NaNoWriMo, Week 2
November 8, 2011 
9 Comments
This is the 3rd in Allison’s series about NaNoWriMo. To see the other articles, check out NaNoWriMo 101 and NaNoWriMo, Week 1.
It’s week two of National Novel Writing Month. Are you feeling the second week blues yet? If you aren’t, chances are you’re not pushing too hard, or you’ve done this before.
Where You Should Be
Week 2 is all about buckling down for the long haul. Up to now you’ve probably been dipping in your toes, getting a feel for the sort of book this is going to be, and meeting your characters. But week 2 is the official start of NaNoWriMo blues.
Your word count at the beginning of this week should be around 10,000 words. If you are higher than that, you are a novel writing STAR! If you are close, don’t panic. You can probably squeeze in an extra 1-2 hundred words here and there and level your count up in nips and tucks.
By the end of Week 2, you should have a word count at or above 23,333.
Management Techniques for Week 2
The blues usually come on you very quietly. You’ll start feeling a bit rundown. You may even start wondering why you were putting a character in this particular situation. Week 2 is always a slippery slope. In fact you may find that you are trying to remember why you ever thought you could write a novel in the first place.
So this is an excellent time to remember that you aren’t aiming for the 50k goal. You are simply working slow and steady on your 1667 each day. That’s about 200 words an hour, just like we discussed in the first post. Keep your goals simple and small. Achieve them and trust that addition still works. 30 days of 1667 a day WILL get you to the 50k by the end of the Month.
If you haven’t already done so, now is a great time to create an account on the official NaNoWriMo site. This site lets you track your word count and gives you statistics on your personal profile page. You can add writing buddies and watch their words increase as well. This is great because it keeps you going if you feel like your crowd is leaving you behind.
Another awesome way to get some pep back into your writing is to watch your inbox for the weekly pep talks from published authors who know how hard this can be. Some of the latest authors include Audrey Niffeneger author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Erin Morgenstern author of The Night Circus, Chris Cleave author of the novels Incendiary and Little Bee [a #1 New York Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Costa Award for Best Novel of 2008], and many more.
Tools and Useful Stuff for Week 2
CreateSpace is offering NaNoWriMo winners 5 free paperback copies of their finished book; details should already be posted on their site. This is an excellent reason to finish your book, no?
Scribendie is offering 10% off manuscript editing services, and a chance to win some cool stuff! If you participated in NaNoWriMo, consider using the 10% off when you get around to editing. Such manuscript editing services can take away the daunting after task of cleaning up that first draft. Enter NANOWRIMO2011 at the checkout anytime between December 1, 2011 and August 1, 2012, to get the deal.
GetFound Consulting, my personal business, is offering 3 free in-depth web profile assessments to NaNoWriMo participants. These assessments will help the winning authors update their sites, hone their web profile, and make sure their SEO bases are covered. These assessments will be returned to the winning authors as a full PDF report. Also being offered is the chance to win two custom-made, web-ready images. You get the Image package is you are one of the first 2 NaNoWriMo authors who complete their 50,000 word challenge by November 25th! Details apply so check out the posting on Google+.
Personal NaNo
My NaNo count so far is over 18,186. Probably higher by the time this post goes live. Keep your chin up and your nose to the grindstone {Is that even possible?}. You can beat this thing!
Have a NaNoWriMo Tip? Share it in the comments below!
Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
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In writing, like all other endeavors, one must have the PASSION and desire to do something you always wanted to do and to create that something to help others to be inspired and not lose hope. Love your posts!
oohh this can surely help me with my writings. thanks for the info!
Violet recently posted..Best Positions To Get Pregnant
It is cool to finally find out what everyone is rambling about. I have wondered for a while about what NaNoWriMo was
. This seems to be a cool program for the writers and for us, readers too! 
Anna recently posted..Dental bridge – as seen in old ladies’ mouths
Wow this is a cool program for those who are fan of writing. I hope I’m one of them but unfortunately I’m not good at writing, my English stacks every time I try to come up with a composition. How I wish.
Thanks Allison for the great reminder of yours. i am sure many will also do the same thing if they will be seeing your post.
Liane Markus recently posted..pevonia skin care reviews
I love “Allison’s series about NaNoWriMo.” Thank you Allison for inspiring us.
I remember myself writing at your first post that I was going to try writing myself; I feel bad for not finding time to fulfill my promise. Perhaps I will in the near future. Looking forward for “NaNoWriMo, week 3”!
Nick Sotos recently posted..Osprey Atmos Backpack Review and Coupons
Twitter: AllisonDDuncan
November 10, 2011 at 7:36 PM
Nick,
I’m glad you got something out of it! And of course, remember you can still catch up if you marathon write over the weekends.
Good luck!
Allison Duncan recently posted..NaNoWriMo 2011
I think week 2 will work perfectly because of the specific management techniques and tools that you have decided to utilize. Hope there will be more improvement in this coming days.
Liane Markus recently posted..עיסוי ספורטאים
Twitter: AllisonDDuncan
November 10, 2011 at 7:37 PM
Liane,
It’s always a matter of learning to turn FB and Twitter off for me. Those two sites can decimate a word count.
So really, the best technique is unplugging the internet.
Thanks for reading!
Allison Duncan recently posted..NaNoWriMo 2011