#novelpad

1. Check in with yourself.

Step one is always to check in with yourself. 

Start by reviewing your basic self-care needs:

Are you staying hydrated?

Do you feel hungry?

Would a shower or a nap be beneficial?

Is it time for a walk or some stretching exercises?

Consider your environment as well. Maybe you need:

Noise-canceling headphones

A change of scenery

A babysitter or someone to help around the house

To open or close some windows

Next, evaluate your level of focus. Is your mind wandering elsewhere? It can be useful to create a "dump list" to jot down anything that's causing you stress, such as work-related issues, pending tasks, or upcoming events. Setting that list aside can give you the tangible feeling of pushing those things off your desk to worry about later.

Once your body, mind, and environment are sorted out, you'll likely discover that writing becomes a bit easier!

2. Look back at where you’ve been.

Even if the first tip did or did not do the trick, let’s take a look at the project itself.

Sometimes writer’s block is a blessing in disguise! Your creative gut might be telling you that something went awry. Try reading your project back and pinpointing where it became difficult to keep going. Consider alternate plots or paths to get your writing flowing again.

If you're managing multiple plots and subplots, identifying the moment you deviated from the main path can be quite challenging. To pinpoint which plot line is causing issues, you can take advantage of NovelPad's handy feature: Plot tracking.

On the Plot Board, you can review every scene of a particular plot in order, making spotting those errors in your plotlines much easier.

3. Rewrite a problem scene.

Once you've identified the scene causing issues, it's time to make improvements! This can be challenging because there are countless ways to approach a scene.

However, don't hesitate to embrace revisions. Often, a scene benefits from a thorough rewrite. With NovelPad Revisions, you can save limitless scene revisions, compare them side by side, and effortlessly switch to the one they want in the live manuscript. This keeps your different versions safe, well-organized, and readily accessible.

4. Freewrite to free yourself.

Freewriting is a great way to get your creativity flowing again. Write some poetry, compose a letter to a friend, or simply let your thoughts flow without judgment. Freewriting without judgment can help turn on your writer mode and even help you solve some problems! It's especially beneficial when you're stuck on something specific, because we often find brilliant solutions when we stop being so critical of our ideas.

Kick writer’s block off your desk with NovelPad! It's free to use throughout NaNoWriMo, and we offer discounts to participants and winners afterward. If you find that NovelPad isn't your cup of tea by the end of November, don't worry—you can still access and download your project at any time. Just write!

Our team at NovelPad believes in making it easy for writers to complete their books. That’s why we built an uncomplicated, intuitive system that stays out of the way until you need it! We want writers like you to #JustWrite without burdening you with excessive features. Speaking of features, software updates at NovelPad are based entirely on user feedback from authors to keep our features sharp, relevant, and minimalist.

All NaNoWriMo participants have access to a 15% discount on NovelPad with code WRIMO2023 — use the code during checkout to redeem your discount. Offer expires April 1, 2024.

Writing on purpose

Humans are obsessed with numbers. This is not a recent phenomenon, as counting has been with us long before the first writing system. Counting as a measure of success is ingrained in everything we do. Got a raise at work? That's a promotion. Want to get in shape? Work out for 30 minutes at least 3 times a day, lose 10 kilos, and run 8 km. Want to be famous? You need more likes, more followers. Want to be a writer? Spend at least an hour a day, finish 2 chapters this month, and write at least 12,000 words a week.

As Wrimos our goals are clearly laid out before us, meant to challenge and motivate us. But achieving writing goals isn't the purpose of writing. The chief purpose of writing is much more profound than that: In all of human history, the existence of life, and the universe itself, you are the singular source for the story you have to tell.

We're tempted to think that success is only measured by copies sold, awards received, or number of published titles. These are laudable achievements for which anyone should be proud. But do not lose sight of the value your story adds to the human experience. It is an irreplaceable narrative that can only come from you.

Time Travelers

In the 3rd Millennium BCE, a king named Shuruppag thought his son should have the benefit of his wisdom. His fatherly advice is some of the oldest writing in existence. But despite 5000 years of time, we can read what he had to say, and for a moment see the world through his eyes. One of his last lines seems almost prescient: 

“It is inconceivable that something is lost forever.”

—The instructions of Shuruppag, line 264

Writing is our only shot at immortality. It is the only way we can reach through time and be heard as clearly as we are today. I doubt that the king could have understood how far into the future he was casting his guidance, but even today his proverbs have value. As you prepare for NaNoWriMo, understand this superpower that you wield, and use it to broadcast your voice into the future.

Never Not Writing

Writing consistently can be a daunting prospect as we move through our lives. The stresses of life, family, relationships, and finances don't exactly create an ideal space for us to put pen to paper. But writing is not the mechanical act of putting down words. Writing is storytelling. It's creating a world in imagination and bringing those characters and places to life. Sometimes the worlds we create consume our attention, a distraction from our day-to-day life. Other times we conceal them in our sub-conscience, in safe-keeping for their due time.

Writing is a uniquely human behavior. We create characters with our imagination and give them complex emotions, dreams, and fears. These feelings can be as real to us as our own because ultimately, they are our own experiences. Writing allows us to explore parts of ourselves that otherwise would stay buried, and it enables us to empathize with those around us. We write because it offers each of us a way to make sense of the world. It's like a reflex that our brains have learned to use for understanding each other. The stories are there no matter what we do. Our only decision is whether we offer them up for others to see.

Writing is a part of the human experience, and it offers us responsibility, power, and rewards in vast amounts. Whether this is your first time or a lifelong passion, every story holds immeasurable value for you, for us, for all humankind. At NovelPad we hope you will share your story because with it, the world is a bit better off.