So we are a week into NaNoWriMo and everyone should be at approximately 11,669 words. However a lot of us are being stopped by the little Grammar Nazi that could. You know who that is; the little guy in the back of your head telling you its you’re not your or to put a comma here and an apostrophe there. They are our nemesis during NaNoWriMo and we have to fight them off until at least December. For me, however, I have to allow the Grammar Nazi to control my writing a lot. As such, I am only at about 3k words. Yes, you heard me right, I am days behind. So why am I giving advice still for those out there when I’m not even on time? Well it is simple, I want you all to succeed. So let us continue with the subject of Grammar Nazis.
Who are the Grammar Nazis and why do they torment us so?
When you were in high school, I assume a lot of you are in or have graduated, you had an English class until your senior year. Every year you had to write something at least in that class and turn it in to the teacher. Many of us, no matter how proficient we were with writing, had our papers covered in red ink. Seeing that usually led to disappointment and we would end up having to rewrite it all. Perhaps it is that thought of the red squiggly lines covering our paper that we feel the need to avoid it. Or perhaps it is much deeper than that.
So how can I steer clear of the Grammar Nazis?
You can’t really stay away from them. They will always be there in some form of another but your best bet for writing is to open up a program such as write or die, written kitten, notepad, or a good ol’ paper and pencil. Some will help increase your word count and others will lead to pure never being able to comprehend what you just wrote ever again. So how much of the Grammar Nazi you truly want to hide from is all on you.
But I like having correct grammar!
Well then good on you. There are many out there who can’t even type a simple sentence without typing like a five year old. If you think you have it in you to write a manuscript first draft in time while being tough on yourself with grammar go at it. I salute you all in your endeavor.
So good luck, readers. See you in a few days for my next semi motivational NaNoWriMo post. Perhaps next time I will put something about my book or give you a first draft view of a piece of the story. Have a good day!