NaNoWriMo is only two days away, and for me, November is always a super busy month. This year is no different. My oldest son turns sixteen on Wednesday, and with that comes a trip to the DMV on Friday so he can try to get his license. I am not nervous or worried; he’s an excellent driver for someone who is only fifteen going on sixteen. Then, later in the month, my oldest daughter turns ten, and then, of course, there is Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, and all the everyday in-between drama that sometimes makes it hard to write.
So what do you do when you have a big family and a lot of responsibility and birthdays and holidays? Well, you make a plan.
This year, the plan is simple: I started early in October, outlining the book that I plan on writing in November. I have spent every day- Monday through Friday focusing on my writing for a set amount of time (five hours a day), which might not be a lot to everyone, but with six kids at home and five of them actively homeschooling, five hours a day is pretty impressive.
Having a Plan
This is where outlining can be super helpful; by developing my character outlines as well as my story outline ahead of time, I feel comfortable on Wednesday when I set down to write that I know where I am going to have to go.
Treat it Like a Job.
I have had to put aside a lot of things this year and make the decision that this writing career is going to be my other full-time job. If that means waking up before the rest of the house to get in three-four hours before they are awake and plugging away in the afternoon after school lets out for three-four hours, I will work eight hours a day, five days a week, until I am a successful author.
I am fortunate to have an almost sixteen-year-old available to hire out to babysit the other kids while mom is at work. We close the door to my office, and the kids are learning. That means mom is at work, and they need to defer to their older brother just as if I was at a job away from home.
Set Realistic Goals
NaNoWriMo suggests 50,000 words in 30 days, which comes to 1667 words a day roughly. However, I am only planning on working five days a week; I will still be off Saturday and Sunday to spend time with my husband and children and get chores done around the house, so to make sure I write 50,000 words in 30 days, I am going to have to increase my word count to 2273. That is not counting my non-fiction blogging and creative work.
In Conclusion
To be successful in NaNoWriMo and a writing career, you need to set realistic goals, have a plan to treat your writing like a real job, and have a conversation with your family and friends about how you are going to be implementing this plan, which may include having dedicated writing hours each day when you are otherwise unavailable.
What are you doing to prepare for NaNoWriMo?
