Writing in November: Advice from a NaNo Alumna

November is right around the corner as I'm sure you are all aware and that means it's time to get ready for NaNoWriMo. That's National Novel Writing Month for those of you who are new to the concept.

Last year was my first time participating and I learned a lot in the process. I wanted to share some of my experience so that the mistakes I made will not be repeated.

Never ever write a novel that is part of a series you are currently working on. Last November, I was working on the prequel for my current series. Since NaNoWriMo is all about word count, this was a very bad idea. Now that I'm going through and editing the novel, I'm finding a lot of mistakes I made while just trying to make the word count. Don't work on something that goes with another series. You'll kick yourself later.

Do your research before November. I was writing the novel and researching it at the same time. Granted, this was the first time I had to do such in-depth research for a novel so I didn't know better. I had so many notebooks laying around that I didn't know what was where. It took away from the experience for me.

Remember, it's about proving to yourself that you can do this. Making sure that you are writing enough is hard. Some days, I still don't feel like getting my three pages minimum completed. Some days I'm so blocked I can't get it done. But NaNoWriMo is there to encourage you. As you go through November, just remind yourself that you can finish it. It's all about fifty thousand words, not the next award-winning novel.

My goal this year is to write over fifty-three thousand words. We'll see what happens in November, won't we?

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Kell is the author of the blog Welcome to Earth. She is currently working on editing her third vampire novel. Her first, Prophecy, is available online. She lives in Rock Island, Illinois, with her husband and dog, and writes full time from home. You can learn more about Kell by visiting her website here.