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#StayHomeWriMo Content

Wait, what’s happening?

Due to the measures many governments have taken and/or encouraged in response to coronavirus, the folks who are able to stay at home are doing so to protect their health and the health of their communities. Folks who provide vital services, including people who work at hospitals, grocery stores, and delivery services, continue to go to work to keep communities functioning.

Life has changed temporarily but drastically for many of us, and we are still in the process of adapting!

  1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus
  2. The World Health Organization on coronavirus
  3. What does “social distancing” mean for me?
  4. A YouTube video on a thorough hand-washing technique.

 

What’s #StayHomeWriMo?

We sent out a survey last week asking what we could do to help during this time, and so many of you responded! You asked for resources to help you engage your creativity and connect with others online while you and your household stay home and away from other people in person as much as possible.

In response, we put together seven weekdays worth of activities y’all might take on to support your physical, mental, creative, and social well-being — and we’re calling it #StayHomeWriMo!
 

How do I participate?

We’ll share these activities each day here on the NaNoWriMo site and on Twitter, on Facebook, and Instagram. You can also write with others by joining in on our live streams! We’ll be going live on Instagram and YouTube.

The best way to stay in the loop is to sign up on the NaNoWriMo site, or just by bookmarking this page!

Other Information

 

#StayHomeWriMo Checklists

Day 1

Mental Well-Being 😌 Put your phone in a drawer for half an hour and give yourself a break from the news and social media. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing prompt: Write about a character who's stuck inside. How do they feel about it? Why are they there? Social Well-Being 👋 Write and mail a letter to a friend or family member. Physical Well-Being 😅 Take note of where the tensest points in your body are. Take three deep breaths while relaxing those muscles!

Day 2

Mental Well-Being 😌 Set a 10-minute timer to stretch, meditate, or just breathe deeply. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing exercise: Pick five words at random from different blog posts, tweets, or articles and use them all in a scene. Social Well-Being 👋 Start a group chat just for sharing funny GIFs. Physical Well-Being 😅 If you can, try out a new recipe! If you've got older kids, get them to help, too.

Day 3

Mental Well-Being 😌 Take a few minutes to read a poem, whether an old favorite or a new one. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing exercise: Set your text to white and try free-writing in invisible mode. No inner editors allowed! Social Well-Being 👋 Join our Virtual Write-In live today or watch the recording! We're live on YouTube at 2 PM PT (Your Time Zone)! Join us at https://youtube.com/nanowrimo! Physical Well-Being 😅 Memorize a 20-second passage from your favorite book to recite whenever you wash your hands.

Day 4

Mental Well-Being 😌 Make two quick lists: things you're grateful for now, and things you'll be grateful to get back to in the future. If you'd like to share your lists, tag us (@nanowrimo) on Instagram or Twitter! Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing prompt: Write about a secret you or a character have been keeping. Social Well-Being 👋 Get together with some friends for a virtual movie night! (You can use a browser app like Netflix Party.) Physical Well-Being 😅 Try an online exercise or stretching class, any level.

Day 5

Mental Well-Being 😌 Get some fresh air! Open a window or go on a solo walk around a quiet neighborhood. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Go outside (if you safely can). Put on your writer hat (or mittens). Try to notice five things to write about! Social Well-Being 👋 Join our #StayHomeWriMo Happy Hour on Instagram at 12 PM PT! We'll be sharing our names, where we're sheltering-in-place, and one recommendation for passing this time, whether it's a book, creative practice, movie, or something else! If you're up for it, we'll bring you on screen to share the same! Physical Well-Being 😅 Choose one of your favorite songs, turn it up, and have a three-minute dance party!

Day 6

Mental Well-Being 😌 Spend half an hour discovering and learning a new language. Try an online platform like Duolingo! Creative Well-Being 🧐 Sign up for Camp NaNoWriMo! Set your goal to whatever feels doable to you this April. Then, if you're ready to write now, get in the groove by writing a short ghost story... Social Well-Being 👋 Check in on someone you know who's staying home alone, and see if you can help in any way. Physical Well-Being 😅 Spa day! Take a long, hot shower or bath. Do a face mask. Aaaah.

Day 7

Mental Well-Being 😌 Treat yourself to some reading time! Use your library's e-book list, or, if you can, buy it from Bookshop.org. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing Prompt: Interview one of your own characters about what their social-distancing experience would look like. Social Well-Being 👋 If you're not a caretaker and you're able to, offer to video chat with a toddler or child. Sing songs, play a game, let them give you a tour of their toys. Physical Well-Being 😅 Set a bedtime for yourself tonight. Give your body a little structure for a day.

April 3 – Checklist from BoldCityPoet

Mental Well-Being 😌 Light your favorite scented candle if you have one and spend 10 minutes reflecting on things you're grateful for in your life. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing Prompt: Your character wakes up in an empty world. Write about their first 24 hours. Social Well-Being 👋 Search for online book clubs and join one that piques your interest. Physical Well-Being 😅 Team up with a housemate for a quarantine scavenger hunt around your living quarters; get creative and get physical!

April 6 – Checklist from Lyds

Mental Well-Being 😌 Start re-reading one of your favorite kids' books. Sit by a window if you can. Need to jog your memory? Here's a great list of 33 children's book classics from Buzzfeed. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Explore a new creative outlet. Write a poem. Sketch a flower. Sing along with YouTube karaoke. Allow yourself to be a beginner. Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo? Try something new today—it can be as big as switching the POV to a new character to as lowkey as switching to hand-writing for a day. Social Well-Being 👋 Text three friends and tell them how much you love them. Physical Well-Being 😅 Make yourself a yummy/healthy meal. Enjoy the process! Then sit and eat: no phone, no distractions. Just be present.

April 8 – Checklist from Patient Jedi

Mental Well-Being 😌 Create a self-soothing box of your favorite items and memories. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing Prompt: Insert your character into your favorite book, TV show, or movie and see how they react. Social Well-Being 👋 Go back through your stock of selfies and share the funniest ones with friends. Physical Well-Being 😅 Save a sweet treat for yourself as a reward.

April 10

Mental Well-Being 😌 Spend some time looking at cute animal pictures. Soak up the happy vibes. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing Prompt: Make lists of things you love and hate (food, books, songs). Then give your protagonist some of these likes and dislikes in a scene. Social Well-Being 👋 Send a card or letter to someone in a nursing home who can't have visitors right now. Physical Well-Being 😅 Find a place in the sun (inside or outside), close your eyes, and just breathe for 5 to 10 minutes. Soak in the Vitamin D!

April 13

Mental Well-Being 😌 Set boundaries with your loved ones. If you're always taking care of others, remember that you also need time to take care of yourself. — Pistachio_Ice_Cream, Wrimo Creative Well-Being 🧐 Write down the fear that holds you back from creating your best work. Examine it, then burn it or pin it to the wall above your desk to remind yourself that you can conquer it. — An Na, author Social Well-Being 👋 Become a 'penpal' with a friend via email and send regular updates. It's like social journaling! — Shipper_Cat, Wrimo Physical Well-Being 😅 Use a smaller water cup and refill it whenever it's empty so you have to move around. — Wrimo, Fira SilverRange

April 15

Mental Well-Being 😌 Do a short crossword, logic puzzle, or other fun brain-stretching activity. — Anonymous Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing Prompt: Write as badly as you possibly can for ten minutes. — MariaV Social Well-Being 👋 Start up a roleplay game, tabletop or written! — Silver_Faerie Physical Well-Being 😅 Look up yoga exercises specifically for writers! — Anonymous

April 17

Mental Well-Being 😌 Create a quarantine bucket list! Write down five things you'd like to accomplish during this time—big or small. — A Future Authoress Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing Prompt: Open a book to a random page, and look at the first word of the page. Then, write a short story based on that word. — Ana Social Well-Being 👋 Have a lip-sync battle with a friend over video chat. — Anonymous Physical Well-Being 😅 Drink lots of water throughout the day. — ineffable

April 20

Mental Well-Being 😌 Dress up fancy for a day. It's amazing how your clothing can affect your mindset. — Teresa Gaskins, Wrimo Creative Well-Being 🧐 Take the time to figure out what time of day you work best and for how long. Long stretches are great, but so are short bursts. — Jennifer Ziegler, published author and Camp Counselor Social Well-Being 👋 Reach out to someone you haven't talked to in a while—an old classmate, a friend who's moved away, a relative—people you want to rekindle a relationship with. — CHUURENE, Wrimo Physical Well-Being 😅 Maximize your writing area ergonomics. Pay attention to posture, back support, screen or notebook angle, etc. — sonataconfuoco, Wrimo

April 22

Mental Well-Being 😌 Revise what 'productivity' means. It's ok if your achievements and goals right now are different than normal. — margiepearl, Wrimo Creative Well-Being 🧐 Find a picture or set of photos that inspires you to write! — Caroline Topperman, writer Social Well-Being 👋 Use the Finding Your Crew forum to find some writer friends! — Destined_Pirate, Wrimo Physical Well-Being 😅 If you can, go outside at night and stargaze. Try to learn a new constellation! — Junebug596, Wrimo

April 24

Mental Well-Being 😌 Do a craft, even something simple like gluing popsicle sticks. It keeps your mind busy! — Elate56, Wrimo Creative Well-Being 🧐 Draw a map of your story-world. — Mariah, Wrimo Social Well-Being 👋 Wave and smile—even under a mask and from a distance. You never know when you'll brighten someone's day. — Lisa, Wrimo Physical Well-Being 😅 Take regular breaks away from your screens so your eyes don't get over-worked. — Anastasia Nichole, Wrimo

April 27

Mental Well-Being 😌 Learn a new skill to occupy both your hands and your brain, such as knitting, needlepoint, pottery, or gardening. — Anonymous, Wrimo Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing prompt: Write a journal entry from the perspective of one of your main characters where they reflect on everything that has happened. — Dallas Woodburn, Camp Counselor Social Well-Being 👋 Send a picture of your pet to a friend (or ask your friends to send you their pet pictures)! — Doodle-Doggo, Wrimo Physical Well-Being 😅 Eat something that feels healthy to you to shift your energy! Maybe it's a favorite fruit or veggie, or choosing to drink an extra glass of water. — Neesha, Wrimo

April 29

Mental Well-Being 😌 Re-decorate your living space! Rearrange furniture, hang a picture up, or put some favorite items on display. — Anonymous, Wrimo Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing prompt: Pick a coin. Check the year and condition of the coin. Plant your character in that year and condition. — Lisa, Wrimo Social Well-Being 👋 Have a game night with your family or friends! You can use a site like Board Game Arena to play long-distance. — amruby, Wrimo Physical Well-Being 😅 Lay on your back on the floor to stretch your spine and just breathe for a minute. — Teresa Gaskins, Wrimo

May 4

Mental Well-Being 😌 Spend a few minutes meditating. If you need a mantra to repeat, try: I am one with the Force and the Force is with me. Creative Well-Being 🧐 Writing prompt: Have two characters awkwardly discover they're related to each other. Social Well-Being 👋 Use the Force (a.k.a. a video call) to have a conversation with a friend in a galaxy far, far away. Physical Well-Being 😅 Do some quick exercises with a small and very wise Jedi on your back. No Jedi available? Try a child or a stuffed animal! (Swamp optional.)

May 6

Creative Well-Being 🧐 Make a collage—a good old-fashioned one using paper, glue, and anything else handy. Then, write a story or scene based on the collage you created. — samellatrent38, Wrimo

May 8

Mental Well-Being 😌 Learn something new! Watch a TED Talk on a topic of your choosing—whether that's writing, aliens, musical history, or comedy. — awalls37, Wrimo

May 11

Creative Well-Being 🧐 Write about a clash of characters! Take several characters of your own from different projects and write a scene where they have to team up to solve a problem. — Anonymous Wrimo

May 13

Mental Well-Being 😌 Create a checklist for your day, starting with what needs to get done, and then what you would like to get done. Don't forget to include a fun reward! — loverofwriting2, Wrimo

May 18

Creative Well-Being 🧐 Write about your character's day from another person's point of view. Have fun creating how they see it. — Mug caker, Young Writers Program participant

May 20

Creative Well-Being 🧐 Play a game with your characters: Two Truths and a Lie, Never Have I Ever, etc. Find out something your characters don't want to tell you! — Rocketgirl, Wrimo

May 22

Mental Well-Being 😌 Make a small plant oasis/mini-jungle on your window shelf or some other sunny place. Plants are nice. — OldOktavia, Wrimo

May 25

Creative Well-Being 🧐 Take 15 minutes to write a short story in a genre you've never tried before. (Try a thriller if you usually write romance, for example.) — sliverofstarlight, Wrimo