WEBVTT - What I learned from National Novel Writing Month

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about the time management lessons I learned

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<v Speaker 1>from participating in Nano Ramo, which is short for National

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<v Speaker 1>Novel Writing Month. Across the US and now really across

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Thousands of people will attempt to write a

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<v Speaker 1>fifty thousand word novel manuscript in the thirty days of November.

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<v Speaker 1>This is quite an undertaking, but participating can lead to

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<v Speaker 1>major creative breakthroughs, a sense of accomplishment, and some interesting

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<v Speaker 1>lessons on time. I've long been intrigued by Nano Raimo.

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<v Speaker 1>The rules are simple. You write a fifty thousand word

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<v Speaker 1>draft of a novel in thirty days. The rationale won't

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<v Speaker 1>go to any cocktail party, and after a drink or two,

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<v Speaker 1>people will confess that they have a novel that they're

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<v Speaker 1>just dying to write. Nano Ramo says, Okay, let's turn

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<v Speaker 1>that novel from idea too rough manuscript. Let's take it

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<v Speaker 1>from your head to the page. I'm happy to report

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<v Speaker 1>that I've successfully completed this challenge several times. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>I've only got two novels out there. In the world,

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<v Speaker 1>which should tell you something about writing a novel in

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<v Speaker 1>thirty days. Not all of them are going to be

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<v Speaker 1>any good, but I still find the practice fulfilling as

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<v Speaker 1>I aim to make space for fiction in a life

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<v Speaker 1>of nonfiction content and family responsibilities. And I've learned a

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<v Speaker 1>few strategies from nano Rimo over the years that helped

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<v Speaker 1>me with all aspects of time management. First, the people

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<v Speaker 1>who succeed in writing a novel in thirty days make

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<v Speaker 1>sure to do what anyone facing a big project does.

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<v Speaker 1>You break it down into small steps and figure out

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<v Speaker 1>how much time these steps will take. If you want

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<v Speaker 1>to write a fifty novel in thirty days, this is

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<v Speaker 1>about six d sixty seven words per day. However, as

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<v Speaker 1>anyone doing a big project discovers, doing something every day

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<v Speaker 1>is tough, most of us need space to take breaks

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<v Speaker 1>or in case things go wrong. If you plan to

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<v Speaker 1>work twenty days in November, taking weekends and Thanksgiving off,

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<v Speaker 1>or just in general writing four to five days per week,

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<v Speaker 1>then you need to write words per working day. This

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<v Speaker 1>pace allows for flexibility. If you lose a writing day

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<v Speaker 1>because of a work emergency, you can sub in a

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<v Speaker 1>weekend day and get back on track. Successful Nao rimo

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<v Speaker 1>novelists also figure out how long those daily words will take.

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<v Speaker 1>I write for a living, and over the years this

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<v Speaker 1>has helped me figure out my speed. I can write

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<v Speaker 1>rough drafts of stuff where I know the outline at

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<v Speaker 1>a pace of one thousand words per hour. So to

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<v Speaker 1>write words, need to block out about two hours of

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<v Speaker 1>time as someone who doesn't sit down at a computer

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<v Speaker 1>every day to bang out podcast scripts and blog posts

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<v Speaker 1>might need a little longer, let's say three hours. Then

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<v Speaker 1>there's the question of where you're going to block in

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<v Speaker 1>three hours five times a week. To do this well,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll need to study your calendar. For many people, this

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<v Speaker 1>is going to involve multiple shifts per day. You get

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<v Speaker 1>up ninety minutes early and right, then right for thirty

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<v Speaker 1>minutes at lunch, and then for an hour after the

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<v Speaker 1>kids go to bed. On a weekend, you might use

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<v Speaker 1>the hours of six thirty am and crank out your

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<v Speaker 1>words before the rest of your family stirs. Or perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>your spouse takes the kids for the afternoon and you

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<v Speaker 1>write for three hours in a library or coffee shop.

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<v Speaker 1>To be sure, this requires logistical planning, your spouse might

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<v Speaker 1>not naturally volunteer to take the children for three hours.

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<v Speaker 1>You might have to ask, but if this is a

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<v Speaker 1>priority for you, you can do so. You can promise

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<v Speaker 1>to reciprocate for something else your spouse wants to do,

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<v Speaker 1>like going on a three hour bike ride, or you

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<v Speaker 1>can give this person a lot of project time in December.

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<v Speaker 1>Then when you're in the midst of your three hour blocks,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to actually focus. The phone goes in airplane

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<v Speaker 1>mode or it goes away. For many people, it helps

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<v Speaker 1>to have some sort of accountability. Team up with another

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<v Speaker 1>novelist to check in each day or week on your

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<v Speaker 1>word count, celebrate each other's victories, and figure out a

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<v Speaker 1>way to get back on track when things go awry.

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<v Speaker 1>But finally, the biggest lesson I've learned and I think

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<v Speaker 1>other people learned from Nano Raimo is this done is

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<v Speaker 1>better than perfect. When you write a fifty word novel

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<v Speaker 1>in thirty days, it isn't going to be a good novel,

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<v Speaker 1>at least not yet, but it's going to be something.

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<v Speaker 1>The pace of writing required to produce fifty words is

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<v Speaker 1>so fast that you are forced to get over perfect.

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<v Speaker 1>Action is um and any sense that you should be

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<v Speaker 1>editing you don't have time for that. Instead, you just

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<v Speaker 1>get it down and it's rough, messy, convoluted form. Because

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<v Speaker 1>here's what I've found, turning nothing into something it's much

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<v Speaker 1>harder than turning something into something better. I can write

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<v Speaker 1>in haste and then edit at leisure. I wrote a

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<v Speaker 1>draft of Juliette's School of Possibilities, my time management fable

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<v Speaker 1>in twenty days during November a few years ago. Then

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<v Speaker 1>I spent the next eight months editing it. Done is

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<v Speaker 1>better than perfect, because you know what, there is no

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<v Speaker 1>perfect without being done. A novel might be perfect in

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<v Speaker 1>your head, but until it exists in the real world,

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<v Speaker 1>it can't be perfect. Existence is a necessary element of perfection.

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<v Speaker 1>So have you ever done a challenge like National Novel

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<v Speaker 1>Writing Month? Are you tempted? Let me know Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>Podcast at iHeart Media dot com. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four. Then Breakfast p O D You can also

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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