NaNoWriMo Prep In 3 Steps
National Novel Writing Month – or NaNoWriMo as most folks call it – has become a global writing event that takes place every November. Writers from across the globe sign up at the website and commit to write 50,000 words towards their novel over the course of one month. The thinking goes that if you break writing down into small, manageable chunks, you have a complete novel by the end of thirty days.
In the past, those who hit the 50k word mark within the allotted time receive prizes from the NaNoWriMo partners. These have included Scrivener, Ingram Spark, AutoCrit, The Great Courses, Scribophile and Evernote in the past.
Writing can be lonely business. That’s why “Write Ins” emerged as a way of helping writers connect to other participants and offering author talks, themed writing nights and a place to toss ideas around in an informal and supportive group.
The beauty of this program is that anyone can enter and participation is free.
#1
get organized
Writing 1,667 words each day is a daunting experience. Start off by getting your work space organized and prepped for the event. Make a list of the things you you’ll need (like printer ink, snacks, and easy dinners) and spend a day or two ahead of time at the computer prepping. Make sure that your software and browser are up to date and invest in the tools that you know you’ll need to pull off a month worth of writing.
#2
plan your writing
If you’re a planner, you can spend the days ahead of the event by upping out the course of the story. Organize your characters and draft the plot trajectory so that you have a better idea of where your story is headed. There are some fantastic planning tools available on the internet. Fictionary, is one such tool. You can also go old school, using a color-coded Excel Spreadsheet or (my favorite) a hello legal pad. I keep an entire stash of them so that I always have one handy when an idea strikes.
#3
get the maps
If you want to really dig into NaNoWriMo and end up with something genuinely wonderful, grab a copy of The Fiction Writing Maps: A Step-By-Step Guide To Characters. This writer’s resources will save you time and frustration by walking you through the set-up process for characters. It’s loaded with examples, tip, techniques and templates to take the frustration out of building fictional characters.
