Being cute at the pumpkin patch. 🙂
Thanks to NaNoWriMo, I doubt I’ll have much time or creative energy for blogging in November. That said, I hate to neglect my blog for a whole thirty days, and I think dropping off the face of the planet to draft kind of defeats the community spirit of NaNo. So… I’m planning to blog, but I’ve decided to simplify things. Along with an occasional Bookanistas recommendation and the sporadic sampling of Instagram photos I force on you all every so often, I’ve devised a little cheat sheet so I can continue to blog, but without devoting too much time to the practice.
Every few days (or maybe once a week, whatever seems to be working best) I’ll post this form, filled out all pretty:
Progress (word count or a general status update): Current Mood: Inspiration (a writing-related quote): Goals as of Today: Recent Favorite NaNo-WiP Line: Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on): In My Downtime (ha!) I'm Reading: You should read this blog post: By: Because: Gratuitous Photograph (because I love 'em!):
And I encourage you to use it too! Feel free to copy the form exactly, or change it to fit your needs best.
Happy blogging, and happy NaNo-ing!
katyupperman.com 
I might have to adopt something similar if I decide to do NaNo again. Good luck to you and may I quote from one of my favorite books: May the odds be ever in your favor.” 🙂
YES! Best NaNo quote ever, Jenny! Good luck to you if you decide to jump into the fun. 🙂
Hahaha! Thanks for your post, I’d completely forgotten about the NaNoWriMo nightmare. Won’t use your form, though it’s a nice idea. Will just post less and try to write a novel…
Best of luck to you! I think we’ll all need it!
Good luck with Nano, I’ve never had the courage!
This is my first attempt, Jaye. We shall see how it goes!
I love hearing about progress when drafting, so this will be fun to follow! Good luck! 🙂
Thanks, Alexandra! I hope I have happy updates and good news to share. 🙂
This is brilliant. I was just thinking about how I’d get through NaNo and keep my blog alive. What would I do without you?
Haha! I feel the same about your posts and advice! I’m glad you’ll be able to make use of my little NaNo update form. Looking forward to reading your updates next month. 😉
Oh my gosh, that’s an awesome idea! I think I might have to steal this. 🙂
GO for it, Meredith! Looking forward to reading your updates!
That’s a great idea.
I have a few posts I should prepare ahead of time. Better get working though cuase there are not many days left.
I know; it’s creeping up so quickly. I’m getting excited, and a little apprehensive too!
This is great, Katy! I love the format of your upcoming posts, and I look forward to hearing all about your NaNo experience! Also, keep the Instagrams coming – they are so sweet and always make me smile!
Thanks, Tem! I don’t think I could quite Instagram-ing if I tried. I’m addicted! Looking forward to sharing all of the NaNo craziness with you. 🙂
This is a great idea! I really like it and might have to steal it. I’ve been so bad about blogging lately.
Hope it helps you keep up with your blogging, Zanne. Looking forward to reading your updates!
Hi Katy, what a brilliant idea! What my strategy might be, as I’m itching to start writing and finding that October is dragging, is write enough posts to keep the blog updated throughout November in the next few days. That way I have something to focus on, and although I expect I’ll have time to write new posts next month, it’ll be a good back up to have them there just in case. Even though I won’t be using the form, it’s such a great idea that a little nearer the time I’ll blog the link to this post as I’m sure some of the writers I know will find this incredibly useful.
Good luck for November!
Pre-writing posts is a great idea! I’d love to do that, but I’m a little pressed for time this week. I did do it last April for the A-Z Challenge and it worked really well. Good luck with the blogging, and more importantly, good luck with NaNo!
What a fantastic idea! I shall definitely be stealing it 🙂
Good Luck with NaNo!
Same to you, Alexa! I look forward to reading about your experiences!
I plan on doing something similar so maybe I’ll steal your template. I think it’ll be good to give weekly updates on my NaNo progress. 🙂
Yes, updates are definitely good. They’ll hold me accountable, I think. The more healthy pressure I feel, the better. I’m looking forward to reading about your experiences, Ghenet!
I like the idea of the form. Good luck with Nano.
Thanks, Kirsten!
This is such a great idea, Katy! It’s definitely going to be a challenge blogging while doing NaNo, so I might just have to join you. Thanks! 🙂
Hope it helps you keep up with your blogging. I’m looking forward to reading all about your NaNo experience!
You are a lifesaver! I’m not doing NaNo but trying to maximize my word count in November, and between work and other writing stuff and turkey day travel–um, I don’t know where blogging would have fit. So thank you! I’ll definitely be using this.
Oh, good! Yeah… I think that without an easy go-to format, blogging would definitely slip away during the month of November. Glad you’re finding my little form useful!