Pro Tips from a NaNo Coach: Write the Joy

NaNoWriMo can seem like a daunting task sometimes, for NaNo newbies and veterans alike. Fortunately, author Rebecca Roanhorse is here to share her advice on how to overcome some of NaNo’s obstacles:

It’s week three of NaNoWriMo, and you are either:

deep into the slog,
floundering helpless and feeling that you’ll never catch up, or
a few thousand words from the finish line, victory in your grasp!

Most of us are either at number one or two, with a few industrious souls claiming number three. But no matter where you are in this wild writing month, take a moment and congratulate yourself. You’ve made it this far. You have dared something very few people ever dare and given it your all.

And now, staring down Week Three, maybe you’re ready to quit.

Because writing a novel is not as fun as you first thought it would be, is it? In fact, it’s a lot harder, and maybe a lot more boring. Your daily word count goal is feeling like a punishment. You finish it and wake up the next day to re-experience the same dread again. Unless you’re writing a horror story, that’s not exactly motivating.

So, I’m here to remind you to find the joy again.