Write Your Damn Novel: A podcast about writing a book in a month
Write Your Damn Novel (formerly How to Win NaNo) is a no-nonsense guide to writing a novel in 30 days. Like it or not November comes every year, but don't you worry — your hosts are here for you! Kristina Horner and Liz Leo are 'writing-50k-words-in-a-month' experts (and lifelong writing friends) with a passion for helping people write their damn novel. Join them each week as they share their personal tips, tricks and other things they've learned over almost two decades of consecutive NaNoWriMo wins.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 22 minutes
- Episodes
- 89
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
Non-Traditional NaNoWriMo Ideas
Thinking about doing short stories, a memoir, a rewrite, or some other kind of non-traditional idea for NaNoWriMo this year? In this episode, Liz and Kristina discuss strategies, and how this is a to…
Getting Motivated When It Feels Like the World is Ending
In this week's episode, we talk about ways to find inspiration, ways to reward yourself for hitting certain world milestones, and just plain pushing through when things get tough. It's going to be a …
How to NaNoWriMo in a Pandemic
Has 2020 already taken its toll on you? Need some advice on how to get yourself to write in a pandemic? We're here for you. <3
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We're BACK in 2020!
2020 didn't turn out to be quite the year we expected it to be, but our second season of How To Win NaNo has finally arrived! Things might look different this year, but NaNoWriMo is still on its way.…
What's Next for "How To Win NaNo"!
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What To Do After NaNoWriMo
Is there life after NaNoWriMo? Of course there is! We're here to help you deal. Have a plethora of free time now and you're not sure what to fill it with? Not sure what to do next on your writing pro…
NaNoWriMo: It's Over!
NaNoWriMo ending can be jarring for a number of reasons! In this episode we talk about the things we've learned this year, regional epilogue parties, and how much we think about NaNoWriMo the rest of…
We're In The Home Stretch!
There are 3 days left in NaNoWriMo. Let's talk about how it feels, how those last 10,000 words feel, and what we'll miss about NaNo once it's over.
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30 Min Writing Sprint - 2 [Focus Time!]
Need to buckle down and get some words written? We've got you! Put this episode on when you've got a free 30 mins and want to focus on writing. Music by Marc Straight.
En…
The 30k Slump
The hardest part of NaNoWriMo -- week 3, or the 30k slump. Why it's the worst, but we're all in this together.
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This Is Too Hard, What Am I Doing Wrong?
We discuss a bit of the darker side of NaNoWriMo: bad writing days, how to recover when falling behind, and why you should keep going anyway.
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Meet the Writing Sprint Composer: Interview with Marc Straight
Marc Straight wrote the music behind our word sprint bonus episodes and he's also a fellow NaNoWriMo participant! Join us for a quick bonus episode where we interview Marc about all things writing, m…
30 Min Writing Sprint - 1 [Focus Time!]
Need to buckle down and get some words written? We've got you! Put this episode on when you've got a free 30 mins and want to focus on writing. Music by Marc Straight.
En…
Motivation: Writing Rewards and Punishments
Rewards and punishments can be strong motivators during NaNoWriMo. In this episode, we talk about how to set the right ones for yourself and then get completely derailed and talk a LOT about pie.
Panic!! It's NaNoWriMo!
A quick bonus episode to help get you through Day #1! We discuss naming your document, the new official website and how it feels to finally START.
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Committing to an Idea: Interview with Grant Faulkner
Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of NaNoWriMo! This week he joins us for a discussion on how to pick your novel idea — and stick to it.
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NaNoWriMo Crash Course for Beginners
Everything you need to know about NaNoWriMo as a beginner, or some excellent tips and refreshers for veterans!
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Naming Your Characters is the Best Part!
This episode is all about naming your characters! We discuss how to choose names, what happens if you decide to change any names, and how to avoid making naming mistakes.
The Dreaded.... Writing Distractions!
What are your biggest writing distractions? How do you cope with distraction? And does "writer's block" actually exist?
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To Outline or Not to Outline
What type of outlining is useful for writing a novel in a month? Is there such a thing as overplanning? How can you tailor your outline in a way that keeps you excited to work on your novel?