November is the time of the year when most activities have to be translocated into the warmth and coziness of your home. The days are getting darker, and rain and wind determine the overall weather. It’s getting colder each day with winter quickly approaching. Thus, leisurely strolls and hanging out at the beach or park is an option becoming more and more limited. Instead, the couch at home looks more and more comfortable with every drop of rain falling against the window, and the warmth spreading from a mug of tea is very welcomed.
This is the perfect time of the year for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) event to take place!
What is NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month is a fun opportunity to enhance your creative writing and approach a goal you may have set for yourself ever since you closed the best book you have ever read: write your very own novel!
The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000-word novel in a set time frame. Start of the event is November 1st, while the end is set to 11:59 PM on November 30th. This means one whole month of writing, collecting ideas, plotting, and letting creative juices flow. According to the official NaNoWriMo homepage, 310,095 people from all over the wold participated in this event on 2013.
The event is not limited to people that have already produced (longer) pieces of writing though. With process tracking and the opportunity to get support and pep talk from other participants, everyone can become an aspiring novelist.
Visit the official National Novel Writing Month homepage at NaNoWriMo.org
A relaxing and productive atmosphere
Next to practice and inspiration, the perfect atmosphere is essential for you successful writing process. No matter if you are using your computer, laptop, pen and paper, or the old school typewriter to let your creativity flow onto the screen or paper, a perfect working environment and atmosphere should be part of you every writing task.
- Clean up your space. A cluttered desk, a room hat’s a mess, or many browser windows, programs, and tabs open can easily distract and unnerve you when your actually just want to concentrate on your story development. Clean up your surroundings and your mind alike.
- Snacks and beverages. Writing makes you hungry. And thirsty. Don’t waste time and energy on running back and forth to the fridge by setting up a nice plate with your favorite snacks, and a bottle or cup with something to drink. While, especially on colder days, a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate may seem very tempting, don’t forget to drink enough water as well to keep your brain awake.
- Add pauses to your schedule. There are times when your fingers just don’t come to a rest and you ideas flow freely. Yet, there are times when you seem stuck. Don’t worry. Take a break and let your mind wander somewhere else for a change. Afterwards, it’s way easier to concentrate on your writing again.
- Relaxing background sounds contribute to a productive working environment as well. Play your favorite music in the background to feel more at ease or even to draw some inspiration for your novel. Sometimes, lyrics and singing can be very distracting though. This is where ambient music comes into play!
Fitting background sounds
Finding the best fitting background sound for your writing is a very individual task. The soundscape has to fit your mood, the mood and theme of the story you are working on, and create a relaxing and calming working atmosphere. The rule of thumb here is to use whatever fits you and your personal taste!
Nonetheless, we want to give you some examples and inspirations for a good ambient music background for your National Novel writing Month endeavors.
Writing Atmospheres
One of our Ambient-Mixer users already created an ambient atmosphere dedicated to the National Novel Writing Month. Yet, the possibilities here are endless. The sound of a computer keyboard, quill and pen scribbles, mixed up with some relaxing music or a low and comfortable hum or buzzing can create a nice writing atmosphere that motivates you to feed your own keyboard and let your own pen dance over the paper.
Fantasy Atmospheres
The novel you are aspiring to write has a fantasy theme? Perfect. Feed your creativity and inspiration with fantastical and magical sounds from enchanted forests, fairy caves, and dragon lairs.
Science-Fiction Atmospheres
If you are working on a sci-fi novel for National Novel Writing Month, listening to the electrical buzzing of a spaceship or the strange sounds of space can help you get in the right mood for your science-fiction adventures.
Famous Book and Movie Atmospheres
We’re not saying that your novel will become as famous as the ones of J.K. Rowling or Edgar Allan Poe, but you never know! Draw some inspiration and create a productive atmosphere by listening to soundscapes dedicated to the greatest books of famous authors; from Tolkien’s Middle Earth to the halls of Hogwarts or the dangerous plains of Westeros.
Relaxing Atmospheres
Or, maybe, all you need is some relaxation to forget about the stress of your daily life and fully dive into the world of your very own imagination. Meditative and relaxing audio atmospheres can help you to reduce stress, come to ease, and concentrate on your novel writing activities.
No matter what audio background you use in the end, we are sure it will make Novel Writing Month a success for you!
