

5. Don’t Worry about how good or how bad your writing is turning out to be. Most novels are not written in a month. Some are even written over a period spanning several years. So, don’t try to churn a masterpiece in 30 days( If you can actually do it, don’t stop me from letting you do it), just write those 50,000 words. You will have ample time to correct your manuscript later.

6. Have Fun. If in the midst of all this, you stop having fun then you have failed already. There is no point in typing out a 50,000 novella in 30 days and not enjoying it. The point of NaNoWriMo is to boost your creativity, enhance your writing skills, and have fun – all at the same time. If any of  the three is missing, it is better to give up.

You don’t have to do all of the above things to win the NaNoWriMo, but you definitely have to do some of them to win it.

Have you done the NaNoWriMo  before? Are you doing it this year? Do you have any tips for NaNoWriMo that you would care to share?

Instead, try to improve your writing, so that instead of avoiding writing you are looking forward to opportunities where you can demonstrate your skill with the written word.

It takes some talent and a lot of practice to become a good writer. Most of you may not even want to become professional writers, but keeping the following things in mind will help you in writing  better on whatever level you need to.

Plan Well. “A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door,” said Confucious, and Confucious, we all know, was a smart man. It is a good idea to form a plan before you attempt to write anything. The plan can even be in your mind if you, like me, are not very good with pen and paper. But, if you don’t have a plan, you will be stuck in the beginning, and in the middle, and in the end. That is without a proper plan you will get no where. A plan will be your guiding light that will illuminate your destination, and the path that leads there.

Break rules, but know them first. If you are writing about a serious subject it can get monotonous;for you as well as for your reader. At such times, you can add some flavour to your writing by breaking some rules, and adding unique touches of your own. Many famous writers are known for breaking the rules to suit their style. But this is risky territory as your reader may take you to be an amateur if you break rules haphazardly. To break rules to your advantage, make sure that you know your rules first.

Eliminate superficiality. When you are writing, avoid beating around the bush and come to the point as soon as you can. These days there is so much information available online that the reader has a very small attention span. Make the best use of the time that the reader has decided to spend with you. Say what you have to say, and be done with it.

Another aspect of this point is that words like very, just, actually etc. – i.e. words that add no value to your writing – should be pruned out. There should be no needless words as there is no point wasting effort on words that are merely idle baggage. Say what you have to say, in as few words as you can.

Use punctuation to good effect. The use of punctuation in writing is like the use of a spice in the preparation of your food. Too little and your writing will be difficult to read, too much and your writing will be difficult to read.

The comma, especially, is a very interesting punctuation mark, and different writers have been known to use it in different ways. A misplaced comma, or lack of it, can alter the meaning of the sentence. Learn to use punctuation well, and your writing will never be boring.

Revise. This is one of the most important aspects of writing, and the most ignored. Ideally speaking, one should revise one’s work after a substantial amount of time has elapsed since it was first written. In today’s fast paced world, however, time is something that is not found in abundance. So, just ensure that you revise your work before you set it out before your reader. Some words that seemed apt at first might seem out of place when you read the whole piece as a single unit. In any case, a revised work is always better than an un-revised one.

Style can be said to be  made up of two parts.

The first is the writing style. As we continue on our writing journey, we consciously or sub-consciously begin to develop a style that is our own. This style is based on what we have read over the years. When we like something we read, it leaves a lasting impression on us, and this impression affects our writing.

To a great extent, this style is a result of extensive reading and practise. But, like most things, there are ways to improve upon your style. The easiest way to do it is read more. Make a habit of reading something every day.

 As I said in a previous post , reading is one of the three major inputs into the writing system. So, reading a wide variety of subjects will enhnace one’s writing even if it does not affect the style. Though I am sure that if you read on diverse topics and by different authors you will develop a style and one that will be liked by one and all.

The second element of style, that is especially relevant for bloggers and article writers, is presentation. You, as the writer, know what part of the article you want the reader to focus on, and what part you want to emphasize, therfore you have to correspondingly bold, underline or italicize the words in your article, or blog post.

Using short paragraphs, and as few words as possible to communicate your meaning is another important aspect of presentation that can be learnt.  And once again reading the writings of different authors can prove very helpful in your endeavour to present your article in a better way!

Till next time!