From The Jazz Side (NaNoWriMo 2012)

So, it's here again. Tomorrow starts the most panic ridden and crazy month of the year, and it's all due to the  challenge we put upon ourselves. That's right! Tomorrow starts NaNoWriMo. (see the end of this post to get a glimps of my cover for this year ;-) )

Some of you are giving advice for dealing with NaNo from a planner's point of view, and that's great! But for those of us who are more on the Jazz side, instead of Classical, (see little to no planning) I thought I would give a little advice of my own. (I know it's the day before, but people do still jump in within the first few days of the event.)

If you're like me, and cannot make and stick to an outline for the life of you, that's fine. I find doing so lets creativity and inspiration flow much better than with such boundaries. Not that creativity and inspiration can't flow with an outline, but for some people, like myself, it tends to be too restricting....we end up focusing on sticking to it more than letting creativity thrive. However, I do recommend some planning. I don't know that even I could write completely by the seat of my pants- no plot, no thought out characters, no scenes already planned out in my head and possibly noted down somewhere.

So, as I said, I do recommend a little bit of forethought, and have a page (written or on your computer) where you keep all this info. Write down your character's bios, facts about your story's setting, and even descriptions and/or bits of scenes that you want to add into your story later.

I know this is general advice, but- pace yourself. Pace yourself, but also strive to reach more than the average. I recommend a daily goal of 2,000 words a day. It's a pretty reasonable amount to strive for on a daily bases, it's not too much more than the 1,667 words of the 50k split evenly, and it gives you a bit of a cushion... you know, just in case you have to miss a day or you have a day of massive writer's block. ;-)

Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't focus on just the quantity, but try to get the quality in there, too. At the same time, don't be scared to write a bunch of drabble if you're not getting the right inspiration for the quality at the moment. Drabble can always be edited later- and it boosts the word count. ;-)

Take time to chill out and relax. If you get too stress, it can drastically stifle the creative flow. Set aside time each day or every few days, depending on  your life's schedule, to do something you enjoy. Read a book, paint a picture, play a computer game- whatever it takes. A couple hours of that can spur days of creativity.

That's all the advice I can think of for the moment...a lot of that goes for both the jazz writers and the classical, and is pretty typical advice, but you probably can't hear some of that too often.

As for me, this year I have a little more structure than normal. Considering my story is based off of the Josh Groban song So She Dances, I have the lyrics for a rough outline- not that I won't be switching around a few of the lines...for storyline sake. I'm hoping this story will cooperate more like Hwinny's Story did, giving me both quality as well as quantity; not  like Naji's Story which put up a fight over both. :-P

If you would like to see a little more info about this story, I have a few posts hanging around here giving some hints. ;-)
You can also check out my NaNo page, and feel free to buddy me, if you'd like. ;-)

And here is the grand blog unveiling of the NaNo version of the So She Dances cover art. :-)