NaNoWriMo Prep

Where To Start

What is NaNoWriMo? 

There is nothing more exciting to a writer or aspiring writer than the spark of a great story. Many save that spark for the month of November when the race to complete a novel in 31 days begins. The months before are used for prep and getting ready.

The month of November is a big month for a lot of people. The planning and prepping is done (or not if you are are a pantser) and they are ready for the long haul ahead of writing more words than they would normally in some cases. 

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and it is an event where many work toward the goal of completing 50,000 words written within those 31 days. 

We are not here to talk about Nano itself, if you want to learn more about it, you can go here or here. 

In this post, we are here to talk about prepping for NaNoWriMo. How do you get ready for such a large event? What does it take to prep and prepare for the long road ahead? What things should you be thinking about now in order to be prepared for November? Well, don’t worry, we are going to go over that below.

What You Need To Know

Project

When you have figured out what you want to do for your project. Head to NaNoWriMo.org and register your project. If you are just starting you’ll want to create a profile. Within your profile, you’ll enter the title, a brief summary, and possible book cover for your project. 

Goals

Set your goals for your project. How many words do you want to write a day? A week? What will you do if you don’t hit your daily goal? Will you add it onto the next day or will you add it to the weekend where you may have more time. 

Buddies

You can also add buddies and join a group near you to keep up to date as well as connect with others in your area while you are writing. Get advice, participate in write-ins and more, it’s great!

Community/Resources

At the top of the site you will find tab drop downs for forums and resources to check out on the site for help and more. Check them out when you sign up/in.

Project Start

NaNoWriMo is all about writing words, stories, even non-fiction pieces. What you decide to work on is completely up to you and that’s where you need to start. 

Story/Project Details

One of the first things you want to do is get some information about the story/project you are going to write. You may believe you won’t need to write anything down because its all in that steel trap of a brain of yours but believe me, you’re going to want to write down some notes. There have been plenty of times authors have mentioned not writing something down when they have it and they loose it later. Don’t be like them, write it down. 

What should you write down, you say? 

Here is a short list to get your prep started: 

Genre

Within what category will your story fall. Are you going to write an adventure, a mystery, a horror, a romance, a fairy tale, a self-help book? Decide now what genre your story/project will be placed to keep you focused on the coming story elements as you go. You can even go as far as to give it a sub genre as well if that suits your project. 

Summary

Give your story a short summary of what it will be about. This will get your main idea down and give you a short guide while you write as to what will happen within the story. This is a great thing to keep near you and keep you on track with your story line. You could bullet point main topics or events if that suits your project better. Just get something down. You don’t want to go into this completely empty. 

Main Characters

You’ll want to have some information about your main characters before you start writing to keep them and you from veering off into multiple directions and descriptions. You don’t want to have to go back through later because you mentioned something about them that was different each time. Ie: hair and eye color, height, personality, talents, abilities. 

Trust me, your characters will gain a mind of their own and will want to change the direction of your story. If you’re good with following your character’s lead, then go for it. Just keep in mind that it may happen. 

Research

Usually, and I would recommend this to anyone starting a story, you flesh out all the details that you can about your story. If you know your character is going to be a doctor for instance, you may want to brush up on vocabulary, procedures, and other information you may need to complete the character as best you can. 

If you are using a fantasy land, gain any insight you can on how the landscape looks, the laws of the land, the creatures that inhabit it and more. You can create a map to go along with it or just jot down some basic information. 

Outline

Create an outline of your story/project. You’ll want to know where your story is going and what events will occur along the way. Even if your characters insist on changing your story, you will at least have something to go on when you want to bring the story back to point. Even if you are a pantser, it’s good to jot down at least a few points you want to cover in your project. Everyone has those one or two ideas they really want to put in their story. Jot them down so you don’t forget and have to add them later, or leave them out completely because they no longer fit. 

Inspiration

There is nothing more useful than those items that inspire your writing. Without that inspiration you would have no story, so take some time to search for inspirational pieces. Create a folder or start a Pinterest board for your project and start putting images there that represent your characters, the settings, locations, buildings, creatures, and whatever else you feel would help you along with your story. Keep it easily accessible for times when you need to see those aspects for your project. 

To get ready for the journey ahead, there are some things to keep in mind or even schedule in daily. These are things to help you get into a writing frame of mind, to keep you sane during this busy time, and to help you stay focused.  Below is are a few lists to guide you. 

Prep Items for You

• Find Out Your Why
• Research What You Can Before You Begin
• Use Visual Affirmations
• List/Board/Folder of Inspiration
  • books, movies, Images, music
• Accountability Partners
  • friends, family, buddies on NaNoWriMo, groups
• Schedule Your Calendar to Include Your Writing
• Playlist
  • If you like music, get your playlist ready.
• Snacks and Drinks
  • If I could have a cabinet and a mini fridge for this, I would be in heaven! Plan you snacks/drinks if you can, find a place for them where they won’t be taken by others and easily reachable if possible.

Prep Items for Your Project

• Register Your Project on NaNoWriMo.org
• Join a Region For Support
• Select Your Goal and Keep it Visible
• Check the Site Resources
• Collection of Resources
  • Notes, Inspiration, Images, Etc. 
• Organize Your Writing System
  • What programs will you use? Where will you be saving your project? 
• Set up Tracking System
  • Calendar, Bullet journal page, Print out, Sticky notes
• Set Up/Ready Your Writing Space
• Notebook 

Self Care During NaNoWriMo

• Make a Commitment to Enjoy this Journey
• Write/Print Affirmations
• Prepare Your Mind and Body
  • Get Enough sleep
  • Exercise Daily
  • Eat Well
  • Get your mindset on the right path
    • Meditate
    • Read the Bible
    • Relax for a moment before starting each day
    • Clear you mind of all the other things you need to do
  • Create good habits

Other Tips and Advice

• Keep Your Goals Visible
• Commit to Writing Daily
• Prepare Your Work Area – Whether your organized-spotless or organized-messy, get your space ready for your writing journey. Create a second stash of things ready if you frequently visit coffee shops, a park, or other away from home site. 
• Stay Focused
  • Take a few deep breaths before starting
  • Turn off anything that will distract you from your goal
  • Keep a post-its or note card of your why visible
  • List ways to overcome writer’s block
• Stay Motivated and Encouraged
• Find Your Support 
• Create A Schedule
  • Include whatever you need, including your writing.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this helps you get your thoughts and material ready for NaNoWriMo this year. What are you doing to get ready for NaNo? Are you using a checklist or are you going in with a blank slate? Let me know in the comments.