The Writing Diaries: Sprinting to Success!

The Writing Diaries: Sprinting to Success!

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This week has been somewhat of a weird one. I feel less successful than last week, but have written considerably more words. I'm less happy with where my WIP is, but the story has come on leaps and bounds. It's all down to writing sprints. Shoutout to my #writingsquad this week: @LucyTheReader @HellionHarvey @RoyalBookshelf in particular. I couldn't have written this many words without them!

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For those of you who don't know, writing sprints are where you set a time limit with fellow writers (or simply against yourself) and try to write as many words as you possibly can. And, no joke, it's where every single one of my words has come from this week. And I managed just over 15K this week! I'm DESTROYING my #CampNaNoWriMo goal.

And I'm so proud of me! But at the same time, there are parts of my writing this week that I KNOW haven't been good enough. I've been writing half-scenes, starting things but not finishing them, degenerating into dialogue way more than I'd like to or feel is necessary, until I feel like I'm just going through the motions.

I didn't write a single word on Friday because I was almost burnt out.

So if you are doing Camp NaNoWriMo, I have a few words of advice with your sprinting.

  1. Leave your novel for the day while you are still bursting with ideas. It'll be easier to sprint when you come back!
  2. Give yourself a day off if you've sprinted intensively the previous day. Or hours off, if you don't have work that day. (Fitting sprints in around pretty hectic work days has been HARD).
  3. PLAN IN TEA BREAKS. I cannot stress this enough. Our #writingsquad this week would reach points where we'd be "we need ten/fifteen minutes for tea". It's okay to recharge and miss out a sprint or two if it's going to help you to be more productive.
  4. And following on from that, stockpile tea supplies! I have got through a lot of caffeine this week... (or non-caffeinated tea, if that's your preference! Even the illusion of caffeine helps when you're sprinting!)
  5. Support others like you would like to be supported! I couldn't have written 15K this week without the support of my fellow sprinters. Writing's a lonely business - use the writing friends you've got to make your whole group more productive!

Are you are a fan of writing sprints? Are you using them to hit your Camp NaNoWriMo goal? Let me know in the comments!

Happy writing! Katherine x

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