NaNo Fail - And Picking Oneself Up By the Bootstraps

This was a terrible weekend for NaNoWriMo.

My personal writing goal this weekend was small and simple: about 700 words, and more if I could manage it. Apparently, I could not. There was so much unpacking and so many friends and so many ways to procrastinate that Monday morning dawned on a wordless writer.

I shall not allow it to happen again.

It's times like this that I must remember my cause and redouble my efforts. That usually involves: 1) Remembering the internet is not my friend at these times, and 2) Reading through all of the inspirations I've tucked away. Some are simple quotes; some are longer. But they all help me remember that writing is just one word followed by another, and that helps me get things done.

Neil Gaiman's 8 Good Writing Practices

Snoopy always helps me out. Keep your writing mascot at your side!

Neil Gaiman's NaNoWriMo Pep Talk (Hey, he's good at giving advice. And I totally love everything he's ever written, so that's a good reason to take advice from him.)

"We need to write, otherwise no one will know who we are." ~ Garrison Keillor

On Writing by Stephen King - lots of good advice and things that make you feel a little better about your personal struggle. After all, most of us can still pay for food at this point, yes? I hope?

Advice from famous authors - these are nice to use as desktop backgrounds. When you're stuck, just go back to the desktop and you'll be ready to go again.

"I write for the same reason I breathe: because if I didn't, I would die." ~ Isaac Asimov

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I love Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern. It was great advice and guidance in college, and it still is now. Even though I have some of these segments memorized, I like to reread them - it makes me want to go do the thing I'm reading about. If I'm having trouble with a plot point, I read about plot, which takes me to the narrative section, then to the cliche section, then to character. After about ten minutes, I'm refreshed with new ideas and ready to try again.

Hopefully these will help my fellow NaNoers, spitting out words as vigorously as they can. We all reach that wall - but the real test is whether we can climb over it.

What are some of your favorite writing inspirations?

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