This post provides preliminary information for those taking the 2015 Write Nonfiction in November Challenge (WNFIN), also known as National Nonfiction Writing Month (NaNonFiWriMo). To find out more or participate in the Challenge, click here.
In the past, during WNFIN this blog featured a post every day of November. This year, however, during the Challenge I will publish two posts per week: one on Monday, which features a video (like the one below), and one on Wednesday, which features tips from experts. Both posts will provide information from leading experts in the field of nonfiction writing, publishing, promotion, and monetization.
I hope this new format helps you learn and get inspired as you write but not spend much time away from your WNFIN project. After all, I want to help, not hinder your progress as you move through the Challenge.
If you are not taking the 2015 WNFIN Challenge, continue reading the blog and watching the videos. You will learn a great deal, and if you put that actionable information to use, you may find that by the end of the 30-day period you have changed the course of your writing career forever.
Photo courtesy of ninun|Fotolia.com
Welcome to National Nonfiction Writing Month (NaNonFiWriMo), most commonly known as the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge (WNFIN)! Although the Challenge begins in four days, now is the time to consider how you will meet the Challenge.
Indeed, to accomplish your goal of starting and finishing a nonfiction writing project in 30 days, you need to be a productive nonfiction writer. You can’t say you write when what you really do all day is surf the Internet, post on Facebook, make vet appointments for the cat (and massage, dentist, nail, or personal training appointments for yourself), take snack breaks, or engage in other forms of procrastination. (Recognize yourself?) You have to sit down every day in front of your computer and produce work. That’s why I decided to start the Challenge off with a pre-November video on how to focus your attention.
Why didn’t I make this video about how to better manage your time? In fact, you can’t manage time. Time constantly moves forward one second at a time no matter what you or I do. Try your best, you can’t create more time. The quantity of time allotted to us each day is limited.
You can, however, manage how you spend the time you possess. To accomplish this, do a better job of focusing your attention every moment. In this way, you accomplish more every hour. When you accomplish more in less time, you feel as if you have created more time.
You can finish a 30-day writing challenge quickly and easily if you focus your attention when you work (not say you are going to work) on your WNFIN project. Don’t allow yourself to get distracted. Don’t do other things. Block out time to focus and work on your WNFIN project, and place your attention only on that project during that period.
Learn to accomplish this new attention-management habit in November, and transform yourself into a productive writer. Begin churning out articles, essays, queries, books, and other types of nonfiction writing every day, week, and month. You won’t need a challenge like the one provided during NaNonFiWriMo to get your work done quickly. Your new habit will help you do so consistently all year long.
If you are new to this blog or have just decided to take on the WNFIN Challenge, you might want to read last week’s post, 10 Ways to Prepare to Write a Nonfiction Book in a Month. For information on how to write a nonfiction book in a month, check out The Write Nonfiction NOW! Guide to Writing a Book in 30 Days. If you want to produce an article or essay this month, purchase a copy of my newest guide, The Write Nonfiction NOW! Guide to Writing and Publishing Articles (released today).
Please leave a comment below and tell me about the results you achieved when you applied the techniques offered in this video. Or share your best productivity tips or hacks.
For more information on how to become a productive writer, click here.
WNFIN 2015 Resources
Take the Challenge!
To learn more about how to take the WINFIN Challenge and participate in NaNonFiWriMo, click here.
Are you ready to take the challenge? If so, click here. When you submit your name and email address, you “register” for the event and gain access to the WNFIN forum.
Hyperlinks to books and resources may contain my affiliate code.
The best tip for improving your productivity is to track your word count every day. I recently discovered a great app to help with this — which also doubles as a timer, so you can run word sprints — called 5,000 Words Per Hour (WPH). It’s a free app (you can upgrade to a paid version if you want to track more than one project at a time), and has gotten my fingers flying when I’ve used it for the past week or so. You can grab it in the App Store here if you’re curious: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/5-000-words-per-hour/id991383053?mt=8
Awesome tip, Laura! I have never provided a word counter for WNFIN, so this is a solution! Thanks so much. And word counts can be quite inspiring.
Thanks for the tips, Nina! Your tips are valuable and there are some that I did not try yet… at least not in a conscious way. I will add few unconventional tips, compiled from several articles that I wrote. I hope you will enjoy them.
• My favorite tool for boosting the productivity is… the Music. A writer can write in perfect silence, but… if he combines the creative mind with the sound of music, depending on the harmony, magic can happen. To write, you need to adapt your mood to your niche or genre. If you choose well, your writing will be outstanding. Music increases or decreases your vibration level. The music that resonates with a level that suits your genre is the best choice you can make. Usually, it is best to listen to your heart when you choose the music that you need. No one can tell you what to listen to. Your heart always knows best.
• Add a small plant or a fountain in the South-East corner of your office. Adding these elements in the creation corner will increase your productivity and attract more potential income based on your writing act.
• As a writer, you have multiple choices in making a change through crystals. There are particular crystals that develop your potential and can unlock what was hidden until now. Are you facing a writer’s block? You should try using sodalite pyramids or spheres on your desk. Do you lack inspiration? Place a chalcedony crystal in your working environment. Do you want to be more creative? A dioptase, a carnelian, a golden labradorite, or an amber crystal will always be helpful for you. Do you have moments when you can’t clearly communicate your ideas? Try having some blue topaz stones near you. Use a quartz crystal in the North-East corner of your desk. It will help your concentration and your focus on what you need to write.
Oooh! M.C., you are a woman after my own heart. These are awesome tips!
I listen to crystal bowls, Buddhist mantras and chants, and Motzart.
I have a fountain, as well. My office is a loft, so the fountain is below…south. I used to have one in my office that croaked. I will go get a small new one and put it in the south eastern side of my office (a bit difficult).
And I have many crystals in my office, but I LOVE you specific choices. Time for a trip to a crystal shop! Yay!
You just made my day, Nina!!!
If it’s difficult to use the S-E side of your office, take into consideration the S-E corner of the Bagua map. You have two variants: one is to think at the entrance door as the North; the second is to refer to your desk. Consider the side of the desk where your chair is, the North.
Your excitement for crystals, just gave me a boost to visit also a crystal shop. You can never have enough crystals at home, isn’t it? 🙂 I love, love, love them!
Mozart? This is a great choice. Mozart’s music is magical. Several years ago, I read that masonic lodges are using his music for different rituals… especially because his music is more than a simple music. Tchaikovsky works on me very well also, and for sure Feng Shui music.
Thanks again for your feedback, Nina! It counts a LOT 🙂
Don’t be alone: write with others, enter contests and join in events like Write Nonfiction in November!
Do it! Show up on the page: schedule it, commit to the time and ask for help when you need it. Writer’s block is just fear of the next word. Place hold it with a blank space, any word or the first word that comes. Remember, editing is a different task from writing.
We often hear about the BIC method of productivity (butt-in-chair). I suggest that HOK method is more important (hands-on-keyboard). You can sit in your chair all day long and not write a word. You really need to have your hands on the keyboard to get started with a word count.
Of course, what words you are typing matter as well. Doing Twitter updates every 100 words or Facebook post telling of your angst not being inspired aren’t really word counts. They are avoidance.
To have a true writing HOK experience, turn off social media and your phone updates; turn off pop-up notifications; close your e-mail programs. This is one way to make word count using the BIC/HOK method.
I have found that some of my best work started as written on paper. This has led me to keep at least one journal or notepad with me at all times so I can capture these fleeting thoughts or streams of inspiration when I am away from the keyboard. Also, if they happen to be less-than-complete, putting them into a journal means I can find them again. Even when I start out with a keyboard (or an audio note on my Blackberry), I like to see the work in print for editing before I submit it to anyone.
I go out in the garden before doing anything in the morning and take a photo of something I see, then use the photo to focus my thoughts. I write them on paper, in a journal: it may be an observation or a story I invent. This routine keeps me away from distractions and makes me write something, which may be short, but has oftentimes led to longer pieces, like blog posts.
Thank you for the honorable mention, Nina.
You are welcome! Thanks for participating!