NaNo Prep #2: Tools To Reach Word Count

You want to do NaNoWriMo, but you have no clue how in the world you're going to hit that 50k. 

No worries!

I'm here this week to give you three tools that have helped me so much the past six times I've done NaNo. This is not an exhaustive list, by any means, but hopefully, you'll find some helpful tips here to get you going!

~Word Wars/Sprints~

These are classic. Basically, you either grab a few people or just do it by yourself, set a timer, and write as fast as you can for that amount of time. Super simple, but effective. 

There is a slight difference between wars and sprints. For wars, the goal is to see who can write the most in the amount of time. Sprints are just to see how fast you can write. 

A note on wars: it should only be friendly competition (if they're being rude or overly competitive, don't continue with them. They're not worth your time).

I often will join in word wars/sprints with some of my writer friends when/if we're able. NaNo also has an official word sprint Twitter that you can follow. They often host writing sprints there throughout the month.

Just the act of writing all-out for a few minutes will help increase your word count a ton. You will (theoretically) focus less on spelling/grammar and just write. Afterwards, you can go and quickly correct things if you'd like. 

I highly recommend you give these a shot, both with friends and by yourself. 

~Write-Ins~

There are two kinds: Live write-ins and virtual ones. I prefer the virtual ones because no one has to see me. I just lurk and type. I'm not asked to introduce myself or *gasp* say what my book's about. But there still is a chat for people who are more social than I am and do want to share those things.

But either way, it's basically where a bunch of writers get together and do sprints and chat for a little while. It's great fun!

I love virtual write-ins, even if they're old ones. I'll often pull one up if I'm not feeling like working and it'll get me in the mood. I dunno, but it makes me feel like I'm working alongside a bunch of people even if the livestream is long over.

There are a variety of places you can find write-ins. You can find most local live write-ins on your NaNo region's forum. I think maybe you could also Google them and any that aren't posted on the forum might pop up? Maybe? Clearly I've never been to one, so I am no help whatsoever.

For virtual ones, there are several hosted on NaNoWriMo's YouTube (Tim is my favorite host over there. He has such a great personality). I also really like finding the ones hosted by various Authortubers. They usually are longer than the ones on the NaNo channel, which can be nice. And the lengths of sprints vary a lot more, which keeps it exciting. Some of my favorites are Kate Cavanaugh and Becca C. Smith. I especially like it when the two of them do livestreams together.

These are a great option if you're looking for more community while also getting some words in. 

~Word Crawls~

These are less talked-about, in my opinion, but just as good as the more popular methods. They're where you have a list of challenges that are often based off a book or movie. Each plot point of the movie is a different challenge. 

For instance:

Shade attacks Ravin! Word war for 5 minutes while Ravin fights him off.

Justin and Ravin chat. While Justin tries to persuade Ravin to give the Scaera a shot, write some dialogue for 10 minutes.

So on and so forth. And now I feel like making a SSaS themed word crawl. Who would like that?

These are awesome to keep around for the entire month, so whenever you're unmotivated or don't know what to do, you can just check to see what's next and do that. My favorite is the Lord of the Rings one. It usually takes me the entire month to complete and gets me almost exactly 50k. It's so much fun and has a lot of variety. 

There are loads of other kinds out there. You can usually find them in the forums under Writing Challenges. You may also be able to do a Google search and find some. Many are fandom themed and awesome! Be warned: most are filled with spoilers, so if you haven't read/watched the whole thing, you will be spoiled. Also, I do happen to have the LotR one saved, so if anyone wants it, I can send it to you. I may also have the MCU one. Not sure. Again, I may throw a SSaS themed one together. If you'd like any of these, let me know in the comments and I can get them to you.

There you have it! Three tools that have helped me a lot, not only to reach my word count during NaNo, but also throughout the year. I hope they give you some guidance on ways to reach your word count goal without stressing too much.

Onto y'all! Do any of you have additional tools that have helped you in the past? Have you done word crawls? If so, what are the ones you've done? For those who haven't done NaNo yet but are planning to this year, do any of these sound like things you might try as a means to reach your word count?