If you’ve been following our daily NaNoWriMo tips, you know that we love the idea of a writing schedule (we talked about it specifically on Day 10). The idea of setting aside a dedicated hour, or so, each day is great for really getting into a creative headspace. That’s your time to focus.

So that means that you don’t need to think about your story during the rest of the day, right?

Wrong! (Sorry, not sorry!)

You have so much more time than you realize! Take advantage of those spare minutes to work on your story. Waiting for the microwave, waiting for your coffee, waiting for the bus. All of those are great times to squeeze in a few extra words.

Try carrying a notebook around with you, wherever you go. Then, whenever you have a few minutes downtime, you can jot down some ideas. Plot points, potential concerns with your story, ideas for characters or scenes. Instead of just zoning out during your downtime, having a notebook will allow you to take advantage of that time in a constructive way. The more time you spend thinking about your NaNoWriMo story the more depth it will have, plus you’ll be making use of time that would otherwise go to waste!

Later, when you start your proper writing session, your notebook will be a useful way of sparking new ideas.

Keep writing! You’ve got this.

For all of our NaNoWriMo posts and tips, click here.