How to Finish Your NaNoWriMo Novel and Have Fun Doing It! Four Tips for Staying On Course

Are you participating in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge? If so, congratulations. NaNoWriMo’s emphasis on getting as many words down as possible, as quickly as possible, is a good one. NaNoWriMo’s reminder, “You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing” is spot on. NaNoWriMo can be exactly what many writers need to break through writing blocks, perfectionism, and procrastination--and it should be fun above all.

However, despite their best intentions, some NaNoWriMo participants do get bogged down in perfectionism and procrastination. How can you be one of the ones who stays on track and finishes? Here are four common NaNoWriMo struggles and tips on how to deal with them:

"I started out strong but now I'm starting to skip some writing days. I'm already behind, and worried that I won't finish on time. What can I do?"

Read about how to get past the NaNoWriMo danger zone, and "murky middles"in general, here:
Solutions to procrastination
Solutions to perfectionism
How to get past the NaNoWriMo danger zone
What to do if you are stuck in the middle of a project

I'm writing consistently but I'm not producing nearly as many words as I need to make the 50k goal. What can I do?"

Here are some tools to help you increase your writing productivity and get you closer to your NaNoWriMo goal:
Using the writercopter to boost your writing productivity
How to use authenticity to catalyze productivity
How to use speed to overcome writer's block
Why pondering = procrastination, and how to get over it

"Until NaNoWriMo, I wrote happily along with little or no feedback. Now other writers are commenting on my work and I don't know how to deal with it!"

Invisibility is a key strategy of, and goal of, procrastination and perfectionism.
How to deal with situational perfectionism
To get more writing done, show your work early and often

Okay, I told everyone that I've doing NaNoWriMo. Suddenly, everyone is asking me how it's going and I feel that I just put a metric ton of pressure on myself to finish. This just isn't fun anymore. How can I get the "love" back into this?

How to cope with clueless, annoying, and challenging comments and questions

Good luck with NaNoWriMo! For more help with your writing this month and every month, take a look at

The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism and Writer’s Block.

And for more NaNoWriMo inspiration, visit my Pinterest page and sign up to receive my weekly newsletter.