5 (easy) Ways To Recover From Camp NaNoWriMo

    I have to admit, Camp NaNoWriMo totally burned me out  - and yet I have half of a novel that absolutely must get finished during May? And I really need the words to come back?

   Thus, I came up with a revival scheme. Here is my no-longer-very-secret master plan on recovering from Camp NaNoWriMo.

1. Experiment With Different Plot Bunnies

   Easiest way to find new inspiration - so long as you're willing to start a new first draft, or take the one you're working on in a completely new direction! You guys have no idea how many adorable (and rabid) plot bunnies I found during April, and they refused to stop coming when May showed up. I'm insatiably excited to get started on one of them, it's going to be amazing.   

2. Take A Break

   I hate taking my own advice, apparently. But I do try to take a break now and then - because otherwise I'll get a little too burned out, and my words will be a pile of trash. Which definitely wouldn't be fun to edit. So take a break, people. It'll help. Unless you're on a tight schedule of course (*cough* like me *cough*) - in which case, I guess you'll just have to try to some of my other solutions, huh? ;)  

3. Make A (not very) Set-In-Stone Writing Plan 

 
   I think my writing schedule has been one of the only things keep me going during this year. I have every month planned out - and it's pretty easy to get myself writing when I look at the chart and realize I'm going to get very very behind if I don't keep going. And I've stayed fairly on-schedule for this whole year, so I don't intend to stop now!

   AND ... according to the schedule, I'm a little behind. Oops? xD  

4. Create Desktop Background Images

   I made a collage of images for Killing Snow and set it as my computer's desktop background - and now I'm reminded to write when I turn my computer on, instead of procrastinating on the internet #lazywriter. Seriously, it works so well! Especially since the collage not only forces me to go and click on my Killing Snow document instead of the internet icon, but because it's also a great source of inspiration. I've literally just sat in front of my laptop staring at it multiple times xD.

images not mine

   Certainly not perfect by my standards (a perfect storyboard for Killing Snow would be a bit different than this), but it's definitely working well for now - and I'm too busy writing to change it right now! :D    

5. When In Doubt, READ A BOOK

   Books are wonderful (and undoubtedly inspiration-filled) little creatures - and reading a really good one is a great way to bring the words back. The authors of these books were (and still are!) all writers like us, for crying out loud! It always inspires me to read their words - how cool is it to take a peek in another person's imagination? (... it's also vaguely creepy, if you think about it too hard...) And learning from my favorite authors through their works of art is awesome. And it certainly doesn't hurt to imagine my own book sitting up their on my bookshelf. Dreaming never killed anyone xD.      

   SO. There's my advice for recovering from post-NaNoWriMo burnout. Here's hoping all the words will start coming your way! 

~ Savannah Grace 

   What do you do when you get burned out? Have any of these tips worked for you?