It’s another week down on NaNoWriMo. So far, things are going along swimmingly. Jo is proving to be her usual feisty self, and things are heating up for Practical Polly in the dime novel too.

There is nothing more exciting than work that is going well.

Several things help make writing go well.

1) Discipline — writing at least a little every day instills a pattern, and having a pattern is one of the ways that it becomes ritual. Once something is ritual, it is much easier to keep it going on a schedule. 🙂

2) Determination — one of the things that helps make sure that the discipline leads to ritual is determination. Determination to keep going even when the days are hard and the Muse is taking an extended coffee break.

3) Divergence — now, some may disagree with this last one, but I have found it to be truly helpful. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If things aren’t going smoothly in one area, switch to another genre–or format. Switch from fantasy to historical. Switch from poetry to short story. Perhaps just take an hour or two and research rather write (as long as you go back to the writing part before the day is out.)

So, there you have it. Three tips to potential success. Go and write!