It's July!

That means it's both Camp NaNoWriMo and Flash Fiction Month! Huzzah! I, personally, am hoping to complete a revision on a past NaNo novel. We all have goals, and there are lots of ways to go about achieving them. But when it comes to first drafts with deadlines, there are some things you might want to consider, or remember, or just paste on a wall above your desk. Because it's HARD to keep up. There are totally points at which you want to quit, and points where you have no idea what is supposed to happen next, where you feel like you've run out of ideas. BUT. You signed up for this. And I'm holding you to it!

So. Here you go. Pinky's Top Five Survival Tips for Writing Challenges!

1. First drafts suck. 

They suck a lot. All of them. Whether you're Nooby McNoobwriter or Stephen King. So give yourself permission to suck. It's okay. You can fix it later.

2. STOP EDITING.

That's for later. Your goal right now is to crank out some words. You have limited time, so you'd better use that time to make more words instead of going back and fixing, deleting, rewriting. Revision is ESSENTIAL. But you have to get that first draft finished first.

3. Find some folks to hold you accountable. 

Right here on dA, there are tons of writers participating in Camp NaNo and FFM. So find some buddies. Check in with each other. Challenge each other. and keep each other accountable for these goals you set at the beginning of the month.

4. If you get stuck, try something outrageous.

Sometimes when I get stuck writing a first draft, I write in a bear attack or an explosion or something. Maybe you could try a crazy prompt that you thought you'd never even touch, write something out of your wheelhouse, or have someone walk into the room with a gun. Surprise yourself! Be fearless!

5. Treat yo' self!

Or...write now fun later. Set daily goals (like your one FFM piece for the day, or your x amount of words for the day), and play afterward. You could also set up something with yourself like "after I meet my goal, I get to binge watch Netflix things for two hours" or "no ice cream until after I finish this FFM piece!" 

There you go. Now get out there and get writing. Because that's how we do at CRLiterature