Indecision. Sometimes, it's just a matter of trying to decide what you want to write. Whether that's because you're not happy with a particular idea or because you're struggling with which of your many ideas to stick with, making a choice about which thing you want to focus on can be a challenge for some writers.

Over-preparation. Some writers spend so much time preparing to write something that they never get around to actually writing it. Especially when it comes to writing disciplines that prioritize worldbuilding (fantasy, science fiction, grounded realism, etc.), it can be easy to convince yourself that you need to spend additional time researching and fleshing out all the details before you actually begin the writing process.

Anxiety. Worry can be a huge impediment to writing progress, and it can take a lot of forms. Some people stress about whether or not what they write will be any good, while others worry about how it will be received by their audience, or even what might come next after the thing they're currently working on.

Ambition. Being overly ambitious can be a problem all on its own, or it can fuel any of the other issues listed above. Writing, at least in long form (books, scripts, stage plays, etc.) are serious undertakings that will take weeks, months, or even years of our lives. But some writers have grander aspirations and also fret over how that one book, that one story, that one creative effort will fit into a larger narrative series, or even their identity as an author. Ambition can be paralyzing when you can't get started because you're spending so much time thinking about what's farther down the road.

Aversion to Revision. Some writers want to make sure the words they write are perfect so they don't have to rework any of words they've painstakingly put on the page. In the worst cases, this can result in the agonizing over every single word that's written, and make writing progress painfully slow to the point of unproductive, if the focus is on achieving perfection one baby step at a time.

When it comes to NaNoWriMo, my technique varies. I try to be more incremental in order to get to the goal by the end of the month but the result can vary each year and during parts of the month. I've had some days where I will get 3,000 to 5,000 words and others with nothing. One year, I made it to 50k in 10 days. Other years I've not made it at all. So, it just depends on how things go. Won't know how this year will go until I start writing. Not having work may help, but the medical issues may hinder progress. We shall see when we get to November.


Thanks very much for article on how to approach writing the Nano and the feedback comments. I'm definitely a newbie, started writing in Jan 2023, had nothing published yet, and never attempted anything as intensive as Nano. A friend talked about it to me, encouraging me to participate, which I've decided to do. But I read several pages of opinions on Reddit about doing the Nano thing, either with Nano or with other groups or even individually, so I'm still deciding what direction to go in.

I haven't seen anything on WdC about Nano so I wondered whether they were 2 separate worlds, but to be fair I'm not here very much. I want to make it a greater part of my writing life. The article was great for me as showed there's an overlap and obviously there are WdC members that do the Nano.

Because I'm not here much I also don't know my way around the site that well but I'm working my way through it.

Anyway, thanks again, I did enjoy the article and it helped me think about what approach might work best for me.

Kind regards,
John