For those of you who don't know what Camp NaNoWriMo is, it's a writing event which happens twice a year, in April and July. During these months, the writing community comes together to work on their writing goals. NaNoWriMo, an event which happens in November, has the goal of writing 50,000 words in a month but the two camps are more flexible. They allow for individuals to define their own writing goals, whether that be to write 50,000 words, edit a manuscript, or work on their project for an hour a day. This will be my third Camp Nano and during my first two I came up with a couple tips and tricks which might help others--and I failed the second camp so I know how to avoid failure too. Here are three things you should do to make your July Camp productive and two things you shouldn't do. Do: Find writing friends to keep you accountable Accountability is key whenever you're trying to achieve a new goal or a goal which is bigger than your average monthly goals. Plus, because Camp NaNo is a community event, it can be easier to find writing friends. July, April, and November are three of the best months to make writing friends. Some of the many ways you can make writer friends are: -creating a writing instagram and connecting with like-minded individuals in DMs and comments -joining a Facebook group for Camp NaNo -starting a Youtube channel or commenting on writing vlogs to share your journey and support the journeys of others -start a writing Twitter and connect with like-minded individuals there -join a discord group, like the one my friends and I created for Camp NaNo Writing friends are amazing, not only because it allows you to hold yourself accountable for your goals, but also because it can help you create a long-term support system and make lifelong friends!! Don't: Create wishy-washy goals In the April Camp, my goals were too big and a little wishy washy. I kept changing up what my main goal was throughout the month and I struggled to get as much done as I would have liked. When you create writing goals, make sure they're clear and you have a good idea of what you're working towards. Do: Have SMART goals you can track To avoid wishy-washy goals, you can create SMART goals. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound. Write down your Camp NaNo goal than ask yourself:
A SMART goal would be to write 40,000 words by July 31st on the novel I'm currently working on. A not SMART goal would be to write words across multiple projects and a free write journal with no deadline or way to measure progress. See the difference? Don't: Try to take on too much Speaking of last April, I had two goals for Camp Nano. One was a wishy-washy goal to edit my YA contemporary while the other was to write 50,000 words on a project I hadn't even started yet. Because of everything going on in the world, I thought I would have more time, forgetting all the boring responsibilities were staying around and not realizing how 2020 would affect my mood. I epically failed because I had bitten off WAY more than I could accomplish in one month--plus my first goal, to edit my YA contemporary--wasn't a measurable goal I could easily achieve. Make sure you're being realistic with your time and how much writing/editing you can actually get done during Camp. Do: Have fun as well as be productive While the main goal of a Camp is to get a lot done on your WIP, you should also try to have some fun. Meet new writer friends. Participate in Instagram challenges. Record some vlogs or write some blog posts to reflect on your journey. At the end of the day, writing and events like Camp are supposed to be fun--so remember that as you hustle towards your goal!!
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In my latest vlog, I not only provided you with the usual writing inspiration, but also gave you a tour of my vision board. So, I thought it was only appropriate to blog the four steps I took to create my vision board. First off, why create a vision board? A vision board is a way to help clarify your goals and vision for your life. Not only that, but it can serve as a subconscious way to help make those goals happen. If you are constantly starring at your vision board, the lifestyle reflected on that board will make its way into your subconscious and, eventually, your life! Step 1: Write down what your dream life would look like When I first started my vision board, I was unsure what to put on it. I like to read and I wanna be a writer so books? After I delved into how to create a vision board that works, I learned it was about more than just my ideal job or what I liked to do--it was about encompassing every part of my ideal life. Write down what your ideal life would look like across different areas. What is your ideal health routine? Profession? Audience reach? Home? Love life? Friendship types? Adventures and vacations? Values to live by? The list can go on and on. A great exercise if you're unsure what to write about your ideal life is to close your eyes and meditate on the feelings you want to bring into your life. See what images accompany those feelings and write them down. Step 2: Find images to represent those ideals Once you have your list of things in your ideal life, it's time to find the images to go with it. One of my favorite places to look is Pinterest. In the past, I've gotten my images for vision boards from Pinterest and even made sure they fit an ideal color scheme, but since my printer broke and can no longer print in color, I had to resort to magazines. While less aesthetic, you'd be surprised what you can find in magazines. The only magazines I could find lying around my house were local ones delivered for free, yet I could still find images of my ideal office, vacations, bookish life, etc.! Even if the magazines you own seem to have nothing to do with your ideal life, you might be surprised what images and text you can recontextualize to fit your ideal life. Step 3: Aesthetics Once you have all the images you want to use, it's time to make them look pretty. If you're using images from Pinterest, Google, images, or somewhere online, I recommend using a photo editing app to give them all a similar filter. Something free like Canva, VSCO, or the Lightroom photo app should do the trick. After you have your images printed, try to cut them out and organize them so they fit your aesthetic. For example, I'm very into vintage, cozy vibes so I cut my images to create soft boards and included parchment paper with cursive, sunflowers, and other elements to create a soft, vintage vibe for my board. Step 4: Put the vision board somewhere you'll see it every day A vision board does no good in your closest or behind your bookshelf. It needs to be out in a place where you'll see it everyday. For me, I put mine underneath my goals whiteboard. That way, every time I look at my weekly goals and tasks, I also see my vision board. In fact, keeping your vision board in your home office, bedroom, kitchen, or wherever you work on your passion projects could be a good idea! By placing your vision board somewhere visible and also where you work on creating your dream life, you are ensuring the images of your dream life enter into your subconscious every day while you're working on your goals. Honestly can't think of a better location! Do you have a vision board? What do you have on it? Today's blog--as well as the corresponding video--are a little bit different than my usual content. Yes, they still include some writing, but they offer a more holistic view of how to create a lifestyle around your passions...and fun! Lately, my weekends and weekdays have started to blend together so I wanted to create a routine where the weekends would feel more like, well, weekends. To do this, I made a couple of changes to my weekends. Change 1: No hour-to-hour schedules or to-do lists During the week, I have a strict hourly schedule which usually dictates what I'm doing from 6am to 9pm. I also have a to-do list so I can check off weekly tasks as I complete them. While this might sound a little type A, it works for me. However, the last few weekends, I've thrown the schedule and the to-do list out the window. Instead, Saturday and Sunday are now two days devoted to doing what makes me happy. That doesn't mean I don't do anything on those days, just that I go with the flow more and work on what I feel passionate about in the moment. Change 2: Goal to Read More Last Saturday, I read an entire book in the sun, on a picnic blanket, with a daiquiri, in my bathing suit. While I might have just been in my backyard, it was lovely to imagine I was reading at the beach. Plus, the book I read, Red, White, and Royal Blue is a cutesy rom-com, which really pulled the aesthetic together. Because I enjoyed reading in the sun so much, I'm making it my mission, weather permitting, to read out in the sun every weekend during the summer. There's something about good books and vitamin D to bring all the happiness and weekend vibes to your life. Change 3: Make time for nature Kinda going off the sun thing, I also want to make more time for nature on the weekends as well as doing workouts I truly love. I have a set workout schedule but the weekends are my time to try a fun online barre class or go for a hike instead of my normal run and strength training set. Along with that, I want to explore nature more often. In the fall of 2019, I went on a hike almost every weekend with friends and it made me so happy. I'd love to start hiking more again...especially since that was one of my goals when I thought I would be spending the year in New Zealand. Change 4: Make Pizza So this isn't really a change for me. Every Friday night has been pizza night since I was a kid. But homemade pizza on Friday nights gives me something to look forward to after a long work week and could be a change to your weekend routine. Besides, who doesn't love pizza!? Treat yourself with a fun cooking project and a yummy meal during the weekends! While these are just four small changes I've made to make my weekends feel more like weekends, there's plenty of fun things you can do. If you're stuck, brainstorm activities which are cozy and make you happy and then try to do as many as you can in a weekend! You might be surprised by how much fun you can have in 48 hours without spending a ton of money or traveling far from home!!! Put your phone out of arm’s reach: when you can't get to your phone, it can't serve as a distraction. Phones are probably one of the biggest distractions when writing, so see how you can get rid of your phone, whether it's across the room, in a different room, or on airplane mode. Exit out of email, Google Calendar, and other distracting tabs: usually, I have a million tabs open on my computer. However, last month I realized when I sat down to write that I tended to get distracted by emails or planning stuff out in my Google Calendar. Now, I close out email and Google calendar when writing. Take a look at what tabs distract you and exit out of them when writing. If I need to research something, I set a timer in order to not go down a Google wormhole: we've all been there--one innocent Google search can become an hour long research fest where our initial search was about European time zones, but now we're looking at the best places to eat in Edinburgh. Stop yourself from falling down this Google wormhole by setting a timer when you search something. I set a timer for five minutes when searching and when the timer goes off, it's time to get back to work. Clean workspace: declutter the space around you so your writing desk displays nothing to distract you when writing. Get out emotional junk before writing: similar to getting rid of physical clutter, it's important to purge emotional clutter before writing. To do this, I freewrite before each session, which I outlined in the video above and the blog post on my writing process Don’t reread while writing: especially when drafting, it can be easy to get stuck rereading and editing what you've already done. However, you have your writing goals which (usually) won't be accomplished from rereading. Make sure you're actively moving forward and making progress. Make your breaks energizing: breaks spent on social media or in front of your computer screen make you tired and overwork your eyes. Instead, try to get away from your screen when you take a break. Go for a run or a walk, dance, do some yoga and stretch it out. Find what energizes you and incorporate it into your writing breaks. Figure out a quiet time in your household: eliminate distractions by finding your ideal environment to write in. For me, it's the quiet before the rest of my family wakes up. While we love our friends and family, they can become environmental distractions if we don't structure our writing schedule strategically. Livesprints/accountability: livesprints and accountability groups are a great way to make you sure you stay on track. I host livesprints every Sunday at 2pm EST on my channel if you want to see what I mean! Turn off all or almost all laptop notifications: at least on Macs, text notifications constantly pop up and distract me. Since I usually am either doing university work, stuff for my part-time job, or my writing and platform work on my laptop, there's no reason for texts to pop up on screen. I decided to put all my texting conversations on Do Not Disturb, except for messages from my family and other important people who might contact me in an emergency. Think of how you can optimize your laptop so you don't get distracted. Humans in general experience a lot of stress. But when you throw being a writer on top of that (with the rejections, waiting, constant editing, etc.), life can get even more stressful. This month, I'm trying to do a serious amount of revisions on my YA contemporary on top of finals for university and a part-time job. I'm extremely stressed over everything I want to get accomplished this month, so I decided to rewatch a video I made a year ago and give a couple more tips for dealing with stress as a writer. Tip 1: Understand that no one can do it all Once you realize you can't do it all, sit down and think about which task should be your priority. Adjust your goals and areas of your life to cater to your current priorities. Tip 2: Adjusting your plan is not a failure If we can't do it all, it's not a failure to readjust our goals. Life happens and don't be afraid to be flexible as a response. Tip 3: Planning can help minimize stress Sometimes, just writing everything down and prioritizing the tasks you have to do can minimize the overwhelm in your life. Tip 4: Reframe FOMO to JOMO Oftentimes, we get anxious when we miss something or think we're going to miss something. A lot of us suffer from FOMO--fear of missing out--and push ourselves too far. Instead, reframe your perspective. Instead of fearing what you might be missing, think about the joy in your life from not going to another obligation. JOMO--joy of missing out--is celebrating the free time you have when you don't attend obligations you don't want to go to. Tip 5: When you start to feel stressed, still make time for the things you love When you're stressed, it can be tempting to eliminate self care so you have more time to work--this is not a good idea and will just leave you feeling burned out. We do our best work when we're energized and taking care of our selves. Self care is important! I hope these tips helped you deal with the stress of being a writer. Just remember to breathe above all else. Everything will turn out ok <3 As Camp Nano is in about a month, I thought I'd start a Saturday blog series about how to make sure you're ready for it! (For those of you who don't know, Camp Nano is a writing event where writers decide on a writing goal to achieve in July and then work towards it.) The first step to a successful Camp Nano, or to any writing project, is to have an outline. And yes, I know some people can write novels without them but I can't. So if you're like me and need an outline, this post is for you. Today, I thought I would share my three step process to outlining a novel. Step One: Braindump all your novel ideas If you read my post about my writing process, then you know a novel idea usually brews in my head for a while before I write the outline. The first thing I do before outlining a new novel idea is to get all those ideas out of my head and onto the page. For this, I'll pull out my journal and just jot down all the fun ideas, no matter how big or small, onto the page. This can serve as inspiration for the beat sheets and oftentimes leads to me creating fully formed characters before I even use the beat sheet. Step Two: Use the Save the Cat Beat Sheet to Organize Your Ideas If you're unfamiliar with Save the Cat Writes a Novel, you need to buy this book! The author highlights all the beats you need to craft a great novel...and the book will revolutionize your outlines--however, any three act writing structure would work here. I divide up all my ideas into different beats which belong in a three act structure. Usually, I write these out on index cards, as I did when outlining my last novel back in October of 2019. I even blogged about it in case you're curious what the cards looked like! Step Three: Divide the Beats Up into Chapters and Create a Formal Outline After I have all the beats down on index cards, I assign each index card to a chapter. I try to make sure there's about three scenes/beats per chapter so the chapters aren't too long or short, but this is just a rough guideline. Once each beat is assigned a chapter, I pulled up a Google Doc, name it "Draft 1 Outline" and set to work roughly outlining the main points of each chapter. For each chapter, I like to have mapped out any main plot points, any subplot progression, any character development, and the cliffhanger for each chapter which will keep readers reading. Curious how this all looks in action? Watch me outline in this vlog: I'm a big believer that success is found in the everyday. It's not the big goals and ideas which make someone successful (although they are important), it's the small day-to-day things which provide the consistency needed for success! I recently published a week in my life vlog on Youtube (which was a SUPER fun video I highly recommend checking out) but there were a couple things throughout filming which I realized allowed me to crush my goals and stay productive while having fun. Here are my top four tips to design your week for success! Tip One: Plan Your Weeks Out!! I know, I know. This might sound simple, but going into your week with an effective plan can be a game changer. For me, I like to review my quarterly goals each week, the status of all the projects I'm working on, and set weekly milestones to work towards those bigger goals and projects. For example, one project I've been working on this month is drafting my YA Thriller. My quarterly goal is to get the project done, meaning I want to write 50,000 words on it in May. Last Sunday, I calculated I needed to write 11,000 words on the project! After I create these weekly milestones, I write them up on my whiteboard so I can erase them once the weekly objective is completed. However, I also like to break these weekly tasks down into daily tasks so I write down my to-dos in my planner at the beginning of each week. There's something so satisfying about crossing off to-dos! I always devote some time on Sunday to creating extensive to-do lists as they allow me to design my day and have control over how I'm spending my time! Tip Two: But also don't be afraid to go with the flow By vlogging my week, I noticed something very interesting about my writing. Some days, I could write 1,000 words in an hour while other days it took me three hours to write 800 words! Not all days are created equal and some days, you're just feeling it and other days...not so much. In order to optimize when I'm feeling it, I try to make sure my plans are flexible. That way, if I feel inspired one day, I write more, moving some of the other to-dos that day to the next or to later in the evening. On the flipside, some days I'm not feeling it, so I give myself permission to do easier tasks or take some time off to workout, go for a hike, go for a coffee run, etc. Yes, goals are important but you shouldn't have to force yourself to do all the things on days when you feel less motivated--save that force and energy for days when you feel motivated and determined and give yourself grace when needed. Plan ahead, but optimize each day to how you're feeling! Tip Three: Devote Time to Your Personal Growth I love working on my goals and on more occasions than I'd like to admit, I've let my personal growth fall to the wayside. But self-care is about more than working hard all day and collapsing onto the coach at night to watch Netflix. It's also about growing into your ideal self. Last week, I made a manageable but powerful goal to meditate two days and journal three days. By adding personal growth to the to-do list and devoting time to refill my well, I actually found I was more productive...even though my meditation and journaling time could have been used for work! Tip Four: Don't Forget to Have Fun One of my most productive days last week was Thursday. On Thursday, I worked on my secret project, wrote 3,000 words, edited and turned in a history essay, and led a meeting for my part-time job. But I also got in a leg workout, spent time outside, read an amazing book, meditated, and went for a walk with my friend. Balance is key to success so when planning out your weeks, ask yourself, "Do I have time for fun?" Today I'm sharing my favorites apps and technologies for writers and the best part? Every program mentioned in this post is FREE (at least at the time this post was published). Read on to see what websites and apps you should be using to uplevel your writing life!!! These technologies can help with your planning, content creation, and your writing! 1. The Dunkin/Starbucks App So I didn't mention this in the original video but let's face it; writers LOVE to write in coffeeshops/go on coffee runs. And if you're going to be spending *too much* money on coffee, you might as well be rewarded by downloading the app of your favorite coffee chain! 2. Google Calendar Time blocks can change your life...especially when it comes to writing. Google Calendar is a free technology where you can block out 15 minute increments on your day. Every day, I map out an hour or so to work on my novel...and color code writing time in pink because pink is my favorite color! 3. PowerPoint I use a PowerPoint template I made when I first started my writing platform to create my quarterly goals. This template is branded with my color scheme and includes all the areas of my writing life which I usually plan. Creating a template catered to your needs on PowerPoint can be a great way to develop and track quarterly goals. 4. Sticky Notes on Laptop Screen Not physical paper sticky notes, but ones on my desktop screen. I have one sticky note for each project I am currently working on. Anytime I have an idea for a project, I write it on the sticky for that project. This is a great way to organize all my projects and remember what I'm working on every time I see my desktop screen. 5. Canva Do I really need to go into detail about the awesomeness of Canva? While there are paid options, the free version still allows you to create beautiful graphic design projects. AND you don't have to be a graphic designed to create something beautiful. I design all my Youtube thumbnails, Instagram story templates, Pinterest posts, and blog graphics on Canva. It's a free, user-friendly way to up the aesthetic of your writing platform. 6. Preview Preview is a free app where you can plan out your Instagram posts. Preview allows you to schedule your posts as well as add hashtag groups and captions to post. This is key to being consistent on Instagram if you're forgetful of social media posting like I am but want to have a consistent schedule. 7. Google Docs and Microsoft Word While you can invest in Scrivner, free word processing systems also work to write and revise a novel. I've done all my writing and revising in Google docs and haven't ran into any issues yet! The 10K Challenge by Mandi Lynn has been a popular competition going around the online writing community, and for great reason. The challenge asks writers to write 10,000 words in a single day. The truth is, I've been doing these challenges before it became viral. I love 10K days during the drafting process because it provides me with the ability to progress quicker in my manuscript. For those of you who haven't watched my writing process video or read the blog post, I write the first draft of my projects in one to two months. I wrote the YA contemporary project over January and May of last year (odd time gap, I know) and I'm looking to finish this YA thriller over May and June of this year. So what's the big secret to getting a first draft done so quickly? 10K days. Think about it. If the minimum a novel needs to be is 50k, 10k is one fifth a novel written in a day. If you're like me and your novels are a bit larger, it's still a decent chunk. My projects are around 80,000 words so a 10K day means I wrote over 12% of my novel in one day. Wow. That's still pretty darn impressive. Plus, 10K days can be really fun when done right. During my latest 10K day, I filmed the entire process as well as thought of a couple tips and tricks to conquer a 10K writing day. 1. Chose a day where you don't have a lot going on I know. I know. Life is crazy and there's all some obligation or responsibility but when planning 10K writing days, plans ahead so you can schedule one on a day where you have little to no other responsibilities. For me, I usually schedule mine for Saturdays because I am off work and can do any weekend homework on Sundays. I also schedule them a month out so I know not to make any plans with friends on those days. However, sometimes I will use plans with friends as reward. For the 10K day where I ended up writing 15,000 words last year, I had planned on hanging out with friends after finishing (even if I did end up bailing for an introvert night). This time around, my 9am break was a run with one of my old cross country friends. The day doesn't have to be completely clear, but planning a 10K day sometime when a lot is happening might not be the smartest idea. 2. Have productive and fun rewards I try to brainstorm 5-10 rewards before each 10K day. Usually, one of my favorite rewards is going to a coffeeshop to write for a portion of the day but with all the craziness which is 2020, I wasn't able to do that this. However, one of my rewards was still going through the Dunkin Drive Through for a latte. Another productive reward was writing outside once I hit 5,000 words. I also try to make sure at least one of my rewards is some form of exercise (yoga, running, Just Dance videos, etc.) because moving my body helps re-engerize me throughout the day. Other than that, my other rewards can vary greatly. I do always have one big final reward...which usually involves pizza, ice cream, and binge watching Netflix. Having a big reward to look forward to can help up your writing progress. 3. Track your progress During 10K days, I track my progress in my journal and up on my white board. On my white board, I have little squares to fill in for each 500 words. To be honest, filling in the squares is a reward in and of itself! In my journal, I write down the time stamps of each word sprint as well as the word count for that sprint and the total word count. No matter how good you are at math, make sure to keep diligent records so you know when you hit 10,000 words. 3. Start early Set your alarm for a little earlier. Make some coffee. And get some words written. 4. But don't be deterred if the day doesn't start as planned In this last 10K challenge, I only wrote 1,000 words before 10:30am...yikes, especially since I'm a morning writer. Yet, just like NaNoWriMo, a bad start doesn't have to determine if you reach your goal or not. I kept pushing harder as the day went on (and made myself some coffee which admittedly helped). Don't let a bad beginning determine your end, even if, like me, you hoped to get a lot written early in the day. 5. Don't let past failures define your current 10K challenge Last November, I tried to do a 10K challenge and failed. Epically. As in, I think I only wrote 4,000 words that day. Going into this 10K challenge, I was nervous, especially after such a dismal start. However, I got into the mindset that I could do this. Lots of people do 10K challenges and I even completed one a year ago. Who cares if the last time I tried this, I failed? Last time does not equal this time. No matter what happened in the past or earlier the day of your 10K challenge, don't let it define the outcome. Keep going and believe you can do it! Also, life hack: everything is easier if you believe you can do it, no matter the odds or your history. I remember when I was new to journaling, naive as to how much the practice would improve my life for the better and, more importantly, unsure what to write about! Sometimes, it can seem like our lives are too boring or mundane to write journal entries about, but finding content in the mundane is part of the fun! Here's 10 journal prompts for when you don't know what to journal about!
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AuthorI'm Angela Anne, a Young Adult contemporary writer committed to helping you achieve your writing goals + giving you writing inspiration. ArchivesCategories
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