Nano fever

Nano is like an itch.

It starts off as a minor irritation in late September, something you can ignore because there's other stuff to do that relates to real life. Then October arrives and the itch is becoming more noticeable. You find yourself zipping over to the site to have a look. Who's registered, is there anyone from your area, your writing group? Are there widgets to download?

But... you've got plenty of time to think about something to write. Then the itch worsens. Ideas float around, never settling, just taunting you with potential.

Come the end of October and you're snarling at anyone who asks about the blank expression you wear. You're constantly wiping away the sweat (at least, here Down Under where the weather is warming up for Summer), making notes, checking the coffee and snackage supply and warning people that during November, you are categorically unavailable.

On the 1st of November, bright and unspeakably early, you're sitting at the keyboard, fingers poised to write that great epic, ready to throw yourself into the maelstrom that is your own mind and let the words flow...

Unless you have The Blue Screen Of Death! Kidding. Once you start, it's scratching that itch. Doesn't it feel so good?

The first tip I have for you is about that blank page and how to overcome the panic of where to start.

Write: Chapter One.

There. No more blank page and no more panic. Need more to get you started? Okay. Start with a dramatic scene. You've been thinking about this for some time and I know you've got an action sequence. Start with that and go from there with a 'and then...'

After that, it's up to you.