**Make a daily goal. There's thirty days in November (If I remember the rhyme correctly). However, for numerous reasons, it's difficult for many of us to write every day. So take a good, honest look at the calendar. There are plenty of activites you might be able to put off, but some events demand that portion of your time. If you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner for family, you may not be able to squeeze in words to make your daily goal. So plan around those days.
Now, go to your calendar and X out days you know you won't write. It doesnt' matter the reason. Then count up the days left for writing. Take your goal (for Minano it's 25,000 words) and divide it by the number of available days.
For instance--if you plan on writing 20 days, to reach the goal youll need to write 1,250 words per day. The satisfaction of continually meeting a daily goal will propel you forward, even after the challenge is done!
**Take a hint from Scouting and Be Prepared. NaNoWriMo encourages participants to work on a totally new novel. For Minano, we're simply going for word count--it doesn't matter if your words are on a new project or you're continuing your current work in progress. Either way do all of your normal pre-writing before November one. Know your characters and their inciting incidents. Plotter? Get your charts or notecards filled out. Write by the seat of your pants? There's always some pre-thinking that happens before you start a story--even if you only name your characters or title your story.
The point is--when November one rolls around, all you need to do is sit at the computer and begin.
**Is that all there is to it? Oh, of course not. Come back in a few days for more thoughts on surviving an extended writing challenge. And by all means, if you have tried and true suggestions or survival techniques (like the best chocolate to keep by the computer) please share them here!
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