NaNoWriMo Daily Cookies: 30 days of support & encouragement

[Sommer Leigh]

On one of the NaNoWriMo threads here at Nathan's forums I mentioned I'd be cheerleading for all those participating in NaNoWriMo this year. Last night I decided I was going to throw my hat in as well, but that doesn't mean I am not cheerleading too! I decided to start a daily post on my blog called NaNoWriMo Daily Cookies and I wanted to share them here as well.

Day 1, your first 1,667 words.

So for today’s NaNoWriMo Daily Cookie I give you links to both Scrivener beta download for windows and Liquid Story Binder trial version. They are both kick-ass writing programs I can personally recommend, and while the first day of NaNo is arguably not the best day to try and learn a new writing program, it can help get you fired up with excitement. New toys tend to make everything feel special, you know?

If you are good at intuitively figuring out software, by all means, jump in. Neither are particularly difficult to use if you just want to start writing and you don’t currently care about all the bells and whistles. The link for Scrivener has a video tutorial a couple of minutes long that gives you the bare bones of what you need to know, and Liquid Story Binder comes with a fake novel project in the trial to show you what each feature can do. LSB probably takes a little longer to get used to than Scrivener.

Keep in mind that new writing programs are awesome, but can distract you from the matter of actual writing. Do not let this happen to you! A writing program is supposed to help you achieve your goals, not derail you. If you are prone to clicking and exploring and will ultimately use hours and hours figuring out all the pretty buttons and knobs on a new writing program, skip it until the end of November. If you can explore the program a little bit at a time and not let it pull the rug out from under your momentum then let these pretty toys inspire you to greatness.

Scrivener Windows Beta: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scriv ... index.html
Liquid Story Binder free trial : http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/

Happy writing NaNo writers!

[Sommer Leigh]

Day 2.

Welcome to Day 2 of NaNoWriMo! Are you 3,334 words in yet? You thought this would be easy, didn’t you?

Starting NaNoWriMo is like starting a diet. The first couple of days are filled with wide-eyed enthusiasm. “I CAN do this,” you say with a smile and a sense of accomplishment even though you haven’t actually accomplished anything yet. You’re ready to accomplish things and that is all that matters. So on Day 2, you should be feeling pretty good about yourself. You should still be feeling that high of working at midnight and feeling like an author. You’re probably still healthy and coiffed, not drowning in overpriced caffeine drinks and snack size after-Halloween candy sales. The grunge of writing hasn’t set in yet. You’re probably still bathing.

In fact, you probably still have your sense of humor.

The Oatmeal ( http://theoatmeal.com/ ) is one of my favorite websites EVAR. That’s right, I broke out the text-slang for this one. One of its awesome posters is called “10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling” ( http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling) and it is hysterical, definitely worth a read. Especially if you misspell any of them. I know I certainly do.

In fact, definitely is one of my big problem words. It is only spelled correctly here because I did a spell check before posting this. So you’ll think I'm smart.

[Robin]

Thanks for posting these Sommer. Best of luck.

[Claudie]

Sommer, the Ten Words are hilarious. It's 1:30 am, I need sleep, I should go to bed but I'm giggling so hard I don't think it would work anyway. ;P

[Sommer Leigh]

Day 3 Cookies! (Also, white chocolate mocha lattes for everyone!)

John Green has been a great supporter of NaNoWriMo for the past couple of years. This year he's even doing an official Pep Talk for NaNo. Last year he made a great video about NaNoWriMo writers (and why he decided to participate.) I think it is great when authors support creative projects like this one.





Congrats on making it to day 3 and still feeling good, right? Yay go you!

[Mira]

Sommer, this is mega-cool of you to do! I'm not doing NaNo, but I'll enjoy your links.

Really sweet of you.

[Sommer Leigh]

(Posting Day 4's early because I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet.)

Day 4. Still feeling enthusiastic right? That’s what I like to hear! Go, go, gadget word count!

Staying pumped is almost impossible without a good soundtrack to chair dance to. So I built one for you. Hope you enjoy!

Kicking NaNo Ass 101 Playlist

Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
Walk the Walk – POE
Let it Rock – Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
Here it Goes Again – OK Go
I Melt With You – Bowling for Soup
The Impression That I Get – The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Punk Rock 101 – Bowling for Soup
He’s not a Boy – The Like
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Since I can't figure out how to embed the playlist, here is a link to the website where it is saved: http://www.playlist.com/playlist/20928250379/standalone
And a link to my blog where it is already embedded: http://sommerleigh.com/?p=1516
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Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. Why it will motivate you: Hahahaha, if you need a reason, you fail at rocking out. This song will MAKE you awesome.

Walk the Walk by POE. Why it will motivate you: The guitar. And the explosions. Also lyrics like this: “Hey everybody when you walk the walk you gotta back it all up can you talk the talk? Hey everybody when I hear the knock don’t want to measure out my life to the tick of a clock.”

Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne. Why it will motivate you: Ridiculously catchy beat inspires a Pavlovian need to dance. The lyrics aren’t going to move hearts and minds, but who cares when you’re motivated to boogie in your desk chair?

Here it Goes Again by OK Go. Why it will motivate you: The song is great and punchy and gets your heart rate up, but it pales in comparison to the awesome video. If these guys can do that with a few treadmills without breaking their collective necks, certainly you can write 50,000 words in a month.

I Melt With You by Bowling for Soup. Why it will motivate you: Because this band is painfully adorable? Oh also, the song is awesome.

The Impression That I Get by The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones. Why it will motivate you: There are few things the Bosstones can’t motivate you to do. True story, I used to listen to this CD when I cleaned my house because of its magical motivational properties.

Punk Rock 101 by Bowling for Soup. Why it will motivate you: “It’s stupid contagious to be broke and famous can someone please save us from punk rock 101? My dickies, your sweat pants, my spiked hair your new vans, let’s throw up our rock hands for punk rock 101!” ‘nough said.

He’s Not a Boy by The Like. Why it will motivate you: Hot, awesome British chicks rocking out the Mod ‘dos? Check. Catchy lyrics, danceable beat? Check, check. A song revealing the truth about 99% of all literary bad boys? CHECK. A must for all writers who’re thinking of throwing in a hottie bad boy who will inevitably break your MC’s heart. “And he knows that beauty lies, but he likes it by his side, just to take it for a ride till the mystery dies.”

[Sommer Leigh]

Day 5

Congratulations, it is Friday! After a week of work days, it might feel like you’ll never hit your goal. After putting in 8 hours of work/classes and coming home, making/eating dinner, checking email, putting kids to bed/petting cats/dogs/hamsters sometimes it doesn’t seem like there are enough hours to hit that magical 1,667 words a day.

That’s ok. Because there is always the weekend.

Two whole days of caffeine that would make a normal person explode…saturday and sunday are powerhouse writing days for NaNoWriMo writers and we get 4 magical chances to catch up. Don’t blow it! Put these weekends to good use. Put off the laundry, swear to do the dishes next week, give the cats a little extra food to leave you alone, and sequester yourself away. It’s a good weekend to write.

And to usher in a great weekend, I give you a great NaNoWriMo song that just cracks me up! THE PUPPETS! The puppets are what make this song. I give you: “I am the very model of a Wrimo individual.”

Prepare to laugh until you pee.

[cheekychook]

OMG Summer! Thank you! LMAO

[Sommer Leigh]

OMG Summer! Thank you! LMAO

Haha! You're welcome! I'm glad you guys are enjoying these!

[bcomet]

Sommer,
you are TheBomb, woman!
(chair dancing away)

-bc

[Sommer Leigh]

Day 6. Short and sweet. Keep writing, writers!

[Sommer Leigh]

Day 7. After today, week one will be over. Can you believe it? If you’ve been hitting your word count goal every day, that means you should have 11,669 words at the end of today. Shocking how quickly they add up when you hit your stride, isn’t it?

Today’s cookie comes from Inkygirl.com ( http://www.inkygirl.com/ ), a great funny blog with comics only editors and writers will ever really understand. Inkygirl is spot on with her fresh insight into the writing life and she helps us all remember something very important: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS. Every writer feels the same way, so take a deep breath, let it out, and start again.

Edited to add: It looks like she is also be posting little tidbits comics for NaNoWriMo writers this year.

Hope you’re hanging in there writers. I’m rooting for you.

-Sommer

[Sommer Leigh]

Day 8.

With the first weekend behind you and the first week of excitement and newness past, it is time to think seriously about the task before you. And it’s no surprise that the object goal of 50,000 words starts to feel a little impossible right about now.

Don’t panic!

This is also a good time to remind everyone that 50,000 words is an arbitrary goal. It is not the finish line.

At the heart of NaNoWriMo is a fire and rush associated with pure, unaltered, unedited imagination and creation. Tapping into that power feeds it – using it makes it stronger. The goal is not to put out a first draft worth anything. A month is not enough time to make anything you want someone else to, say, read.

The goal of NaNoWriMo shouldn’t be the 50,000 word finish line. It should be nurturing and sustaining a relationship with your imagination, giving yourself permission to just write with the self-editor turned way down, and a month to set some good writing habits like:

Dedicating a set time to write every day
Learning to set goals
Learning to set rewards
Learning to listen to your gut
Giving yourself permission to be awesome

That you gave yourself permission to begin in the first place is a hugely awesome accomplishment. If you write 20,000 words, met lots of great writers, learned a little something about your writing style, and set some worthwhile habits during these 30 days, you’ve already won a much bigger prize.

Today's cookie comes from Kristina Horner ( http://www.youtube.com/user/italktosnakes )and is a great NaNoWriMo song she posted last year. Very fun!

[Claudie]

Sommer, you rock for posting all of these. And on toipic of the NaNo Individual: I can't believe I didn't see that before! I know this guy, he's from Toronto, and he is awesome. ^^ Apparently he continues to be.