NaNoWriMo Prep

Hitura Rael

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 29, 2018
326
1
18
36
Northeast Ohio
www.worldanvil.com
#1
Everyone has their own way to prepare for NaNoWriMo.

You could not prepare at all and fly by the seat of your pants. (This is why the term is Pantser)

You could plan everything out. (Planner)

Or you can have a vague idea and go where the wind takes you (Plantser)

Something that I have found helps is to have a notebook and writing utensil hand everywhere you go. Inspiration and ideas can hit you at any time! And writing it down ensures that you have it for later. This is especially helpful when you are bored and unable to do things you want (like work). I keep a small 3 x 5 notepad in my sweater pocket for these occasions, jotting down an idea or the rough outline of a chapter as it comes to me.

One thing you should prepare though, is the essence of your work. You can bullshit most of it as you go, but you need that starting idea to get yourself off the ground. What is it you're writing about? It doesn't have to be detailed. What do you want to write about? Maybe you want to retell a classic tale. Maybe you want to write fanfiction. Maybe that dream you had last night is interesting as fuck and you want to share it.

No matter what it is, you can't really get yourself up off the ground without your basic premise. The sooner you find it, the more you can think on it and feel out where you want to go. Have that basic thought. Think on the messages you want to convey, the tone, the genre. The sooner you get the basics, the more time you can spend with the fun parts. Having that thought also helps you flesh out the world you're working with. How can your protagonist overcome an antagonist if you dont know what either can do?

Don't be afraid to reach out, bounce ideas off of others, and work together to create things.

I prepared for my novel by first running it as a Pathfinder campaign. I have bounced my ideas off of my friends and gotten feedback from those I know won't sugar coat it to make the adjustments needed to make the thing balanced. Rome wasn't built in a day and it sure as hell wasn't built by one man.
 

Hitura Rael

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 29, 2018
326
1
18
36
Northeast Ohio
www.worldanvil.com
#2
Resources:

World Anvil: A relatively new community centered on world building. Great place for feedback and storing your world/notes. Also good for table top game record keeping! (Free to use + sub options. I am a grand master and can take on an apprentice)

Novlr: An online text editor that allows you to create a book and add chapters, keeping your projects organized. It also boasts several statistics features as well as words of encouragement at various word count goals for the day (100 500 1000 2000). Lately they added courses too. (Paid sub, 30 day free trial, free during November for everyone. 10 usd/mo)

NaNoWriMo forums and website: important to keep up with your region, organize and attend write ins, etc. There may even be a discord set up to write together in! The website boasts the word count tracker, statistics, and word sprint tool. What is a word sprint? Its when you set a time to write uninterrupted, as much and as fast as you can. Sprint alone or with friends! Make it a competition for extra fun.