With November coming up, it's time for those who are participating to start preparing for National Novel Writing Month! For those who don't know what Nanowrimo is, it's a challenge for writer's to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. Generally, participants write approximately 1,600 words a day to complete the challenge. The best time to plot and prepare for Nanowrimo is now, during October!

1. Outline

The very first step is to outline your plot! If you don't know where the story is going, it's going to get difficult to continue reaching the word count every day. While some people don't do well with extensive planning, it's important to at least know where you start your story and to plot a few scenes throughout. The more planning you do, even if you don't follow it, the more material you'll have to work with during November.

2. Character Development

Even if your story doesn't call for all of the information and backstory of your characters, it's smart to have the information in the back of your mind as you write. It will help you come up with more details about the plot as well.

3. Schedule

There are some people who don't do well with planning, but it's important to at least schedule your writing times. If you can't write 1,600 words every day, then plan for days where you can write over your word count to make up for the days you fall behind.

4. Design

Something that always gets me in the mood to write is looking at book designs and designing my own book covers. If you aren't able to design your own, there are people during Nanowrimo who offer to design free book covers. There's also always the option to commission people as well. Being able to envision the final product can help motivate you to finish the novel.

5. Join Nanowrimo.org

I find myself even more motivated when I'm surrounded by people who are also writing for Nanowrimo. If you can't find a community of people in your daily life who want to participate, there's always the online community! I suggest making an account on Nanowrimo.org and checking out the forums. You'll likely meet some online writing pals to can keep you motivated.