Tips for NaNoWriMo!

I originally posted this as a comment on my agent's blog, since she is going to do NaNoWriMo herself for fun this year, and she asked for suggestions. Here's what I said, with some extra tidbits:

Rule number 1 for NaNoWriMo: Give yourself permission to suck! 

Leave the typos and plot holes in place, and just keep going. Don't go back and reread - like another commenter said, write a quick note to yourself at the end of the session so you know where to go, like (Hero and heroine have first kiss and she gets upset when villain interrupts.) I actually do that all the time, not just for Nano.

If you find yourself realizing you need to make a change (like you gave away too much info in first chapter) just keep writing as if you've already made the change, and when it's time to edit you can go back and make the change. You can even write a note to yourself like (pretend they never kissed) and keep going. 

Many writers can write 1000 words in an hour, so if you give yourself two hours a day you can meet your goal. During Nano I try to write 2K a day to account for days when something happens (like Thanksgiving). 

Side note: every day is NaNoWriMo for me; I write at least 2K words a day, every day, in order to keep up with contractual commitments and you know, write a lot of books :)

The Pulse (the book I snagged my agent with, and which will release as a trilogy from Simon and Schuster after The Enslaved Trilogy releases with them) was written during NaNoWriMo (75k words), so was Snowed in With the Tycoon (a book I self-published and which makes me some nice income every month), and The Tycoon's Convenient Bride...and Baby (a book my agent just got an offer for, but negotiations are still in place so shhhh!) was also written in a Nano-esque month. So good books can come out of it, it's all about December and revisions :)

(2014 Update: The Tycoon's Convenient Bride... and Baby got published by Entangled Indulgence, and hit the B&N Nook Bestseller list! All of the 6 books I contracted after The Pulse (The Enslaved Trilogy and The Pulse Trilogy)  have been written and are out now from Simon & Schuster Pocket Star, as well as in audiobook. I am also thrilled to announce I am now represented by Stacey Glick of Dystel & Goderich).

Most importantly, have fun with writing during NaNoWriMo. When you don't know what to write next, add in a new secret, a new character, or a new obstacle. Instant plot twist! 

Happy writing!