I know it’s not really November, but we are basically on quarantine here in my valley and the idea of writing a whole lot over the next couple weeks seems very fitting. Here, then, is a flashback to a post I originally wrote for a publisher’s blog in 2013.

It’s November, and you know what that means!  NANOWRIMO! For those of you who haven’t heard of this phenomenon, November is National Novel Writing Month – though it really could be called INTERnational Novel Writing Month since my city, Chicago, is competing in a word war with cities from all over the world – including our longstanding with Glasgow, Scotland!  (We’ll win, by the way.)  (Jus’ sayin’.)  Writers sign up and target getting 50,000 words – or more – on a first draft of a novel.  There’s a ton of support, help, and good old fashioned competition during the month and the ones who win the most are the folks who give it their best shot – 50,000 words or no.

So here’s what I’ve learned about, and from, doing NaNo.  This will be my fourth year participating; I’ve ‘won’ two (meaning, completed over 50k), and participated once (meaning, got a ton of words but not quite 50k).

-You win whether you finish 50k or not.  Learning to write is a tough gig, and learning to avoid our own censor and just sit down to tell a story can be tough.  Just Do It is a devilishly tricky piece of advice.

-Just Do It.  Yes, Nike said it first, but they have it right.  There’s no substitute for writing it.

-When all else fails, write about your critic – that nasty voice that’s telling you your novel sucks, no one will want to read it, and who the hell are you to try this crazy thing anyway?

-Don’t go it alone.  Whether you find writing buddies in the online forums on the main NaNo site, your own region’s message board, or out in the real world at a live write-in, speak up.  You’re not the only one doing it and the sense of camaraderie can do wonders for your writing self esteem – and may just help make the difference between starting, and winning.

-Caffeine can fuel the world.  No, really.

-Cats can’t help you write.  They can, however, sit on your keyboard – so make sure you back up your work.  Often.

-Get good at writing silly stuff.  Write to prompts.  Write character interviews.  Write badly – on purpose.  Write silly and pedantic and goofy and in voices you never intend your characters to actually have.  Whatever you do, write.

-Write.  There’s no substitute for it.

And don’t forget to sleep and shower.  Your family will thank me for that one.

Write on!

This post originally appeared on the Samhain Publishing blog, 11/08/2013.