NaNo Series: Getting Rid of NaNo Nerves

Many people get nervous before and during NaNoWriMo, and rightfully so. It is a time that can try your patience and creativity if you let it. Luckily, there are many things you can do to get over your NaNo nerves and keep pushing forward.

Figure Out What You're Afraid Of

Most nerves arise from fear, so figuring out what you're afraid can be the first step to getting rid of your nerves. Are you afraid of not meeting your word count goal? Are you worried about not doing the story justice? Are you afraid you'll disappoint your readers?

Figure out what you're afraid of and squash those fears. If you're nervous about hitting the word count goal, just remind yourself that, even if you haven't hit the official goal, at least you've written something. If you're worried about not writing the best story, you can always go back and edit it later. That's what December is for!

Remind Yourself Why You're Doing NaNo

Everyone does NaNo for different reasons. Figure out what your reasons for doing NaNo are and write them down as a reminder when you need to focus again. This is different from writing down your inspiration. This is writing down the reason you are doing NaNo in the first place.

Whether you're doing NaNo to write more words than you've ever written or to finish up an idea you've had for a while, write down your reason to give you hope when you need it.

Do Something Relaxing

Sometimes the best way to get rid of your nerves is to just relax and forget about what is worrying you for a while. That can seem impossible when you have 50,000 words in November, but you can take 15 minutes to have a hot bath and get yourself settled down before you work through your NaNo stresses.

Listen to some music or go for a walk around your talk. Focusing your mind can help calm your NaNo nerves and give you story inspiration at the same time!

Special thanks to Goddess of Muse and nearly witches. for editing!