If you’re unfamiliar, this 30-day window to write a book is commonly referred to as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This month-long event challenges writers from all corners of the Earth to write a book in a month.

If you’re up to the challenge, check out our three tips to get started.

Accept the challenge.

Write a book in 30 days? Sounds intimidating, right? Wrong. It’s only intimidating if you allow it to be! Rather than anxiously worrying about whether or not this is feasible, we’re encouraging you to put your fears aside and accept the challenge. As a writer, you’re a creative person and you have the tools – including a strong imagination— working in your favor to complete the task. Use this creativity and tenacity to your advantage and make this a NaNoWriMo to remember!

Reverse engineer the contest.

You know the goal is to write a book in 30 days, but rather than think about it all at once, reverse engineer the goal and attack it piece-by-piece. When you look at a significant task all at once, it can be daunting and can feel like you’ll never get it done. But when you break that goal down into smaller, more digestible pieces, you’ll quickly realize how easy it is to make progress. For NaNoWriMo, we suggest that you set a daily goal for yourself that’ll put you on the fast track to completion. Set yourself up for success by creating smaller goals that you know you can achieve and start adding to them. Before you know it, November will be over and you’ll be sitting there with the first draft of your book in front of you.

Put your fears to the side.

Writing can be scary. And writing a book that we plan to publish and share with the public can be even scarier. But, would you rather take a chance and chase after your dreams than live with the regret of not pursuing your goals and living with the what ifs? The point is that you should never let your fears dictate your life. You only get one, and if a lifelong dream of yours is to become an author, then today is the day to start taking the necessary steps to making it a reality.

November is already underway, so there’s no time like the present to start your NaNoWriMo writing efforts. Good luck!

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2017

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An epilogue serves as the conclusion to what has happened within your book. It’s not meant just for tying up loose ends; rather, it’s a chance for you to give the readers the final pieces of information they’re craving, answer their questions and connect the dots.

To avoid adding a chapter of anti-climactic content, take a look at our three tips for writing a powerful epilogue.

1. The epilogue is where you can give your readers closure. For this part, the who and when are the most important pieces of information: Who is speaking and when is this taking place? If your main character was the main narrator of your story, he or she should narrate the epilogue in the same voice in order to keep it cohesive with the rest of your book. Now, you can get creative with the when of your epilogue, because it doesn’t have to fall in the timeline established for the rest of your book.. Is the epilogue happening a few hours later? Days? Months? Even years? As the author, you get to decide; however, you’ll want to make sure that the time frame makes sense with the rest of the details in your book. For example, if a character was 95 in the book, having them still alive in the epilogue set 20 years in the future might not make the most sense.
2. If important information wasn’t covered in the climax of your novel, the epilogue is the place where you can explain your characters’ fate. Perhaps a main character moved away; the epilogue could cover what they’re doing now and how this move changed their life. Readers crave details, so unless you plan on writing a second novel that answers these questions, the epilogue is where your readers can get the closure and the details that they desire.
3. An epilogue is meant to be brief, which means that you’ll want to make every word count. The purpose of the epilogue is to give your readers an idea of what happened to the characters after the book concluded. Do not make the mistake of giving too much information and leading your readers to believe that a brand-new story is about to take place. Address the main characters and the main plot and keep it concise.

As NaNoWriMo is comes to a close tomorrow, we hope that these epilogue writing tips will help you craft an ending to your book that your readers will love!

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2016

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Perhaps one of the most important pieces to the novel-writing puzzle is editing, so today’s tips are focused on just that – the editing process.

Let’s get right to it!

Trim it down

Sometimes, authors tend to be verbose. While this isn’t always a bad thing, since we’re living in a world where people skim and read quickly, it’s a good idea to practice trimming down your sentences.

Consider these two sentences: “Every single person should consider owning a dog.” Or “Everyone should consider owning a dog.”

Though the sentences are different, they mean the exact same thing. But the second option is concise and to the point. See how it reads better? Consider reading through your work for sentences that can be shortened but still keep the same meaning.

Shorten your sentences

Much like our first point, cutting a long sentence into shorter sentences is a powerful way to get your point across. Even though your long sentence might be grammatically correct, you could risk losing your reader’s attention – or worse, confusing them. To avoid this, consider breaking your thought into a few cohesive sentences. This will help keep your reader’s maintain their reading cadence as they feverishly flip through the pages of your novel.

Say goodbye to “really” and “very”

Though it may be very hard, it’s a really good idea to use powerful adjectives. Pop quiz: If you read the first sentences of this paragraph again, do “really” and “very” help us get our point across any better? The answer to that question is likely no.

Your words are what keep your readers interested in your story. So make it a point to get into the habit of consolidating your thoughts into strong adjectives:

• Very big – Massive
• Really awesome – Tremendous
• Very strong – Powerful

Keep this advice in mind as you work your way through NaNoWriMo, and stay tuned in the coming weeks for even more helpful tips!

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2016

The post Three NaNoWriMo Tips to Boost Your Writing Skills appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

NaNoWriMo is meant to stir enthusiasm, ignite desire and create a sense of urgency as writers work against the clock to reach the deadline.

If you’ve ever entertained the idea of writing your own novel, NaNoWriMo might be the opportunity to finally put the wheels in motion.

The clock is ticking; let’s jump right in to our tips to get started.

1. Write about something that you know. Remember that feeling you’d get in school when you had to write a paper on a topic you really weren’t familiar with? That feeling of defeat and confusion plagued you until you finally finished the paper. When it comes to writing your novel, those feelings should be nowhere to be found! Pick a topic that you know and love to begin the writing process. Writing a novel should be an enjoyable experience and not feel like a chore!
2. Before you begin writing, it’s a good idea to identify the type of novel you’ll be writing. Are you planning on writing a romance, mystery or crime novel? Though there are a lot of different genres and sometimes genres tend to mix based on the twists and turns of the plot, it’s important to at least iron out the general type of novel that you’ll be writing. This will help you narrow your focus before you begin.
3. Establish a writing routine. For NaNoWriMo in particular, there’s a deadline that will ignite a sense of urgency around completing your novel. To maximize your chances of reaching your goal, create a writing plan and schedule that you can stick to during the process. In the beginning it might seem difficult to adhere to your plans, but as is with everything in life, practice makes perfect. Stick to the schedule and your schedule will soon become a routine!
4. Remember that you’re in charge! It’s your novel and your idea so do what’s comfortable for you. However, if a person that you trust offers you advice, you might consider taking their ideas under advisement. Receiving feedback from a fresh set of eyes is a great way to enhance your book and make revisions that you might not have realized would benefit the story. But, just because someone has voiced their opinion doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to accept it and change your work. In the end, it’s ultimately your decision as to whether or not you want to heed their advice.

NaNoWriMo is underway! Will you use this month-long celebration to work toward your dream of being a published author?

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2016

The post National Novel Writing Month: Tips to Get Started appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

This month-long celebration of the art of writing began on November 1 and will last until 11: 59 p.m. on November 30.

NaNoWriMo gives writers a mission: Be creative for 30 days. Naturally, the intent is, once you start writing for 30 days, you’ll keep up your literary streak! We may already be midway into November, but it’s never too late to join in on the creativity. So here are five easy ways to make the most of the rest of NaNoWriMo:

• Make writing a numbers game. Though you might not think that writing and numbers go hand-in-hand, you’d be surprised at how important both are when writing your novel. Keeping a daily, weekly or even monthly word count goal will help you stay on track towards your book publishing dreams.
• Be passionate. There aren’t many things in life that come easy, including writing a novel. That’s why it’s important to possess the passion that’s necessary to carry you along your writing journey. Believing in yourself and your idea is a crucial piece of the writing puzzle.
• Be self-centered. Now, we aren’t advocating becoming an egomaniac; but we are promoting the idea of writing a book that YOU would want to read. Don’t write a story just because you think someone else would be interested in reading that book. Though it should be a goal to get your book in as many hands as possible, you should also set a goal of enjoying yourself and your story while writing. In short, you should write a book that you love, are interested in and is about a topic that envelops you completely.
• Make it a date. Writing your book can often be put on the back burner in the crush of daily life and personal obligations. But just like you schedule time for lunches with friends, you owe it to yourself to make time on your calendar for writing. Blocking time off on your calendar will not only hold you accountable, it’ll also remind you of the importance of working on your novel. So, whether it’s 30 minutes or an hour or even more, in that timeframe, the only thing you have to worry about is how your story will unfold.
• Don’t give up. Along the way, you’ll be tempted to toss in the towel as life often throws you curveballs and obstacles to overcome. When these instances arise, take note of our second tip and rely on your passion for writing. When conflict comes to the surface, use that as motivation to continue chasing after your book-writing dreams.

As NaNoWriMo is in full swing, use this month and these five tips as the push you’ve been looking for to move you forward on your novel-writing journey!

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But, for writers in particular, there’s even more reason to celebrate, because November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)!

NaNoWriMo is a month-long celebration of the art of writing, beginning on November 1 and lasting until 11:59 p.m. on November 30. This event offers writers everywhere a chance to be creative, and for 30 days that’s exactly what they’ll do!

The goal of NaNoWriMo is to encourage participants in the adult program to work toward writing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. You read that right – they will write an entire novel in just one month!

Though it sounds like a daunting task, in 2013, more than 300,000 adults participated in the month-long event. That’s 300,000 people that were actively chasing after their book-writing dreams! How’s that for motivation?

NaNoWriMo shares a similar philosophy to Dorrance Publishing in that we both place a heavy value on stories. At Dorrance, we believe that everyone has a book inside of them, and we inspire and advise “everyday” people in developing their literary pursuits.

Along the same vein, NaNoWriMo is a non-profit group “that believes your story matters.” They show this through organized events for children and adults that allow them to find inspiration, encouragement and the structure that they need to realize their creative potential.

NaNoWriMo is just a few days underway, and we thought this might serve as a motivator for you to know that writers from all around the world are putting their thoughts onto paper right now, working their way toward making their dreams a reality.

So if you’ve been searching for that spark of motivation, look no further! Throughout the month of November, we’ll be celebrating National Writing Month in our own special way.

Stay tuned each week of this month for blog posts ranging from “How Tos” to writing tips and everything in between!

As always, happy writing, and here’s to a great National Novel Writing Month!

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