Every year, National Novel Writing Month participants in Orlando have the unique opportunity to join their fellow writers in one of the most highly-anticipated events of the season: Write Around Disney World, a guided journey through free-to-access locations on Disney property via free Disney transportation. At every stop, you write, then report your word counts to the municipal liaisons.
This event has a special place in my heart. I attended it when I was first diving into the local writing scene during college. I loved that it got me out of the house and put some pressure on me to get words down in a way online writing sprints could rarely achieve, and I deeply missed the event when it was forced to go on hiatus during the pandemic.
Naturally, when it came back this year, I had to go! (You can see me here in the group photo!) I wrote over 2,500 words, ate Bailey’s-spiked beignets, and even got some of that exercise thing people are always telling me about.
While hopping from place to place, I got the chance to chat with lots of interesting people. On the ferry ride over to our first venue, an idea was born: to collect pearls of writing wisdom from this community and share them with the world.
On Crafting a Good Story
To be clear, NaNoWriMo is less about perfecting your craft and more about forming a writing habit. That being said, no one wants to write a bad story!
“At the end of the day, the difference between a story that stays with you and one that collects dust is emotion. Are your characters connecting with you? Do they matter?”
– Kate Renae (@authorkaterenae)
“I used The Sims 4 to build the buildings in the novel I am writing. It helps me to visualize where things are.”
– Kay Marie (@booksinparadise)
“Make Spotify playlists with songs that remind you of your characters and setting. Look at song lyrics and quotes, and save ones that your characters would relate to!”
– Shelby Christopher (@shelbyspaghetti)
“Find a cast of your favorite celebrities to use as character images!”
– Madison Salter (@madsalty017)
On Getting the Words Down
You have heard other writers say things like this, but you never know when you’ll encounter phrasing that resonates with you.
“Allow yourself to write the sh*ttiest version first. Perfection will come, but bad must come first.”
– Megan Griesmer (@megangriesmer)
“Finding what writing habits work best for you is one of the best parts of NaNo! Don’t sweat the word count so much, or even writing daily. Just focus on habits that work for you!”
– Jessica Salina (@jessbizarreadventure)
“If you have the general gist of something to write but not the exact prose, put a summary in brackets and come back to it later. E.g., ‘[[John gets to the battleground, flashback to previous battle.]] He grips his sword and…'”
– Nikki G. (@nikkigracias)
“Just write. Some of the words will suck, but get them on the page anyways. You never know what you can use later. In that same vein, don’t delete the words that suck. You may be able to make them better.”
– January Wells
“Listen to your gut. Don’t second guess yourself. You will be surprised by how right you are the first time.”
– Madi Irene (@madi_irene)
“Make it exist… Then make it good. The first draft might suck. You can make it better later. Keep going.”
– Duga
On Your Writing Community
And, of course, where would we all be without writer friends?
“Make writer friends! They support you and give great feedback! Writing doesn’t have to be a solitary experience.”
– Mary Elizabeth Anderson (@optimist_chic)
