Silver's Helpful Writing Tips

Writing for the Stars

My JanNoWriMo Challenge

YOWO — You Only Write Once

Okay, that may be a bit dramatic, but if you've read any of my other articles, you'll know that's just how I roll.

Now, you may be wondering, "What the heck is JanNoWriMo? Is that even a thing?"

Nope, it's not. I just decided to call my challenge that since I wasn't able to complete NaNoWriMo back in November due to a shoulder injury (still working on that, btw).

If you don't know what is, you're not alone. In short, it's when millions of writers around the world gather together with the goal of writing 50k words in the 30 days.

Why Bother?

Well, I decided to begin writing a fantasy novel, and what better way to start it off than busting out 50k words to get it rolling, eh?

Only I gave myself 29 days to do it (I started Jan 3rd) because I wanted to see if I could. I wanted to push myself harder than I have ever pushed myself before with my writing. I knew my word count, had a title and started writing...That's it. 

No plot. 

No outline. 

Nothing. 

Just a name for a book.

Am I crazy? Probably just a little bit, but other authors do it, so I'm no crazier than they are.

That's A Lot Of Words

Currently, I'm sitting out about 39,396 words (Google Docs say's a little more, but I'm going off of ), which is 21 chapters. I do between 1750–2200 words per chapter, which allows me to keep a nice pace.

With less than a week left, I'm slightly behind on where I should be according to WriteTrack, but it's pretty easy most of the time to bust out two chapters in a day, depending on what I have going on.

"Blah, blah, blah. What's the story about?"

You'll just have to stick around and see because I'm not releasing details of it yet. The problem with pantsing a story (writing without an outline) is that things are changing and adapting as the story progresses. There are pros and cons to this style of writing, but I have found it can be a lot of fun. 

The second reason is that this is only the first draft so that I could tell you one thing, and it could be completely different once I'm finished with the second draft and revisions.

Want A Challenge?

If you've been sitting around with a book idea, whether it's been a couple days or a few years, my challenge to you would be to do your own WriMo. You could start next month and do FeBruWriMo (just saved you 5 minutes of trying to come up with a name for it.) as a way to kickstart your story!

Not sure what to begin with it? I've created easy to follow worksheets that will walk you step by step through the beginning stages; check out the on my site.

Worried about grammar? Get for the free version of Grammarly (seriously, it's awesome and I use it for all of my writing) and stop worrying about it. Need a place to put all your notes? Xmind8 is a great tool that I've been learning to use to map out races, creatures, character, etc. It's great!

Do you already have a story but need someone to look at it to make sure it flows? I currently offer services to fit your needs. 

All that is left to do is sit down and write! It could be anywhere, at any time. Carry a pen and notepad with you. Download a on your phone that saves everything to save time. Plot your story or pants it! 

Give yourself permission to write the first draft. If writing has been a dream of yours that has felt out of reach. I'm here to tell you that it's not. You can do it!

Write for the Stars