Today in the morning, I spent about an hour writing 400 words. They were probably the slowest 400 words I’ve had in months. It was just as if the writing wasn’t coming out at all. And, to be honest, I’m not sure what blocked me, or why I was unable to write quickly. Regardless, I was growing frustrated, and that, well, is never good when you’re trying to have fun writing a novel.

But then, the very best person in the world offered to help me out with a little something people online call a “word sprint.” That’s where you set a timer and write for that amount of time without stopping. In a way, it’s meant to use that little competitive spirit inside of us to push us forward. And god, it works. It works so well.

Long story short, thanks to this amazing and beautiful person with the kindest soul, I was able to rip through the frustration, and the words came our pouring, as if they had just unclogged a pipe.

Now, before this year (camp nanowrimo April to be more precise), I had never used word sprints or even heard of them, but I cannot believe I ever wrote without them. They are just to useful. So, if you’re having trouble getting or hitting your wordcount, I recommend doing this for yourself.

First, set a timer. I personally like 15 minutes for some reason, but it can be different depending on the person. And then, just write. Try and compete against yourself. Look at your previous score and aim higher.

As a side note, I’ve also heard this called “word wars.” Though, in this case it is when you compete against another person, and you aim to write more than the other person in the allotted time. I’ve done this before, and it works just as well. Though, I’ll admit, either two of them done with a partner is infinitely better.

But anyway, it is day two on NaNoWriMo, and I’m all caught up! 2/30 days complete!