November 1, 2019 • 7 mins
Done is better than perfect, and other lessons gleaned from writing a novel in 30 days
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about the time management lessons I learned
from participating in Nano Ramo, which is short for National
Novel Writing Month. Across the US and now really across
(00:26):
the world. Thousands of people will attempt to write a
fifty thousand word novel manuscript in the thirty days of November.
This is quite an undertaking, but participating can lead to
major creative breakthroughs, a sense of accomplishment, and some interesting
lessons on time. I've long been intrigued by Nano Raimo.
(00:47):
The rules are simple. You write a fifty thousand word
draft of a novel in thirty days. The rationale won't
go to any cocktail party, and after a drink or two,
people will confess that they have a novel that they're
just dying to write. Nano Ramo says, Okay, let's turn
that novel from idea too rough manuscript. Let's take it
(01:10):
from your head to the page. I'm happy to report
that I've successfully completed this challenge several times. Of course,
I've only got two novels out there. In the world,
which should tell you something about writing a novel in
thirty days. Not all of them are going to be
any good, but I still find the practice fulfilling as
(01:30):
I aim to make space for fiction in a life
of nonfiction content and family responsibilities. And I've learned a
few strategies from nano Rimo over the years that helped
me with all aspects of time management. First, the people
who succeed in writing a novel in thirty days make
sure to do what anyone facing a big project does.
(01:52):
You break it down into small steps and figure out
how much time these steps will take. If you want
to write a fifty novel in thirty days, this is
about six d sixty seven words per day. However, as
anyone doing a big project discovers, doing something every day
is tough, most of us need space to take breaks
(02:14):
or in case things go wrong. If you plan to
work twenty days in November, taking weekends and Thanksgiving off,
or just in general writing four to five days per week,
then you need to write words per working day. This
pace allows for flexibility. If you lose a writing day
because of a work emergency, you can sub in a
(02:35):
weekend day and get back on track. Successful Nao rimo
novelists also figure out how long those daily words will take.
I write for a living, and over the years this
has helped me figure out my speed. I can write
rough drafts of stuff where I know the outline at
a pace of one thousand words per hour. So to
(02:58):
write words, need to block out about two hours of
time as someone who doesn't sit down at a computer
every day to bang out podcast scripts and blog posts
might need a little longer, let's say three hours. Then
there's the question of where you're going to block in
three hours five times a week. To do this well,
you'll need to study your calendar. For many people, this
(03:20):
is going to involve multiple shifts per day. You get
up ninety minutes early and right, then right for thirty
minutes at lunch, and then for an hour after the
kids go to bed. On a weekend, you might use
the hours of six thirty am and crank out your
words before the rest of your family stirs. Or perhaps
(03:41):
your spouse takes the kids for the afternoon and you
write for three hours in a library or coffee shop.
To be sure, this requires logistical planning, your spouse might
not naturally volunteer to take the children for three hours.
You might have to ask, but if this is a
priority for you, you can do so. You can promise
to reciprocate for something else your spouse wants to do,
(04:03):
like going on a three hour bike ride, or you
can give this person a lot of project time in December.
Then when you're in the midst of your three hour blocks,
you need to actually focus. The phone goes in airplane
mode or it goes away. For many people, it helps
to have some sort of accountability. Team up with another
(04:24):
novelist to check in each day or week on your
word count, celebrate each other's victories, and figure out a
way to get back on track when things go awry.
But finally, the biggest lesson I've learned and I think
other people learned from Nano Raimo is this done is
better than perfect. When you write a fifty word novel
(04:46):
in thirty days, it isn't going to be a good novel,
at least not yet, but it's going to be something.
The pace of writing required to produce fifty words is
so fast that you are forced to get over perfect.
Action is um and any sense that you should be
editing you don't have time for that. Instead, you just
(05:07):
get it down and it's rough, messy, convoluted form. Because
here's what I've found, turning nothing into something it's much
harder than turning something into something better. I can write
in haste and then edit at leisure. I wrote a
draft of Juliette's School of Possibilities, my time management fable
(05:30):
in twenty days during November a few years ago. Then
I spent the next eight months editing it. Done is
better than perfect, because you know what, there is no
perfect without being done. A novel might be perfect in
your head, but until it exists in the real world,
it can't be perfect. Existence is a necessary element of perfection.
(05:54):
So have you ever done a challenge like National Novel
Writing Month? Are you tempted? Let me know Before Breakfast
Podcast at iHeart Media dot com. In the meantime, this
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
(06:17):
from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
number four. Then Breakfast p O D You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
(06:40):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite show. WHA Can't Get
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about the time management lessons I learned
from participating in Nano Ramo, which is short for National
Novel Writing Month. Across the US and now really across
(00:26):
the world. Thousands of people will attempt to write a
fifty thousand word novel manuscript in the thirty days of November.
This is quite an undertaking, but participating can lead to
major creative breakthroughs, a sense of accomplishment, and some interesting
lessons on time. I've long been intrigued by Nano Raimo.
(00:47):
The rules are simple. You write a fifty thousand word
draft of a novel in thirty days. The rationale won't
go to any cocktail party, and after a drink or two,
people will confess that they have a novel that they're
just dying to write. Nano Ramo says, Okay, let's turn
that novel from idea too rough manuscript. Let's take it
(01:10):
from your head to the page. I'm happy to report
that I've successfully completed this challenge several times. Of course,
I've only got two novels out there. In the world,
which should tell you something about writing a novel in
thirty days. Not all of them are going to be
any good, but I still find the practice fulfilling as
(01:30):
I aim to make space for fiction in a life
of nonfiction content and family responsibilities. And I've learned a
few strategies from nano Rimo over the years that helped
me with all aspects of time management. First, the people
who succeed in writing a novel in thirty days make
sure to do what anyone facing a big project does.
(01:52):
You break it down into small steps and figure out
how much time these steps will take. If you want
to write a fifty novel in thirty days, this is
about six d sixty seven words per day. However, as
anyone doing a big project discovers, doing something every day
is tough, most of us need space to take breaks
(02:14):
or in case things go wrong. If you plan to
work twenty days in November, taking weekends and Thanksgiving off,
or just in general writing four to five days per week,
then you need to write words per working day. This
pace allows for flexibility. If you lose a writing day
because of a work emergency, you can sub in a
(02:35):
weekend day and get back on track. Successful Nao rimo
novelists also figure out how long those daily words will take.
I write for a living, and over the years this
has helped me figure out my speed. I can write
rough drafts of stuff where I know the outline at
a pace of one thousand words per hour. So to
(02:58):
write words, need to block out about two hours of
time as someone who doesn't sit down at a computer
every day to bang out podcast scripts and blog posts
might need a little longer, let's say three hours. Then
there's the question of where you're going to block in
three hours five times a week. To do this well,
you'll need to study your calendar. For many people, this
(03:20):
is going to involve multiple shifts per day. You get
up ninety minutes early and right, then right for thirty
minutes at lunch, and then for an hour after the
kids go to bed. On a weekend, you might use
the hours of six thirty am and crank out your
words before the rest of your family stirs. Or perhaps
(03:41):
your spouse takes the kids for the afternoon and you
write for three hours in a library or coffee shop.
To be sure, this requires logistical planning, your spouse might
not naturally volunteer to take the children for three hours.
You might have to ask, but if this is a
priority for you, you can do so. You can promise
to reciprocate for something else your spouse wants to do,
(04:03):
like going on a three hour bike ride, or you
can give this person a lot of project time in December.
Then when you're in the midst of your three hour blocks,
you need to actually focus. The phone goes in airplane
mode or it goes away. For many people, it helps
to have some sort of accountability. Team up with another
(04:24):
novelist to check in each day or week on your
word count, celebrate each other's victories, and figure out a
way to get back on track when things go awry.
But finally, the biggest lesson I've learned and I think
other people learned from Nano Raimo is this done is
better than perfect. When you write a fifty word novel
(04:46):
in thirty days, it isn't going to be a good novel,
at least not yet, but it's going to be something.
The pace of writing required to produce fifty words is
so fast that you are forced to get over perfect.
Action is um and any sense that you should be
editing you don't have time for that. Instead, you just
(05:07):
get it down and it's rough, messy, convoluted form. Because
here's what I've found, turning nothing into something it's much
harder than turning something into something better. I can write
in haste and then edit at leisure. I wrote a
draft of Juliette's School of Possibilities, my time management fable
(05:30):
in twenty days during November a few years ago. Then
I spent the next eight months editing it. Done is
better than perfect, because you know what, there is no
perfect without being done. A novel might be perfect in
your head, but until it exists in the real world,
it can't be perfect. Existence is a necessary element of perfection.
(05:54):
So have you ever done a challenge like National Novel
Writing Month? Are you tempted? Let me know Before Breakfast
Podcast at iHeart Media dot com. In the meantime, this
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
(06:17):
from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
number four. Then Breakfast p O D You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out
(06:40):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite show. WHA Can't Get
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
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