November is only two weeks away, which means that NaNoWriMo is looming on the horizon. And that means that I’m spending every spare second preparing for the big event. It’s my favourite time of the whole writing year, a whole month to spend explore crazy new ideas, hammering out brand new books, and creating with the most reckless of abandons. Before spending the next 11 months trying to form some sort of order out of the chaos that I make during NaNoWriMo. It’s a wild rush that goes past in a blur of words, coffee, and time spent with my amazing writing friends. Of course, a month-long writing event is no small thing and it pays to put some time towards preparing as much as I can. So I’m doing a few things to make sure that I’m as ready as I can be for the start of NaNoWriMo.
The first big thing I’m doing to prepare for NaNo is writing an outline for my project. This is a huge step, and it always takes a lot longer than I initially think it will. But it’s totally worth all the time. While I will always love pantsing my way through a book and writing it completely stream of consciousness, discovering the plot as I go along, I get a much better end result if I actually stop and plan first. I don’t super detailed outlines. Mostly I figure out a basic sequence of events and then write out a short summary for every scene I know of. There’s plenty of space for me to add extra scenes, or play around with subplots, and fill in all the details however I want. But having the basic structure nailed down before I begin gives me a solid base to work from, and directs my wild creativity into more productive directions.
I’m also working on batching a bunch of work so that I’m well ahead for November. This means that I’m writing blog posts in advance and scheduling them so that I have fresh content going up all the time, while also clearing me a little extra writing time. It means that I’m taking photos for my Instagram ahead of time so that I can get them edited and ready for posting in the future, so again, I don’t have to worry about any of this stuff down the track. It’s all about getting as much done ahead of time so that when November hits, I have as much time as possible in which to write my books. Once I’m in the flow of book writing, the last thing I’m going to want to do is to drag myself away to write another blog post.
The final major thing I’ve been doing is getting into the habit of sitting down consistently to write. Not that I don’t already write most days, but I’m making sure that I have a strong habit of sitting down and writing at certain times of days. For example, writing first thing in the morning after I wake up. It’s not always the easiest to be motivated at that time of day, but I have great writing friends who meet me in our chat group and make getting up early worthwhile. My morning crew is the best, and I always love meeting up with them first thing to hammer out a few words. I’m also experimenting with other times of day. I’m not always going to be able to write at my most optimal times of day, and I’m determined that that’s not going to hold me back in the slightest.
These are the three biggest things I’m doing to prepare for NaNoWriMo. My plan for the next two weeks is to finish this outline, batch as much as I can for November, and get hyped up for NaNo to begin, because it’s the most amazing month of writing and hanging out with friends, even just virtually, and I for one can’t wait to get started. But I would love to hear from you. Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? If so, what are you doing to prepare? If not, do you have anything else planned for November? Let’s chat!
If you want to read one of the books I’ve written during my many NaNoWriMo adventures, might I recommend my latest book, ‘Frost Hands’? It’s an awesome YA sci-fi book about mutants, secret agents, rebellions, and awesome abilities. It’s available on Amazon right now in both print and ebook form. Pick up your copy today!
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
