Looking Ahead to NaNoWriMo

Some Tricks to Help You Win

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Suddenly, it’s September, and we’ve got just a few weeks before the annual writer fest that is NaNoWriMo begins. Having done this crazy challenge of writing a 50,000-word first draft of a novel a few times myself, I’ve got some advice as you look ahead.

Spend October getting ready

• Stock your freezer with ready meals you can throw in the oven in between writing sessions. It takes me 1–2 hours/day to write the 1,667 required to make it to the goal, and those 1–2 hours have to come from somewhere. And I think one thing we’ve all learned from 2020 is that takeout gets old (and expensive) fast.
• Buy your pretty notebooks (but not so pretty you won’t want to write in them, sometimes messily) and choose or stock up on pens. Or, if you’re typing, spend some time familiarising yourself with whatever program you’re going to use, and figuring out how you’re going to back up each session.
• Read NaNoWriMo’s founder Chris Baty’s No Plot No Problem for background on the spirit of the challenge and how to succeed
• If you’re the kind of writer who likes to plan at least a little before you start writing (and if you’re not sure, I’d err on the side of caution and do this anyway), brainstorm your plot. Do character sketches. Draw…