Whether it's your first time or your sixth time, writing a novella in 12 weeks isn't easy.
As a 2021 ONC Winner and 2023 Honorable Mention, I would know. After years of participation and reflection, I have lots of advice to share on how I did it. In...
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Hot take: you're going to have days during the ONC where you don't want to write or feel like you can't. This is 100% okay! Everyone needs to listen to their mind and body and rest. However, depending on where you are/what your word count is at, you may not be able to skip a day.
How can you combat or limit days like this? By forming a writing habit!
Doing this is actually more simple than you think: create a writing trigger. A trigger is simply something that'll motivate your mind subconsciously to get in the mood or to want to write.
Yes, you're sort of Pavloving (new verb, I guess?) yourself into writing, but Pavlov was a psychologist so there is some merit in this madness.
Your trigger can be anything: a specific space, time, music playlist, warm drink, or even a scented candle. Start conditioning yourself now by selecting your trigger (mine is opening the window behind my writing chair and queuing my project's specific playlist) and using it when you write so you'll be ready for when the contest starts.
However, us humans are funky and triggers don't work forever because we become complacent. So be sure to have a handful of backup triggers on deck and be prepared to swap them out during the contest.
Published young adult novelist Alexa Donne also made a super helpful video about this hack. Watch it here:
