Novel Kicks Writing Room – NaNoWriMo Writing Sprint

Through November, I take part in National Novel Writing Month.

The idea, if you’ve never heard of it, is to write 50,000 words in thirty days.

That works out to about 1,667 words per day. This is what I usually aim for as a minimum, but I also don’t go over by much. Why? I like the community of the event. I like reaching that last 1,667 on or around 30^thNovember. I’ve rushed through it before, and it wasn’t as exciting. One year, I had finished by 18^th November and there was such an anti-climactic feeling of “oh, OK. What now?”

No, I much prefer to take it slow. 1,667 words a day is manageable to me. That’s not to say that it always comes easy. Some days, it takes me all afternoon to reach that target.

Finishing early is a bad thing. It just doesn’t work for me. What is good for you is the most important thing.

One of the things I have found helpful is writing sprints. These are made up of small writing challenges. They are usually based on a theme and do require a little imagination. If you want to see more examples, click here. I find them so helpful and fun. They have helped me improve my word output on more than one occasion.

Today, I have written a mini sprint, based on the theme of NaNoWriMo. They are usually longer but this one will hopefully help you reach around 1,667 words. Even if you’re not doing NaNoWriMo, it’s a great tool to get some words written. If you do attempt this, I’d love to know how you got on in the comments.

OK, here we go.

It’s day one of NaNoWriMo. Sprint to 100 words whilst you settle into the challenge and get everything you need.

Congratulations, you’ve earnt your first badge. Set your alarm for two minutes and write whilst you update your word count.

• If you managed over 200 words, write to the nearest hundred.
• If you wrote under 200 words, write for an additional two minutes.

You’ve updated your word count. Write to the nearest hundred.

Oh no. Your computer has crashed, and you’ve lost that days’ work. Write 500 words whilst you try and recover it.

It’s the end of week one. If your current word count ends with an even number, write that many words in hundreds. For example, if it ends with a two, write 200 words.

If it ends with an odd number, write double that number in hundreds (so if it’s three, write 600 words.)

You’re halfway through the month. Write to the nearest thousand whilst you celebrate.

It’s week three. You’ve fallen slightly behind. To get back on track, you take part in a local/online write in. Write 300 words.

It’s the final week. You’re almost there. Write for five minutes as you race toward that finish line.

And you’re done. Write 100 words whilst everyone sends their congratulations.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.