34 Ways to Write a Novel in 34 Days
I’ve been really thinking about the upcoming National Novel Writing Month this November 2009. NaNoWriMo is a great way to encourage writers to write a novel. Even newbies such as myself could join this project. And if because of NaNoWriMo some good novels get published, Philippine Literature becomes all the better!
But the challenge is big! How to write a novel in 34 days?
1. Let the novel take shape in your mind. Don’t just start writing and pounding on the keyboard for your first 1,000 words. The key to successfully writing a novel in 34 days is planning. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” You certainly can’t build a make-believe world, a.k.a. a novel, in a day or in a month without a good, solid plan.
2. Start thinking about a character, an issue, a major conflict or a setting you want to explore in your novel. The Chronicles of Narnia started out with a single image in the mind of C. S. Lewis—that of a faun with scrolls in his hand and a shining lamppost nearby on a snowy day.
3. Decide the length of your project and the ideal number of chapters. This will help you understand how much work you need to do daily.
4. Divide the total number of words or the total number of pages of your novel by 34 days. That is the number of pages and the number of words you have to complete daily. You have to write 1,030 words (roughly 4 pages in a short bond paper) to complete a 35,000-word novel.
5. Outline your work.
6. Sketch the storyline of each chapter.
7. Grab a small notebook for your project.
8. Set a daily quota and work on it.
9. Mark the tasks you have to do on a desk calendar or any kind of calendar at all.
10. Explore the major characters of your story.
11. Get to know the minor characters of your story.
12. Describe the place where the majority of the scenes will take place.
13. Decide on the time period setting of your novel.
14. Write a brief synopsis and overview of your novel.
15. Grab a copy of a novel-writing manual and please, don’t let it be Writing a Novel for Dummies or The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel. Those books aren’t very helpful. If you’re near a library, go and borrow a good book on writing.
16. Get a copy of one of your favorite novels. You can treat this as a writing guide.
17. Set a time and place for working and stick to it!
18. Research!
19. Start writing!
20. Tell some of your trust family, friends and housemates about your plans to write a novel. This is called Accountability.
21. Ease into the habit of writing daily. And yes, that includes weekends!
22. Track your daily progress.
23. Celebrate small successes, like completing a chapter or passing through the 10,000th word!
24. Writer’s Block? Drink a cup of coffee, do several cartwheels or go for a walk. Anything to shake the lethargy off.
25. More Writer’s Bloc? See a friend. Rant. Talk. But after that, you gotta write!
26. Watch a good movie. Look at the treatment of character, setting and action.
27. Losing steam? Review your outline and your plan of writing.
28. Just write the first draft! Don’t revise or edit just yet. That will come in later.
29. Write furiously and write a lot!
30. Keep the faith! Stay Motivated. Take a break if needed.
31. Race to the finish line! Finish your novel on the 25th day to give time for editing.
32. Ask a friend (who’s into literature, preferably) to read your manuscript for helpful comments.
33. Edit. Revise as needed!
34. Put finishing touches and format the novel accordingly.
There you go! If you stick to your schedule and your creative vision, no excuse is going to make you stop! Even if your novel does not get published, the first reward is getting it written and building confidence within you. After writing at least 30,000 words, you’ll realize it isn’t really difficult at all!
So I’m taking the plunge and joining NaNoWriMo. But it’s gonna be in my native language—Ilokano. 
And I will cheat. How? Am gonna start now, right on this very day so I could have more time, albeit an extension of just a few days. Will you join me?
PS,
NaNoWrimo nga eh,
bakit naman aga mag-start?
Hehehe gudlak.
PB
Hey Petiburges,
Am running against another deadline kasi.
there’s this ilocano short novel competition and the deadline is on Nov. 15. that’s why I started early. 
paano naman kaming hindi ilocano. awanin lang alam ko sa asawa kong lahing ilokano na hindi din marunong magsalita ng ilokano. di ba pwede tagalog na lang!
Hello Adelfa!
Pwede namang tagalog. heheh. Pero if you want, magbibigay ako ng English translation dito pag natapos ko na ung writing project ko. heheh 
That was a brilliant read,I just subscribed to your rss feed.
Ilocano ka met gayam kabsat!
Agyamanak kadagita tips mo
Kayat mo met ngamin ti agsurat ti nobela.
I am writing a novel and I learnd a lot from the advices of this article. I love it! haha… My novel’s title is “Celebrity meets the Ordinary” haha! watcha think guys?